Recently updated on June 24th, 2020
When you’re staring down a roulette wheel, pair of dice, or a hand of blackjack, a betting system might seem like a good idea. And, the Martingale system certainly looks appealing at first glance. Before using it, though, you’ll need to know how it works and the odds of increasing your wins.
Since it’s inception in 18th century France, the betting system has been used for a variety of games. Primarily, you’ll have to bet double after every loss to try and win back everything. By doing this, you could potentially gain 40% of those losing bets back.
So, how do you win with the Martingale betting system? Well, we’ve put together this guide to help you gain the edge over the house. And, some casinos where you can test it out on blackjack, roulette, craps, and many other games.
Compare Martingale System Casinos
How the Martingale System Works
To start, you’ll need to bet one unit and then double it after every loss. Eventually, you’ll win it back if you play for long enough on even money bets. However, experts recommend keeping your play time to two hours at a time in one day because most casinos don’t allow increasing your stakes too much.
But, if you win at any time, you can reduce the bet size and keep things even. This is an excellent way to adapt the strategy. As for the games you can bet on, here are some common bets:
- Roulette – bet on red or black.
- Craps – pass or don’t pass.
- Blackjack – side bets.
Doubling Bets
So, how do you place bets? Generally, you’ll place $1 on the first bet, then $2, and so on if you keep losing. Real money bet progression will work out like this:
1 – 2 – 4 – 8 – 16 – 32 – 64 – 128 – 256 – 512 – 1024 – 2048 – 4096 – 8192
Unfortunately, this theory starts to wind down in the long-term, because it starts getting expensive over many rounds. Although, the probabilities are sitting pretty even at 50% for even-money wagers.
Odds of Winning & House Edge
In the long-term, you could win back double your bets, but the possibility is slim when considering the house edge. This is the advantage that the casino has by taking a percentage of each payout to keep running.
When you consider this and the overall probabilities, an epic losing streak could lose you $4095. Of course, you would have to be seriously unlucky for this to happen, but Lady Luck is fickle.
Here are the estimated losses on the Martingale system:
| Estimated Losing Streak | ||
| Round | Bet | Total Loss |
| 1 | $1 | $1 |
| 2 | $2 | $3 |
| 3 | $4 | $7 |
| 4 | $8 | $15 |
| 5 | $16 | $31 |
| 6 | $32 | $63 |
| 7 | $64 | $127 |
| 8 | $128 | $255 |
| 9 | $256 | $511 |
| 10 | $512 | $1023 |
| 11 | $1024 | $2047 |
| 12 | $2048 | $4095 |
Best Ways to Use the Betting Strategy
To get the most out of the Martingale strategy, you’ll need at least $200 to wager with on $1 bets. If you’re a big spender, that will increase to $1000 for $5. With these amounts, a computer prediction system found that these odds are most common over an hour and eight hours:
| 1-Hour Martingale | |||||
| Game | Chances of Winning | $200 bankroll | $1000 bankroll | ||
| $200 table limit | $1000 table limit | ||||
| Avg. Win | Avg. Loss | Avg. Win Amount | Avg. Loss | ||
| Baccarat (player) | 0,68 | $43 | $105 | $217 | $527 |
| Craps (pass line) | 0,82 | $20 | $105 | $100 | $528 |
| Roulette (0) w/Surrender | 0,79 | $25 | $105 | $126 | $528 |
| Roulette (0), red | 0,78 | $23 | $106 | $116 | $532 |
| Roulette (00), red | 0,75 | $22 | $107 | $113 | $536 |
| 8-Hour Gameplay | |||||
| Game | Chances of Winning | $200 bankroll | $1000 bankroll | ||
| $200 table limit | $1000 table limit | ||||
| Avg. Win | Avg. Loss | Avg. Win Amount | Avg. Loss | ||
| Craps, no odds | 0,37 | $169 | $120 | $848 | $600 |
| Roulette (0) w/Surrender | 0,31 | $213 | $114 | $1066 | $569 |
| Roulette (0), red | 0,29 | $195 | $117 | $976 | $586 |
| Roulette (00), red | 0,24 | $190 | $117 | $952 | $589 |
| Baccarat (player) | 0,2 | $345 | $110 | $1727 | $554 |
Anti-Martingale System
In our experts’ opinions, use the anti-Martingale system bet. Instead of increasing on a loss, you double on a win. In effect, you can conserve more of your budget. Of course, you’ll still need to avoid getting over-confident. No betting strategy guarantees wins, and it will become an expensive mistake.
In summary, be careful when using any strategy at a land-based or online casino. Even if it’s a popular one, many players have lost more than they won in the long-run. So, don’t risk too much if you enjoy gambling for real money.