The Martingale is one of the most well-known strategies for betting and investments alike. Introduced by French mathematician Paul Pierre Levy in 1934, the Martingale is an interesting and easy to implement strategy focusing on loss mitigation. While in theory it does seem to be the perfect strategy, it does suffer a few minor drawbacks which will be discussed below.
How To Use The Martingale System
To implement the Martingale is easy. Just follow a few simple steps, and you will have it down to an art. First thing you will want to do is decide on a base number, this will be the place you always start betting from. Stick to even numbers and possibly smaller sums for your initial bet, as this will make the doubling process much easier if you need to do it a few times over. The basic rules are simple.
- On losing, always double your previous bet.
- On winning, return to the original base amount.
From this, you can see why this is focused on loss mitigation. When doubling, the idea is to win back everything we have lost in the previous bet, plus one instance of the initial bet in profit. All the above is based on even money bets, while even money is ideal for tracking in the Martingale, it is not required as you can calculate your losses in your current cycle and use that plus one original base unit as your next bet. Even money does make the tracking easier, but is not necessary, provided you are mitigating the loss.
Let’s look at an example of the Martingale system in action, using a $1 as a base bet with a $100 bankroll on even money bets.
Bet 1, $1 – Loose
Bet 2, $2 – Loose
Bet 3, $4 – Loose
Bet 4, $8 – Loose
Bet 5, $16 – Win
After this fifth bet, we finally saw a win and this one win resulted in the return of all of your lost money and an additional profit of $1. This works out to be a fantastically effective strategy in theory.
The Pros And Cons
Like any strategy, Martingale has positive and negative attributes. While the negative attributes can be outweighed by good knowledge and well-thought-out bets, it is good to know both sides of the Martingale, as information will be your key to winning.
Pros
- Loss mitigation – If done correctly, there should never be a losing day when using the Martingale. All losses should be outweighed by the wins.
- Speed – Very few systems stand to make profit as quickly as the Martingale. Provided you have the required research to frequently make bets, the Martingale profit is fantastic.
- Martingale can be implemented on virtually any bet. NHL, FIFA or even at your local casino
Cons
- Bankroll – If your research is not as accurate as you would have hoped, a few losing bets can add up quickly to a large sum of money.
- Gambler’s fallacy – It’s important to keep in mind that no two bets are directly liked. Don’t leave it up to chance, do the best research that you can.