Although the house always has
an advantage no matter what type of wager a player make,
roulette connoisseurs have over the years tried to come up with
systems to beat the casino. Many of these betting systems
involve wagers giving even-money payout; odd-even, high-low and
black-red, and the most famous is called the Martingale System.
How does the Martingale System
Work?
The system is designed for
wagers that have 50 % chance of winning, for example a coin toss
or a black-red bet in roulette (because of the green slots on a
roulette wheel the chance of winning is actually 47.37 % and not
50 %.)
The basic idea of the
Martingale System is that a player doubles his bet after every
lost wager. If the first bet is $5 on red, and the ball lands in
a black or green pocket, the player then bets $10. If the next
spin also has the wrong outcome, the player doubles the bet
again. This continues until the player wins.
When the player wins, he will
have gained the amount of his first wager. Let's say the player
first lost $5 and then lost $10, but won when he bet $20. His
total wagers are $35, but his winnings are $40
(including the
bets) - in other words, a profit of $5.
This might seem to be a
waterproof system - and it is - under certain conditions:
The player must have (almost)
unlimited funds, because in the long run, there will be abnormal
streaks. Say that a player starts his Martingale session with a
$5 wager and loses 10 bets in a row. He must then bet $5,120 to
make a $5 profit. Obviously this won't happen that often, but
when it does, the player must have a large bankroll.
Unfortunately, most casinos
have a max-bet limit, so a player can't double the bets as many
times as he wants. Say that the max bet is $1,000. A player who
starts a Martingale session with betting $5 is in deep trouble
if he looses the 8th bet ($640). He is not allowed to double the
last lost wager and the system is ruined.
Conclusion
The Martingale System works if
the player has an unlimited bankroll, and the casino doesn't
have a betting limit. |
