Is Martingale Strategy Legal

Within the game of roulette, one system stands tall as the go to for players looking for an easy to understand, straightforward, winning strategy. The Martingale system has been used for over two centuries and continues to be the most popular roulette strategy choice for players. In this guide, you will learn exactly how the Martingale roulette strategy works, both in theory and in practice.

  • The total loss on a 1 dollar bet Martingale for a 9 bet sequence is $1059. This eliminates any gains the player would have achieved by the max bet of the cycle. In its simplest form, the betting strategy is exposing the player to exceptional losses on an average of 1 time in every 1000 sequences.
  • There is no legal objection to players using the Martingale method but in practice you still have to hit a winning hand and as with all so called systems they are not infallible since the casino still has the edge due to the max bet threshhold meaning you cannot double if one reaches that point when you have a losing run of bets.
Legal

Further to this, we will give you an in-depth understanding of how the Martingale odds play out over the course of a game before discussing whether or not the system is technically legal. Finally, we will compare the Martingale roulette system against other well-known systems before ending with some of its shortcomings.

Martingale Roulette System – The Theory

The Martingale betting system increases your chances of winning in the short term. The catch is that when you do lose, you lose big. For example, starting with $1000 and a starting bet of $5, you've got about an 80% chance of turning a profit after one hour at craps or roulette, with an average win of about $100. The martingale strategy fails even with unbounded stopping time, as long as there is a limit on earnings or on the bets (which is also true in practice). It is only with unbounded wealth, bets and time that it could be argued that the martingale becomes a winning strategy.

With origins dating back to the 1800s, the Martingale system descends from probability theory where within a sequence of fixed random variables, there will always be a point where the next value will be equal to the present value. Now don’t run away. With a simple example, this theory becomes very straight forward and easy to understand. First, think about a person continually betting on the outcome of flipping a coin where the outcomes are fixed – heads wins and tails loses. If the person betting was to double their bet after every loss, a win would recover all previous losses in one bet plus a profit equal to the first bet in the sequence. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the the following section below and you will see it for yourself.

The idea behind this system is that at some point, you have to win, and this win will recover all your previous losses, plus one unit of profit. In layman’s terms, double up until you win! By now, I’m sure you can see the attractiveness of such a system when utilised as a roulette strategy.

Martingale System in Practice

Now that you have a better understanding of how the Martingale system works in theory, let’s have a look at a practical example in roulette. Similar to the above coin example, players will choose a ‘relatively’ even-money bet. I say relatively because in roulette, these are not exactly 50 bets but we will discuss that in more detail later. In roulette these bets can be on low (1-18) or high (19-36) numbers, odd or even numbers or the most commonly used bet on red or black. For this example, we will be betting £1 on the probability that the ball lands on red.After the first spin, if the ball lands on red, we are very happy and have won our first bet with a profit of £1. If the ball lands on black and we have lost, at this point we will double our original bet from £1 to £2. If the ball then lands on red, we will have recovered our previous lost bet of £1 plus an additional unit of profit £1. If on our second spin, the ball lands on black and we lose again, we will continue doubling our bets on red until we win. No matter how long it takes, or the size of the bet, we will eventually win and recover our original bet.

But how will this strategy hold up if we lose five games in a row? The answer is: completely fine. Check out the above example and you will see just how straight forward the Martingale roulette system is in action.

Martingale Odds: Working Out Your Risk

The secret to the Martingale roulette strategy is really no secret at all; it’s a simple numbers game. As referenced earlier, the success of the system is down to the assumption that at some point, after a series of losses, you have to win, and with this win, you can recover all of your losses plus one unit of profit. So how can we believe that a player will eventually recover all of his or her losses? In order to demonstrate this theory, we have outlined in the table below how a player can recover all of their losses, even after losing nine games in a row by utilising the Martingale strategy.

Martingale Strategy Demonstration
Spin ProgressionBet (Units)OutcomeTotal Profit
11Loss-1
22Loss-3
34Loss-7
48Loss-15
516Loss-31
632Loss-63
764Loss-127
8128Loss-255
9256Loss-511
10512Win1

So, the Martingale theoretical approach implies that, for instance, if you lose nine games in a row and double your bet on the following tenth spin, you will recover all of your losses and come out with a profit of plus one. Once you land a win after a series of consecutive losses, you start anew. The Martingale odds are stacked in your favour! Of course, Martingale only strictly works theoretically if you have the bank roll to support it.

Is the Martingale Strategy Legal?

As it stands, the use of the Martingale roulette system is perfectly legal. However, casinos do have countermeasures in order to decrease its effectiveness. One measure is to put in place maximum betting limits which mean, if a player is in a deep losing streak, there will come a point where they can no longer place a high enough bet to cover all their losses. For example, if a casino has a £500 maximum betting limit and a player has lost a £275 bet, they will not be able to double it £550. Another countermeasure to help reduce the players’ odds of successfully utilising the Martingale strategy is the fabled ‘other’ colour on the roulette wheel; the green. The green slots are filled with the number zero. In European Roulette there is only one slot and thus one zero, whereas in the American version there are two slots, one for zero and another for double zero. These green zeros represent the house edge. In European Roulette the green spread is worth 2.7% giving the house an edge of 51.35% in total. In American roulette, with two green slots, the spread is worth 5.26% giving the house an even bigger advantage of 52.6%.

Other Roulette Systems

Now that you’ve dipped your finger and got a taste of what the Martingale strategy has to offer, let’s see how it compares to some of the other more niche systems available to roulette players today. The following two are just a preview of the available betting systems. If you’re interested in finding out more about the existing strategies, we would recommend our comprehensive guide to roulette systems.

  • Counts on winning and losing streaks
  • Bet same after a loss
  • Up wager by one unit after a win
  • Less flexible than Martingale
Martingale
  • Advocates betting on 20+ numbers
  • Numbers should be spread well
  • Aims to reduce potential losses
  • Somewhat chaotic, yet very flexible

The Oscar’s Grind system is based on the idea that there are periods of both winning streaks and losing streaks. In brief, when you lose a bet, you bet the same amount and when you win, you raise the bet by one unit. The method can withstand many bad runs however, the Martingale system is far more resistant to alternating wins and losses in short streaks.

The Kavouras system involves betting different amounts on at least 20 numbers chaotically spread around the roulette wheel. This method eliminates possible dealer interference, places several defensive numbers in play to minimise potential future losses and offers the opportunity for big wins. The system is deliberately very chaotic and flexible, however, if you prefer a far more standardised system that you can follow, the Martingale strategy is the one for you.

The Downfall of the Martingale System

As with any roulette system, both pros and cons exist and the Martingale strategy is not without its flaws. If it was foolproof, we would all be millionaires by now! Theoretically, the Martingale system is really sound, however in reality, there are two gaping holes which cannot be ignored. Firstly, the theory assumes players have an unlimited bankroll and can withstand huge losses. For most people, this is not the case. Secondly, open-ended table limits very rarely exist. As discussed above, many casinos impose maximum betting limits on their roulette tables in order to inhibit players from recovering from large losses.

Whilst it is statistically very unlikely that you will ever be unlucky enough to lose eight, nine, even ten spins in a row, it will eventually happen. At the end of the day, the roulette wheel doesn’t know you or remember your previous spins. In every spin, you either win or you *cough*die*cough* lose.

Conclusion

Whilst not completely fool proof, the Martingale roulette system can be a very useful way to ease yourself into a game of roulette and familiarise yourself with the mathematical side of gambling and odds. It is a very interesting theory and certainly worth testing out, but should always be played with low stakes at first. That said, if you prefer a high stakes game, we would recommend our guide to the best high stakes online casinos in the UK. If you want to find out more about roulette, check out our guide to the best online roulette casinos in the UK. Set yourself profit goals and loss limits so you don’t get carried away and above all, enjoy yourself!

The Martingale System for blackjack is premised on a player starting with a low entry bet which is then doubled every time a player encounters a loss. Arguably, a player can recoup all their losses by placing large bets should luck turn to their side. The strategy works best when playing blackjack on quick bets and sessions before a player walks out while they are on the lead in the game. If a player tries to get big wins by extending the play, the strategy fails to work and one can exhaust their bankroll. Let us have a look at the operation, merits and demerits, history, legality in play, and online casinos that allow the use of the Martingale betting strategy.

In the Martingale strategy, a player is first required to set their bankroll amount before the start of a game. A player then sets their betting unit. A player is at liberty to set their base stake at any size depending on the amount in their bankroll. It is a general rule for players to set their base stakes at 5% of their bankroll to minimise their chances of running against the table limit.

Martingale Trading Strategy

Every time a player wins, they are supposed to place the same bet in the succeeding hand. However, upon losing, a player should double their bet for the next game. A player’s net win after a series of losses will be £ 5 regardless of the number of games lost. The longer a player stays in the game, the longer their chances of running against the table limit. The strategy can help a player come out ahead of the game through a single win even after they have had several busts in their blackjack bets. It is crucial for a player to be disciplined to enable them to leave the table after hitting the set limit on losses.

  • The Martingale sequence requires that a player doubles their stake every time they lose a game. For instance, if a player sets their first stake at £ 5 and loses in the first game, their next bet will be £ 10. The sequence progresses until they win a hand. Further, is they lose on their second hand, they will have to increase their bet to £30 on the third hand. Upon winning a hand, a player will enjoy a profit of one unit. It is important to clarify that a single unit means the size of a player’s starting stake. As such, in our example, after the player lost three hands, they would require to place a bet worth £40 on their fourth game, which would essentially increase their total exposure to £75. After the player wins the fourth hand, they would receive £80, leaving them with a £5 profit.

  • Advantages and Disadvantages of the Martingale System

    The system is pretty easy to use. One is only expected to double their bet amounts when they lose and maintain their base stake upon winning. Secondly, a player can use the strategy to increase their bankroll in the short run. The strategy also makes the game more interesting to the players even though the casinos’ edge over players remains unchanged. Most importantly, the strategy lets a player know the time to walk out of the casino. Wager limits are set before the game and cashing in when the limit has been reached can save one from depleting their money.

    However, the use of the tactic can have some disadvantages. Firstly, the strategy has no impact on a game’s odds similar to all other betting systems. Secondly, the size of a player’s bets increases exponentially when a player is on a losing streak. A player should first set their betting limits before starting a game and exercise discipline to avoid losing all their bet amount. The Martingale strategy involves taking significant risks in exchange for a small reward. Total reliance on the system, in the long run, can put a player in a situation where the rewards are significantly lower compared to their bet amounts due to doubling after a loss.

Martingale Strategy Forex

  • Is it legal to use the Martingale System whilst playing blackjack?

    Yes, it is legal to use the Martingale System when playing blackjack. Most casinos do not bother about the strategy being used by players. However, most will scrutinise a player who increases their bet amount exponentially when the odds are in their favour. With the Martingale strategy, the rules on the amount of the bet to be placed are clear, thus, a player cannot arbitrarily increase their base stake.

  • The Martingale strategy was first used at the beginning of the 18th century. The strategy is said to have been introduced by a casino owner who had a reputation for the love of money, John Martindale. The name Martingale is derived from Mr Martindale’s surname. It is worthwhile to note that Martindale never used the system but strongly recommended it to his casino’s patrons. Occasionally, he would encourage them to use it arguing that it helped those who use it to win large amounts of money. Most players believed him and tried the betting method which similarly to others defied fundamental reason.

  • Is the Martingale System for beginners or professionals?

    The Martingale system should never be used for attempting to secure long-term profit. The system is easy for beginners to use since there are no complex equations to be memorised or bet amounts that require quick mental calculations. This makes the system compatible for use in online casinos and brick and mortar establishments.

  • In which online casino can I play blackjack using the Martingale System?

    The use of the Martingale strategy in the best blackjack casinos does not guarantee that a player will win a game. However, the approach is vital in enabling a player to become organised to avoid losing all their wager in a casino. The sequence is useful in winning bets in the short run with the possibility of a player recouping all their losses within a fairly quite short time compared to other strategies.

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