A Wild Martingale

12 November 2024

By Frank Scoblete

The Martingale is a favorite type of betting system used especially by relatively new players who often think they have invented the concept. I know I invented it in my first weekend of play many moons ago in Atlantic City.

It is a double-up after a loss method of play. You bet $10, lose and double to $20; lose that and double to $40 and double up after any more losses until you hit the house limit on how much they will allow you to bet. Then you have sunk, much like the mighty Titanic.

A player will have many little wins and one giant clobbering sooner or later but this reality has not stopped players from trying to perfect the idea. No one has as of yet.

Here is a letter I received from “Ronnie the Revelation” telling me of his new invention – the Wild Martingale. Let’s have a look:

RONNIE: Now Frank, I know you have written about the Martingale System in the past in your articles and books. Well, I have created a different type of Martingale that I think is better than the original one. Here it is.

I will use a low bet to do this but it can be any bet you want. Remember if you have a table minimum of $10, it usually goes up to $500 maximum or maybe a $1,000 maximum. A $25 minimum limit could be higher at the top and it usually is. So that’s something to remember.

You bet $10, lose it, and the regular Martingale has you doubling the bet to $20. You win it and you get that initial $10 back along with the rest of the win.

But this is not my system. I go from that $10 loss to $12 on the next bet. If I win that bet I do win that $10 but I only win $2 extra. Fine with me because I am ahead and my increase has not put me in a bad spot because I immediately go back down to $10.

What happens when I lose the $22 on the second bet? I am now down $32. I go to $34. If I win that I am again $2 ahead because I have won $2 more in this sequence than I have lost.

Now let us say I lose that $32, I go up to $62. This is the jump as I call it.

You get the picture I am only looking to survive early on, not hammer the heck out of the house. My big jump now has to do with the fact that I have had a somewhat long losing streak.

What do you think?

FRANK: You do go slow early on but you still take a risk later on since you are now betting much more money to win small amounts of money. No matter how you bet in a casino losing streaks will occur.

Of course, if you enjoy betting this way then that is up to you. I haven’t seen your Martingale in action so maybe some players will use it and swear by it as you do.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete’s books are available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, e-books, libraries, and bookstores.