| Pick up any Roulette book and you're bound to read | | | | In essence, you'll be doubling your wager after every |
| about the Martingale system. It's a simple system that's | | | | loss. For instance, let's say you wagered $1 and lost. |
| been in use for eons. In fact, many other games | | | | Your next wager on Red would be $2. Lose that and |
| besides Roulette use this system as well. | | | | you'll bet $4 next time. It's an easy system to play, but |
| For the most part, the Martingale system was | | | | you need to be careful. If you use a large progression |
| designed for even-money bets, but the premise can | | | | chain and lose it all, you'll be playing for ages to recoup |
| be applied to just about anything. Today, we'll look at | | | | the cash. |
| the Martingale betting system from an even-money | | | | Here's an example of an 8-step ladder. |
| Roulette perspective. | | | | Bet One: $1 |
| Technically, this system, which is a series of bet | | | | Bet Two: $2 |
| progressions, can go on forever, but that would be | | | | Bet Three: $4 |
| foolish. Normally, system bettors will limit their | | | | Bet Four: $8 |
| progressions to eight or fewer. And when we go over | | | | Bet Five: $16 |
| the progressions, you'll see why. | | | | Bet Six: $32 |
| Is betting the Martingale way foolish? Some say so. | | | | Bet Seven: $64 |
| That's something you'll have to decide for yourself. I've | | | | Bet Eight: $128 |
| seen it work and I've seen it fail. But heck, everything | | | | As you can see, when bet eight is on the table, there's |
| fails. The ticket is to win more than you lose. And that's | | | | $128 in action. If bet eight loses, you're out just over |
| why so many try the Martingale way. It's not a way to | | | | $250-all to win $1. And that's why some think this is a |
| quick riches, but it sure can be hard to lose it all | | | | foolish system. |
| sometimes. | | | | However, let's play the odds. The probability of getting |
| I told you we'd look at this from a Roulette pair of | | | | 8 losses in a row on a close to 50/50 bet is very low. |
| eyes, so let's imagine that you've just walked up to the | | | | Still, it does happen. |
| Roulette table or loading one up online. We'll keep this | | | | Want to boost your odds? Wait for the other side to |
| simple. You're a $1 bettor. Easy enough right? Now, | | | | come out 2-3 times in a row then bet the opposite. It |
| we're going to play Red. | | | | would then take 10-11 losers in a row to clean out the |
| Your first wager on Red would be $1. If you win, your | | | | system. |
| next wager on Red is also $1. In other words, you | | | | Will Win is a professional gambler, ex casino dealer |
| never bet more than a buck after a win. Now, when | | | | and author. |
| you lose, that's another story. | | | | |