Can You Win Roulette With the Martingale Strategy?
The Martingale system is a popular progressive betting system used by roulette players both online and in land casinos. It is one of the riskiest systems you can use when playing live roulette, but with a little luck, you can win money using it.
In this Martingale roulette review, we’ll explain how the strategy works, its pros and cons, and some tips for using it at live roulette casinos. As you’ll see, it’s not a bulletproof roulette strategy, but it can help you in some situations.
What is the Martingale Roulette Strategy?
The Martingale betting system can be summed up simply as doubling down on losing even-money bets until you make back all your losses plus your original stake.
For this system to work, you have to make outside bets. You can only use the Martingale system on:
- Red or Black
- Odd or Even Numbers
- High or Low Numbers
Let’s look at an example. Make a £5 bet on red, and if you lose, bet £10 on red again. If you lose again, bet £20 on red. Let’s say you win the third bet in the sequence – how much have you won?
Because these bets pay even money (1:1), you make back all your previous losses plus the value of the original £5 stake. So, you’ve won £5. Go ahead and do the math for yourself. You’ll see that it works out.
Can I Win Roulette Every Time with the Martingale System?
Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a perfect roulette strategy. The Martingale system has its flaws, and you won’t be able to win every single time by using it.
There are three main obstacles to winning every time using the Martingale strategy.
- Losses grow exponentially quickly. If you start with a £5 bet and double it 10x, you’ll be wagering £5,120 just to try to win back your original £5 stake. Your bankroll can quickly disappear in front of your eyes using this strategy.
- Even if you did have an infinite bankroll, most live dealer roulette games have table limits. If you play high stakes roulette, table limits could be tens of thousands, but you’ll eventually hit them.
- The Martingale system does not change the house edge of roulette games. It’s a progressive betting system, but the house still has a mathematical advantage. If you play for long enough, the house will still make a 2.7% profit on European roulette no matter what roulette system you use.
Despite these flaws with the Martingale roulette system, lots of players still use it to claw back losses. It’s not impossible, but it’s unlikely that you’ll go on a 10-spin losing streak. That would be very bad luck, indeed. Therefore, you can use the Martingale system to your advantage in the short term, but it won’t work for you in the long term.
How to Use the Martingale Roulette Strategy at Live Casinos
Hopefully, you now have a good understanding of how this system works and its pros and cons. Now, it’s time for a step-by-step walkthrough of how to use it at the live roulette tables.
- Select one of our approved live roulette sites. We highly recommend Dream Vegas Casino. Register an account and claim your welcome bonus.
- Navigate to the live casino section and browse through the roulette games. Always play a European variant due to the single zero pocket and lower house edge that comes with it. We also recommend selecting a table with high limits since you’ll be using a progressive betting system.
- When you’re in the game, start by placing a small wager on an outside bet. We recommend trying a £5 spin on red or black.
- If your bet wins, happy days! If not, that’s ok; you can use the Martingale system to try to win it back. In this case, bet £10 on any outside bet. Remember, they all pay 1:1, so you don’t have to bet on the same colour again. You could even switch to betting on high/low or odd/even numbers.
- Keep doubling your bet size until you win. No matter what your original stake size, the math works the same way. On the final winning bet, you’ll cover all of your losses, plus you’ll win the value of your first bet. You could start with £1 or £100, and this would still work out the same way.
- It’s important to note that you should have a limit in mind to cut your losses. If lady luck abandons you and you do lose five bets in a row, think carefully about whether or not you can afford to keep doubling your bets. Gambling responsibly is always the number one priority.