Martingale is a very old and extremely simple betting system. It is based on the possibility for long-term sets of consecutive losses and those, who like the system, relies on the idea that any of the losing sets cannot actually last forever. For the purpose of Martingale betting system, usually, bets with odds of at least 2.00 are used. However, there are Martingale betting system versions with higher odds – for instance, those for a draw (where the odd is above 3.00 in 99% of the cases) – but they come with a significantly higher potential for a risk.
So, how does this betting system actually work? Every time you lose a single bet, you need to double your previous bet and to continue doing so until you win. The theory behind this practice says that eventually, when you get a winning bet slip, your final profit will fully cover your previous losses and as a bonus you get a win of one unit.
You start with a bet of one unit (let’s say, 1 EUR). If you win, you start with one unit once again. Though, if you lose, you double your bet (e.g. this time you bet 2 EUR). Every time you lose, you double your previous lost bet. When you get to the winning bet, no matter how soon this happens and how many lost bets you register, you will compensate all of your losses and you will end up with a win of one unit.
Although on theory, this system is bullet-proof and there is no way for it to get you a loss at the end, practically, there are few weak points here and you need to take them under consideration before accepting the Martingale betting approach.
At first, Martingale betting system requires a big enough bankroll (money that is provided specially for this type of bet sets). The system can be really faultless, but the following factors should be available:
You’ve got a limitless bankroll
You can find a bookie that will accept all of your bets
Of course, this is impossible. Even if you have all of the money on this world there is no such a place where all of these bets of yours will be accepted in case their amount reaches 1 million or more (theoretically, this is possible if your losing set lasts quite a lot of time). Bookmakers have limits for the maximum bet amount you can actually place on a single sports event. If your money runs out or the next necessary bet exceeds the bookie’s limit, you are going to lose a lot of money with no chances to get it back. This is why the system cannot be called riskless to the letter as many people actually still call it.
Martingale is more of a betting system type that gives an opportunity to the punter to control his losses. The strong point of this system is that through Martingale you can become a bettor, who mostly places losing bets, but at the end registers profits. However, you need to carefully consider the amount of money you can invest in this system, as well as to calculate the actual number of losing bets you have the right to place. Particularly, the chance to have 10 consecutive lost bets with an odd of 2.00 is quite small.
Martingale betting system in use – example
- You bet 1 EUR and you win. You continue placing bets of 1 EUR till you lose, when you have to start placing bets of 2 EUR.
- If you win your bet of 2 EUR, you get back to the bet of 1 EUR. Then, if you lose, you go on a bet of 4 EUR.
- If you win your bet of 4 EUR, you get back to the bet of 1 EUR. Then, if you lose, you go on a bet of 8 EUR.
- If you win your bet of 8 EUR, you get back to the bet of 1 EUR. Then, if you lose, you go on a bet of 16 EUR.
- If you win your bet of 16 EUR, you get back to the bet of 1 EUR. Then, if you lose, you go on a bet of 32 EUR.
- And so on and so on…
Following this example, let’s say you have found a sport event with 2.00 odd for a host win. You place a bet of 100 EUR on a host win, but the match ends up with a draw, so you lose. The next time you bet 200 EUR, once again on a sport event with 2.00 odd. If you bet is again losing, you need to bet 400 EUR and it should be again, on a bet with 2.00 odd. If you win one more time, your profit will be 800 EUR and up to now you have already bet 100 + 200 + 400 = 700 EUR. In other words, you have already won 100 EUR. This amount is equal to the amount you would have won if your first bet would have ended up winning. As a matter of fact, this is the main aim in Martingale betting system – to win every single bet of yours even if the success does not come from your very first attempt.