Pros and Cons of the Martingale System
Gambling games like roulette do so much to prevent anyone from making profits off the game. This is the reason why, as a general rule, one must simply enjoy the game instead of aiming to make money from it. Doing otherwise can only result in frustration and disappointment.
Nevertheless, some people won't just budge from the idea of winning roulette and are actively aiming to make money from it. To achieve such clear goals, they employ betting systems that can purportedly help them do so. Among this is the very popular Martingale system.
The Martingale has rather simple betting rules. As usual, the player will start off with a small amount on an even money bet like black or red. This amount is doubled if the bet loses, and is decreased if it's lucky enough to win. As the bets are doubled, a single win can net twice the amount as the previous bet, which would mean recovery of all the lost bets plus a small profit on top of it.
This betting system has its own advantages and disadvantages however, and is neither fully effective nor suitable for everyone. Let's go on dissecting, shall we?
Pros
1. Very easy to follow.
With a very simple way of progressing, the Martingale is one easy strategy to learn and apply. It's not as complicated as Labouchere and Fibonacci, not as aggressive as Paroli, and definitely not as fallacious as L'Alembert. In other words, it is a betting system that even those new to roulette can easily master.
2. Sure profit in a single win.
As previously mentioned, a Martingale user will only need a single win to recuperate all the losses and get a modest profit. Winning a larger sum is also possible, provided that the player wins more than once.
Cons
1. A losing streak can ultimately lead to bankruptcy.
While one may be able to profit using the Martingale, it is also entirely possible for a player to have a long losing streak and not be able to recover the losses at all. Thus can this betting system lead you to bankruptcy as it can get you profit.
2. You'll always lose if zero comes up.
Martingale is almost always applied to even money bets and rarely to columns, dozens, or groups of single bets. In the case of even money bets, the wager loses if zero comes up. For those who do not know, even money bets include red, black, even numbers, odd numbers, low numbers (1-18), and high numbers (19-36) - zero is not in any of them as you can see.
3. You can't bet past the casino's set ceiling amount.
Modern casinos usually allow players to bet only up to the specified maximum amount. Now how can this be bad for Martingale users? Well, even if you have a lot of chips to spare, reaching the casino's ceiling amount and losing repeatedly would get you farther away from profit, as the strategy breaks at that point due to the fact that you can no longer increase your stakes.
So can we now conclude whether or not the Martingale is effective? Definitely not, as the system's effectiveness lie on no other factor than the player's luck.
Gambling games like roulette do so much to prevent anyone from making profits off the game. This is the reason why, as a general rule, one must simply enjoy the game instead of aiming to make money from it. Doing otherwise can only result in frustration and disappointment.
Nevertheless, some people won't just budge from the idea of winning roulette and are actively aiming to make money from it. To achieve such clear goals, they employ betting systems that can purportedly help them do so. Among this is the very popular Martingale system.
The Martingale has rather simple betting rules. As usual, the player will start off with a small amount on an even money bet like black or red. This amount is doubled if the bet loses, and is decreased if it's lucky enough to win. As the bets are doubled, a single win can net twice the amount as the previous bet, which would mean recovery of all the lost bets plus a small profit on top of it.
This betting system has its own advantages and disadvantages however, and is neither fully effective nor suitable for everyone. Let's go on dissecting, shall we?
Pros
1. Very easy to follow.
With a very simple way of progressing, the Martingale is one easy strategy to learn and apply. It's not as complicated as Labouchere and Fibonacci, not as aggressive as Paroli, and definitely not as fallacious as L'Alembert. In other words, it is a betting system that even those new to roulette can easily master.
2. Sure profit in a single win.
As previously mentioned, a Martingale user will only need a single win to recuperate all the losses and get a modest profit. Winning a larger sum is also possible, provided that the player wins more than once.
Cons
1. A losing streak can ultimately lead to bankruptcy.
While one may be able to profit using the Martingale, it is also entirely possible for a player to have a long losing streak and not be able to recover the losses at all. Thus can this betting system lead you to bankruptcy as it can get you profit.
2. You'll always lose if zero comes up.
Martingale is almost always applied to even money bets and rarely to columns, dozens, or groups of single bets. In the case of even money bets, the wager loses if zero comes up. For those who do not know, even money bets include red, black, even numbers, odd numbers, low numbers (1-18), and high numbers (19-36) - zero is not in any of them as you can see.
3. You can't bet past the casino's set ceiling amount.
Modern casinos usually allow players to bet only up to the specified maximum amount. Now how can this be bad for Martingale users? Well, even if you have a lot of chips to spare, reaching the casino's ceiling amount and losing repeatedly would get you farther away from profit, as the strategy breaks at that point due to the fact that you can no longer increase your stakes.
So can we now conclude whether or not the Martingale is effective? Definitely not, as the system's effectiveness lie on no other factor than the player's luck.
