Four Reasons Not to Bother with the Martingale Betting System

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To hear that there’s a roulette betting system that technically guarantees profits over the long run is to question everything you thought you knew about casino gaming.

One of the only constants where casino gaming is concerned (online or otherwise) is the fact that the house always wins. This is the only way that casino businesses are able to sustain themselves, without going out of business.

From blackjack to baccarat to craps and so on, the key to a successful casino game (from a business perspective) lies in ensuring the odds are always tipped in your favour. Even if the house edge is relatively small, it still means that in a statistical/mathematical sense the house is guaranteed to win long-term.

In which case – what’s the deal with the Martingale betting system?

A Strategy That Actually Works?

On paper, there are no two ways about it – the Martingale betting system is a system that technically works. If unfamiliar with the concept, it is simply a case of placing an even money outside bet (Red or Black, Odds or Evens etc.) at the roulette table and awaiting the outcome.

If you win, you place the exact same wager again. If you lose, you double your wager and bet on the same outcome. In the case of the latter, you continue repeating this process until you subsequently win. 

In theory, this means that you will eventually turn a profit when you win – even if you lose countless times beforehand.

Unfortunately, there are four reasons why the Martingale system for roulette really is not worth bothering with at all. Even though it can technically work, chances are it isn’t going to.

Here’s why:

1.  You need massive amounts of money to start with

Firstly, the Martingale system only really has the potential to generate relatively low profits as you play. Something that makes the whole idea rather redundant, given how you need to be pretty wealthy to make it work in the first place.

Unless you have a practically limitless bankroll, you can forget about the Martingale system. Even if you start out with a low wager of just £10, you would only need to lose and subsequently double your bet five times to be putting £160 on the line. Then £320, then £640 and so on.  

This is the kind of cash the average casino player simply does not have at their disposal – particularly for the purposes of chasing relatively remedial profits.

2.  There are policies in place to prevent it from working

Where there is a strategy that could potentially work in players’ favour, you can bet there’s a way the casino will prevent it from happening. The Martingale system is no exception to the rule, which is something casinos have known about since it was first devised.

Set up at a roulette table and start playing the Martingale system and it will be relatively apparent what you are up to. In order to thwart the attempts of players to tip the odds in their favour, the vast majority of casinos impose betting limits that make the principles of the Martingale system redundant.

This basically means that as you continue doubling your bet each time you lose, you will eventually reach a point where the casino will not allow you to double your bet once again. Which could mean that if you lose say 10 times in a row, there’s no allowance for an eleventh bet and you’ll lose everything you have wagered so far.

A pretty big risk and definitely one that is not worth taking.

3.  If you win, you will not win much

Another reason the Martingale system is largely a waste of time is the way in which it doesn’t actually pave the way for big profits. You could end up wagering massive sums of cash to make the system work, only to walk away with no more than say £10 on top of your original bankroll.

When you think about it, this really isn’t enough to justify everything that takes place beforehand. Particularly given the fact that winning £10 is something you’ll probably do at some point anyway, playing roulette the normal way and enjoying yourself while doing so.

If the Martingale system (or any other strategy) was capable of generating sizeable wins in a short period of time, the rules of the game in their entirety would need to be changed. In its current form, the rules of roulette make it impossible to generate anything more than fractional wins with the Martingale system – if you strike it lucky before reaching the casino’s betting limit.

4.  It defeats the purpose of playing roulette

Last but not least, the single most important rule to follow when playing casino games of any kind is to have fun. Under no circumstances should any casino game (online or offline) ever be played with the sole intention of turning a profit. This is because in the vast majority of instances, turning a profit isn’t going to happen.

Gambling is all about playing for enjoyment, entertainment and escapism. In the event that you pocket a prize, it should be considered a welcome bonus and not something you can count on. This applies with roulette as it does all other casino games, meaning strategies like the Martingale betting system completely defeat the purpose of playing.

If the only thing that matters to you is turning a profit, set your sights on something else entirely. Casino gaming cannot be relied on to generate profits of any kind, irrespective of how strategic you are. As mentioned back at the start, the house always wins long term. Something to bear in mind, before attempting to cheat the system and tip the odds in your favour. 

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