Too Easy to Be True? Evaluating Martingale Strategy for Roulette

The Martingale system seems simple for Roulette, but it has one major flaw – fast losses can wipe out your money. This guide explains how and when it works and, most importantly, why Martingale often fails in real play.

• Double Your Way Up To The Top
• How Does the Martingale System Work?
• How Does the Martingale System Work in Roulette
• The Limits for Using Martingale Betting System for Roulette
• How far can you take Martingale Betting System Roulette Games: An Example
• A Roulette Martingale Simulation
• When the Martingale Roulette Strategy Fails
• Is the Roulette Martingale Strategy Worth It?

Double Your Way Up To The Top

• You place an initial wager on any of the outside bets. Make it small, possibly the minimum bet allowed at the table.
• If you have a successful round, you return to the initial bet value.
• If you have a losing round, you place a double bet.
• You repeat these steps.

The outside types of bets have odds ranging from 47.36% to 48.64%, depending on the online roulette variant. They have a payout of 1 to 1. Explicitly, you will bet either on high or low, black or red, and even or odd for the roulette Martingale system.

Congratulations, now you know the Martingale roulette strategy basics. Now, you may use it on the top online casinos UK. Plus, we will show you why this simple approach to the casino game actually works.

Some top European roulette casino online sites provide generous table limits, which may seem fit for applying the Martingale strategy. However, you should first read the Terms to ensure the casino allows betting systems. Before you play, ask Support if you’re permitted to use them.

What is the Roulette Martingale Strategy?

The general Martingale betting system for roulette is an applied version of a class of wagering strategies devised and popularised in 18th-century France.

The simplest version applies to a basic coin flipping game. The player would win if the coin fell on, say, heads and lose for tails.

A similar approach applies to the game of both land-based and online game options. In this case, understanding how wagering on such titles and why the system works are the subjects of a more in-depth discussion around online casino Roulette games. Thus, gamblers should acquaint themselves with the general rules, payouts, and versions available in the UK.

Does the Martingale System Work?

It theoretically does. The main concept behind it is that you will eventually win on a nigh 50% bet. Doubling, thus, will return you your lost bet and then some additional money. The secret is that you should have some funds to maintain your play and double when it is counterintuitive.

Can Martingale Beat the House Edge?

No. While it gives you an edge and has the potential to rack up a profit, the odds are still stacked against you. One reason is that the roulette Martingale system will apply to odds that fall slightly under 50% return odds.

Thus, the small percentage discrepancy will lead to a marginal deviation and subsequent losses even in a perfect environment.

Naturally, the best you can do is look for game tables with the odds as close to the standard ones as possible. One way of doing so is by going through the live casino reviews present in our wider platform assessments, as we dedicate extensive time and effort to analysing the live tables available on each website.

How Does the Martingale System Work?

The general Martingale roulette strategy plays on the expected value of the underlying probabilistic system governing the game.

In simple terms, the expected value describes the return you will get on average for a random variable across time. We take the random variable to be the result of each round. It has two ending states: a win, i.e., you have bet on the hit spot or a loss, or you missed the spot. The probabilities for the outcomes will vary depending on your bet.

The Outside Bets for Roulette

• You bet on evens or odds.
• You bet on the higher value half or the lower value half.
• You bet on the reds or the blacks.

Each version of these bets effectively cut the table in half. Thus, they come as close to having 50% odds of success as possible. The one outlier is the zero spot, which is not included on either side.

That is the short explanation for their marginally lower odds. Nonetheless, the applied Martingale method for roulette can still commence.

Your Returns When Not Using any Martingale Strategy for Roulette

We will pick betting on evens. The finite set of outcomes is {evens, odds, zero} with probabilities {Pr_evens= 48.64%, Pr_odds=48.64%, Pr_zero=2.72%}. The formula for the expected value for betting on evens is:

You will get this return when you do not change your bet amount. If you place a £1 wager on the evens at each turn, you will get back around £0.46 in the long run. You are essentially losing real money.

How the Martingale Roulette Strategy Changes Your Returns

The roulette Martingale system changes the situation entirely. We will start with a £1 bet and see how your potential win and net loss amounts evolve across ten games.

How Does the Martingale System Work in Roulette

The Conclusions for the Roulette Martingale Method

1. A win at each iteration will cover your cumulative losses and add the initial £1.
2. While this can seem to be the case in early rounds, the odds of a total loss diminish nearly exponentially as the iterations grow.
3. While the roulette-specific odds create a considerable 1.36% discrepancy for an evenly weighted game, the difference diminishes, too, to a negligible degree.
4. The Martingale roulette system is a sustainable one, but…
5. It will require you to have some expandable gambling budget to employ it.

Is a winning streak important for the roulette Martingale system?

No. Simply put, the rounds are independent, so there is no such thing as losing or winning a streak.

Since each round outcome will result independently of the previous hits, no singular or cumulative result will invalidate the general Martingale roulette strategy. As you may see from the table, each step’s potential win will cover your previous cumulative losses.

This will mean that no matter how long of a losing streak you are on, an eventual win will return all funds. However, there are some conditions for its functioning.

The Limits for Using Martingale Betting System for Roulette

• The minimum and maximum betting limits will cap how far you can take the steps of your Martingale betting system roulette play.
• Your available funds will also dictate how many loss iterations you can take before being unable to sustain the system.

Luckily, the simple structure of the roulette Martingale system allows you to calculate how far you can go quickly and easily.

How far can you take Martingale Betting System Roulette Games: An Example

• You join the game with £500 available for play.
• You set your initial bet at £1.
• Assuming the worst, you calculate how many consecutive losses you can take before not covering with another bet, respecting the roulette Martingale system.
• You could afford cumulative losses until the ninth iteration but could not cover the follow-up double bet.
• You can lose up to £127 and then attempt to recuperate your losses with a £256 bet. You have £117 in your pocket.
• If you win, you have successfully covered your losses and are on the plus.
• If you lose, you cannot keep this Martingale roulette strategy going.

No matter the off the top of your head roulette Martingale simulation result’s value, you should operate with clear loss limits as part of your effort to stay in control of your gambling.

Can you use the Martingale roulette system in an Online Casino?

The answer will depend on each casino’s stated terms and conditions. In most cases, all strategies, including the roulette Martingale system, are permitted. This is because no approach to the game will ever give you a winning approach.

The Martingale roulette strategy particularly falters because of the betting limits at each table. Therefore, your double bet approach can only exceed an established amount.

In short, the live Roulette casino will always be on the winning side in the long run, allowing its players to use the roulette Martingale system.

The Roulette Martingale Strategy and Bonus Use

When opting for bonuses, you must abide by the irregular play rules or risk losing your promotional items. And while most specifications address the use of bonus funds or rounds, some will be related directly to play methods and roulette-specific strategies. There are two types of conditions you should pay attention to:

• Those addressing the allowed bets for table games or roulette specifically. While the terms will generally prohibit you from putting equal, low, zero-margin, hedge or even-money bets, it could also bar outside betting altogether.
• The terms that relate to playing strategies. In most cases, the specifications will remain vague and just prohibit the use of sure-win strategies. At the same time, in some situations, the casino terms will directly mention the Martingale roulette strategy.

How to Find Out About Prohibited Practices

Luckily, you can learn about irregular and prohibited play practices before joining any one platform on the UK market. Each of our online casino reviews will contain a comprehensive guide to using the bonuses and roulette games available.

Additionally, there are some considerations you must take into account when picking a casino to use the Martingale roulette strategy in.

Which gambling site should you choose for online roulette Martingale betting

• Casinos with low minimum betting bounds, as well as higher maximum betting limits

Given the nearly exponential growth of the wagers required by the roulette Martingale system, this will allow you to face a longer losing streak.

• A platform that hosts multiple casino roulette tables

If you decide to use the technique on live dealer casinos, make sure that they are open for a considerable period. Lastly, make sure that the online casino has European version games, as these will be the best options around.

Although incredibly rare, you may be able to find no-zero games. These are ideal for Martingale method roulette play; however, they have reduced availability on the UK market. Naturally, pick a casino that does not specifically prohibit any kind of Martingale roulette strategy or has more lenient irregular play conditions.

• Check out the transaction policy

Not only will you require adding large sums initially, but by using the roulette Martingale strategy, your balances may rack up considerable value. You want to be able to withdraw the funds effectively and entirely.

A Roulette Martingale Simulation

We will complete a simple rundown of the system. We will consider that we have a £1000 budget, and the table limits are £5 and £20000.

The First Roulette Martingale Simulation

The following roulette Martingale simulation results are entirely randomised. Although it is anecdotal, this Martingale roulette simulation proves the concept behind the strategy.

As the UK gambler may guess, accumulating extra funds may take a while. It took us 13 games to accrue £30 over the funds we joined the game with. To better understand the slow process, we have the following Martingale roulette simulation table containing three different and random games.

Three Roulette Martingale Roulette Simulation Examples

When the Martingale Roulette Strategy Fails

Two aspects will contribute to this: the table limitations and your budget. Let us portray how it could happen. When we refer to the Martingale roulette strategy failing in cases where you cannot cover a string of lost bets.

Failure of the Martingale Roulette Simulation: Example 1

You pick a European table with £5 and £1000 as the minimum and maximum betting bounds for outside bets. We will consider that you have unlimited funds. This is what a losing streak would look like:

The roulette Martingale system can only go up to the seventh iteration since a subsequent loss at that point would entail that you place a double bet that exceeds the table limit.

Failure of the Martingale Roulette Simulation: Example 2

We will go the opposite way this time. Instead of the betting limits, we will consider starting from £1 and going as high as you like. Instead, you have a set budget of £5000 that you can consume but cannot exceed.

During a losing streak, the last sustainable double bet will be the eleventh, after which the roulette Martingale strategy would imply that you exceed your budget.

The Odds that The Martingale System for Roulette Fails

We assume you will go on a string of losses in both cases. This is the prerequisite for the roulette Martingale strategy to fail. Our readers from the UK may naturally wonder what the odds are that this will happen.

Calculate the Odds of The Roulette Martingale Method Failing

1. Assess the betting bounds and set a budget.
2. Based on these, calculate the number of losing iterations you can afford.
3. Check the game version you are playing.
4. Use the following formula to calculate the odds for the failure of the roulette Martingale system:

You must find the odds of losing on an outside bet per each round. It will depend on the total number of spots, especially the zeros.

The European version has 37 spots. Any outside bet will include 18 spots, leaving the remaining 19 to be losing spots. Thus, the probability that you win any one round will be 19/37. The American version differs by adding one more zero spot, having the loss probability equal to 20/38.

The Odds of 11-Round Losing Streak

Let’s say that at step 2 you found that you can afford up to 11 losing iterations. What will be the odds of that happening? We need to multiply the probabilities of eleven losing rounds to find out:

Odds of a Longer Losing Streak Decrease Fast

The odds of multiple consecutive wins decrease rapidly. While starting above the 1/2 probability, they converge to zero almost at an exponential rate.

What to Do If You’re on a Losing Streak

While losing or winning streaks are only illusions and cannot be formalised theoretically, losses are quite concrete. If you consider that you have lost a considerable amount, you should stop. We understand that Martingale’s whole idea is chasing a loss with a more daring bet, but in some instances, it will be better to walk away with something instead of nothing.

Self-limits are the most effective way of controlling your gambling. You should place clear bounds regarding how much you can lose, win and the period and rounds you allow yourself to spend and play.

Is the Roulette Martingale Strategy Worth It?

Pros

• The roulette Martingale system is simple to utilise and employ.
• It proves to be ideal for high-stakes players.
• The Martingale roulette strategy has probabilistic and statistical backing.
• The Martingale betting system for roulette is relatively safe.
• It can be applied to European and American versions, with only slight result deviations.

Cons

• The Martingale system for roulette is a certified winning strategy only when you have unlimited funds.
• You must find a roulette table with very permissive minimum and maximum betting limits.
• It is harder to learn and master than the Romanosky betting system.
• Some online casinos may stop you from using it while having active bonuses.