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Martingale Betting Strategy Explained Online

Jonn Seo | August 13, 2020 | Updated on: October 1st, 2020

martingale strategy explainedFor those unaware, the Martingale strategy is a betting strategy often used in casino gaming, sports betting, and even forex trading. The system works with the general principle of doubling your bet after every loss. However, upon every win you reduce the amount of money you bet.

The idea behind the Martingale betting system is that you should cover your losses by doubling your bet until you hit a win. This means you should be able to always hit the amount you started with before you placed your initial bet.

If you would like to find out more about the Martingale strategy and your odds of winning while making use of it in the real world, read on. Below we have a look at how the strategy works, the pros and cons of using it, and whether you can actually use it in a casino.

We also list the best online casinos for US players, so you can start testing this strategy out for yourself with both free and real money games. So, what are you waiting for?

Test the Martingale Strategy Here

How Does the Martingale Strategy Work?

So, the Martingale betting strategy is a famous strategy and has been around for a pretty long time. Allegedly, it was created in the 18th century in France. But there are suggestions that it may have been around for a lot longer.

We already mentioned the basic theory behind it above. But we’ll try to explain more on how it works and use it here.

  • Before you start a gaming session, you set a betting unit. For example, you could set a betting unit of $5. This means that one unit is $5, two units is $10, three units is $15, and so on.
  • You will then focus on making even money bets. The martingale strategy is particularly popular with roulette because of the red/black and odd/even bets.
  • During gameplay, your first bet will start with one unit. If you win, you will not change the bet amount. However, if you lose, you will need to double the units.
  • In a series of losses, the progression could look like this: 1 – 2 – 4 – 8 – 16 – 32 – 64
  • If during a losing streak you hit a win, you will revert back to betting one unit.

The idea behind the Martingale is always covering your losses. There are some pros and cons to betting in this way.

Pros of the Martingale Strategy

  • The Martingale strategy could give you a consistent sum of money on a winning streak. But this is probably only true for the short term.
  • You will win back your losses if you double your bet after each loss and eventually do land up winning a bet.
  • As with all betting systems, you are less likely to be affected by erratic or emotional bets. A lot of people aren’t aware of what sort of affect a loss could have on your betting patterns. Sticking to a pattern is one way to ensure that you do not land up losing money in a very stupid way.
how the martingale system works

Cons of the Martingale Strategy

  • The Martingale is a great strategy if you have got an infinite bankroll. Unfortunately, the main issue with the system is that a bad losing streak could make you go bust very quickly. Consecutive losses are hard to swallow even if you are betting small amounts and keep doubling on a small bankroll.
  • In the long term, this strategy is not always viable as a long losing streak could also see you hit table limits on bets. And, then you won’t even be recovering your full bankroll on your next big bet.
  • It does not alter your chance of winning or your chance of losing. A lot of people get confused about this. But it is important to make a distinction between a betting strategy and a regular strategy.
  • For example, using basic strategy in blackjack affects the house edge you face on bets. However, using the Martingale strategy blackjack simply affects your bet size.

Is the Martingale Strategy Illegal?

So, the Martingale strategy is not illegal at casinos. A lot of people have the wrong idea about this betting system. Casinos actually like it when you use it because you are more likely to lose a lot of money in the long run. Essentially, all the idea behind this strategy is chasing previous losses, which is never a good thing.

The only issue with the strategy is that you are likely to hit the bet limit ceiling if you keep losing and you are betting large amounts. The Martingale strategy options for such a case is to keep hitting the max bet, even if it won’t recover all your losses.

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