Over the years, many gambling whizzes have come up with ingenious methods that promised to boost the players’ odds against the house. However, none have gained such popularity as the Martingale System.
No casino system has had a better track record than the Martingale System. Martingale has a long and illustrious history, being one of the oldest betting systems ever devised in order to help with games that involved the tossing of a coin.
Once gamblers realised that the system could just as well be used when playing roulette, craps, or blackjack, its popularity skyrocketed. Although not a fool-proof methodology, players continue to use the perceived benefits of the Martingale System, both at in-house and online casinos.
How Does the Martingale System Work?
The Martingale System was developed by John Henry Martingale, who at the time was one of the UK’s most prominent gambling house entrepreneurs. Martingale’s simple theory states that once gamblers incur numerous successive losses while playing a specific casino game, the laws of probability state that they have a 50 per cent chance of winning a bet eventually.
Subsequently, the gambler is supposed to double their stakes after each loss while reducing their bet size to their original betted amount once they win. By going back to their initial bet after every winning wager, they are expected to recoup all their previous losses.
Different Betting System Types
The Martingale System is a negative betting system with several variations that can be applied to roulette, craps, blackjack, and baccarat.
Traditional Martingale – In classic Martingale, a player uses the standard roulette system. However, the zero pocket (or the double zero in American roulette) poses a problem since a player cannot win on a zero. The player can only adjust the bets and apply logic if the ball hits black or red.
Great Martingale – The Great Martingale works similarly to the traditional system, although it is more hardnosed. Like the standard method, players are encouraged to double their bets when they lose, but instead of simply doubling up their stakes, they add a bit more on top of their bet. The idea is that once a player eventually hits a win, they can anticipate a more significant return on their bets.
Mini Martingale – The Mini Martingale possibly has the most considerable advantage compared to all the other formats. This is because it allows you to put a cap on the amount you double up as bets. As a result, you shield yourself from losing substantial amounts of cash at the rate you would if you were using traditional methods.
Anti-Martingale – Most players consider the Anti-Martingale as the safest and most reliable variation of the strategy. The system is played the same as the original version, just in reverse. This means that instead of a player increasing their wager after a loss, they double their bet after a win. One can say that the Anti-Martingale is the optimist’s approach to using the system.
The Pros and Cons
Even though countless players have successfully used the Martingale System on games like blackjack and roulette, it is not always guaranteed to work. There are numerous advantages and disadvantages of using this gameplay method.
Pros
- Martingale System can help you generate wins in a relatively short time
- The principles of the strategy have been statistically proven to work when a player doesn’t encounter a protracted losing streak
- The system is easy to understand and suitable for both experts and beginners
- Players get to slowly increase their bet size, thus preventing significant cash losses within a short space of time
Cons
- Success depends on specific variations of casino games a person plays, the odds accompanying different betting options and the size of the bets
- Some casinos place limits on the amounts you can bet with. This means that even if you recover your losses, you are still likely to finish off with much less than what you’d lost overall
- Streaks of protracted losses can lead to players going quickly through their entire bankroll
- If a player solely relies on the Martingale System each time they gamble, it can turn into a huge risk in the long run
