The Martingale System

10 August 2023

By Royal Flushes

CINDY: Last issue we took a look at the playing system called the Paroli. That was a positive system to be used when you were ahead in order to, hopefully, get a little more lucky and get even more ahead.

ABBY: Today we call that betting system the parley. Does this system give you an edge over the house? No, it doesn’t. But no system can actually do that.

CINDY: Today we are going to look at a negative wagering system, perhaps the most deceiving and deadly of them all, the Martingale.

ABBY: Most relatively new casino players will use the Martingale, thinking they invented it.

CINDY: I thought I invented it.

ABBY: Me too.

CINDY: Okay, here is how the Martingale is played. Let us say, the game you are playing has a $10 minimum bet and a maximum bet of $1,000. You are a $10 player. You lose your first hand. You are now down $10. So now you double your bet to $20. If the bet wins, you get back your $10 loss and you also get a $10 win.

ABBY: People think this is an unbeatable system. It isn’t. Watch what happens if you hit a bad streak and such a streak will inevitably happen. I’ll make this in a list so you can see what might and ultimately will happen to you if you play the Martingale.

1. $10 bet – loss / down $10
2. $20 bet – loss / down $30
3. $40 bet – loss / down $70
4. $80 bet – loss / down $150
5. $160 bet – loss / down $310
6. $320 bet – loss / down $630
7. $640 bet – loss / down $1,270

CINDY: Your last turn, you bet $640 and now you are really down a lot of money. Think about it. You just bet $640 in order to win a mere $10. Your odds of winning and losing are the same for this bet as for your first bet, which was a mere $10. You are betting a lot of money for very little return. Is it worth it? Think about it some more. If you had just kept betting that $10, the losing streak of seven would have cost you a small $70.

ABBY: The house limit is $1,000 and you can’t bet your $1,280 to win that mere $10 – why would you want to do this anyway? You just got hammered. Your system is and will always be a bad, bad system.

CINDY: And don’t think you can trick this technique. Some players might make the $10 bet at blackjack then move for the second bet to another table, maybe mini-baccarat, and go for the $20. Then go to a third table for the $40 bet and on up they go.

ABBY: It’s the same thing. Those longer streaks will happen no matter what games you play. The Martingale will destroy you, eventually.

CINDY: There are many variations of the Martingale and they all stink. Yes, this is a negative system and its ultimate expression is a huge negative experience.

ABBY: Stay away.

CINDY: Yes, stay away.