The Martingale System is a fairly common strategy that is used in sports betting. You might have already used it without knowing it was named as such.
It was invented by a popular mathematician in the 18th century. Over the years, this betting system has emerged as a popular way to maximise a player’s winnings.
In the world of sports betting there are many opportunities to win fast and lose fast. By using this system, punters can beat the house and walk away with winnings.
In this betting tip, we will cover the ins and outs of this betting system, including its variations and the advantages and disadvantages of using the Martingale System.
What is the Martingale system?
The history of the Martingale system can be traced back to the 18th century when a French mathematician by name of Paul Pierre Levy invented it.
It was originally derived as an investment strategy, and not for minimising gambling losses.
According to the system, investment values will continue to increase even if one investment experiences successive losses. The system essentially provided a mathematical way to approach gaining money.
With the Martingale strategy, you double your next bet every time you lose the previous bet. Eventually, you will recover any losses.
The Martingale strategy is most effective in casino games or sports games that provide punters with even odds i.e. you can lose or win by equal measures.
This betting strategy can be used by anyone, no matter their gambling experience since you don’t need to apply any complex algorithms or formulas.
All you need to do is apply the basics of this system, which are:
- Increase (double) your bet with every loss, and you will eventually win back any previously lost money
- Start betting again with the initial amount
How the Martingale betting strategy works?
Now that you know what the Martingale system is all about, let’s take a look at how it works. To understand the concept of this system, we’ll take an example.
Let’s assume that you placed a bet of £2 on a coin toss – it is important to note that each flip of the coin is independent. This means that the outcome of the previous flips will not determine the next coin flip.
The probability of a coin landing on either heads or tails is essentially equal (50/50 chance).
When you place a bet on the coin flipping on “heads”, you decide to stick with that choice in every flip. If the coin turns up “tails” then you will lose.
So on the next flip, you need to double your bet to £4. If the coin flips a “head” then you will win £8, which is more than your original £2 + £4 (£6). However, if you lose again, you will need to double the next bet to £8 to have a chance of winning your initial stakes back.
If you keep doing this, according to the Martingale system you will eventually win at some point. But you have to have deep pockets to keep going until you do win.
In the end, you will be left with a winning profit that is equal to the amount put at stake in the first round. In the example above this would be £2.
The Martingale betting system is cyclic. This means that after you win back your money, you can place a new bet with the original amount (in this case £2) to start betting again.
Martingale Strategy Advantages
The biggest advantage of the Martingale strategy is the simplicity of this system.
You do not have to be a maths wizard or a genius to use this strategy in sports betting. In fact, you might have used this method for betting many times before without knowing that it is a well-known betting strategy.
Bettors can apply this to any kind of bet, as the principles of betting essentially remain the same.
If you are willing to wager a lot of money, and the sportsbook or online casino does not have a betting limit, you can use this system to win money consistently. However, in the real world, always remember to gamble responsibly and if you do use this strategy, start with small bets.
Here is an overview of the advantages of using the Martingale strategy:
- Can be remembered easily
- Can use it with any game that comes with a 50/50 chance of winning
- Easy to apply in a variety of betting scenarios
- It isn’t illegal to use this strategy, even though many sportsbooks do not appreciate customers using it
- Minimised large one-time losses
- Larger potential wins
- Can make large profits in the short term
- It can be enjoyable to play with the strategy
Martingale Strategy Disadvantages
With any gambling activity, there is always a high chance that you can end up losing. This is the case with the Martingale system too.
Punters who employ this strategy can end up losing large amounts of money in the process. So they have to have enough “bottle” and enough money to keep going with the system.
The Martingale system comes with the following risks:
- It is possible that you can run out of money quickly, sometimes before you get a chance to recover your losses. High returns are possible, but it can become difficult to reach that stage.
- You might end up reaching the betting limits for the casino sites (or sportsbook limit) before winning big. When you reach the set limit, you would not be able to double your bets any further. This means that you will not be able to recover the losses from previous wagers.
Other disadvantages of using the Martingale system include:
- It leads to high-stakes betting fairly quickly
- Requires large sums of money since you will be doubling the bets after every loss
- If any other odds apart from evens have to be calculated, the system can get difficult to understand
- Some sportsbooks have rules (in the T&Cs) to stop punters from using such systems as they can be very profitable
Martingale System Variations
Given the popularity of the Martingale betting systems, many variations of this strategy have emerged over the years. These different martingale strategies can be used to make use of numerous casino promotions.
Mini Martingale
The Mini Martingale can be a practical method for long-term winnings, as this variation of the strategy can help punters prevent major losses.
It essentially prevents punters from doubling their stake, which allows them to spread out their bankroll. If bettors happen to get into a losing streak that goes on for quite a while, the mini Martingale will prevent them from emptying their entire bankroll in one sitting.
By minimising the number of double-down wagers, punters are able to prevent big losses.
If this system is used the correct way and with patience, bettors can gain long-term profits, even if they will be a little smaller.
Reverse Martingale
The Reverse Martingale system states that you should double down your stake after getting some wins.
It “reverses” the strategy used in the Martingale system, in which you double down the stake after every loss.
This strategy is a good way of preventing significant losses.
However, it is important to know when to stop if you want to use this strategy successfully. It can get hard to stop sometimes, especially if you are on a winning streak.
If you end up with one losing bet, all your profits could get wiped out. So it is important not to be greedy with your wagers.
One suggestion by other players is that it is a good idea to keep your betting runs to 3 or 4 games, after which you can start again.
Grand Martingale
The Grand Martingale betting strategy essentially employs the same principle as the one used in the Martingale strategy. The only difference is that it states that an additional unit should be added after losing bets.
For example, if you start with a £5 bet, which then losses, with the Martingale system, you would double this to £10. But with the Grand Martingale system, you would double this and add a single unit (initial bet of £5), so this wager would become £25.
If that is then lost, it would be doubled to £50 (+ £5 single unit) = £55 bet.
If you end up winning a bet, the Grand Martingale system will provide you with more profits as compared to the basic Martingale strategy.
The only downside is that you can run out of money fairly quickly. Remember to prepare for long gameplay and remain optimistic.
Can I win with the Martingale System?
Now you may be wondering about the effectiveness of the Martingale system. The truth is, that the Martingale strategy can be great for people who are just getting into betting.
This is because you don’t need to understand the ins and outs of the betting market to try out this strategy.
If you stick to betting on a casino game and markets with even odds, it can be a great way to maximise your wins. You can also win big since you are essentially doubling down your bet each time.
It’s also quite fun to try out the Martingale systems as opposed to the more complex strategies like the D’Alembert system.
