The Martingale strategy is one oldest strategies in betting. You can use it in many different situations, not just roulette. Its just that its most popular in roulette.
The basic premise is to double up after every loss and bank any winnings. Bet on even money bets so the chances of winning is almost 50%. So, you can start with 1p, if you win, you bank 1p, if you lose, you bet 2p. If you win, that covers the loss on the first bet and 1p profit. If you lose, bet 4p. If you win, that covers the 3p loss on the previous bets and 1p profit. If that loses, bet 8p and so on.
Sound simple and will work in the short term. It does work in theory too but in practice, there are two things that stop you wiping out a casino using the strategy.
- Your bankroll. Unless you have unlimited money, you will run out. Starting at 1p and doubling up will cause the stakes to rise dramatically
- Bet limits. The casino will not take very large wagers. Even high stakes tables will have a max bet. Highest I’ve seen online is £90k
If you start at 1p though, you can probably play for months without hitting the limit or going bankrupt. Just that winning 1p at a time, you won’t get rich either. You’ll be able to have 14 bets before you hit the typical £100 limit on the 1p roulette table. The chances of losing 14 in a row is extremely slim 0.00886597% or 11279/1. Thats on the single run of 14 spins though, over the course of 10000 spins the chances are much higher but still not that high.
The best way to see how the bankroll changes is to use a simulator such as RouletteXtreme.
