THE MARTINGALE STRATEGY.
For those of you who have played in a casino, even just a few times, you have probably heard of the Martingale system, even if you didn’t know the word. It seems that this is the first concept that most players have and it is expressed in the following sentence, “I have to win sooner or later, right?”
The above sentence is indeed right, as well as also totally wrong when it comes to casino games, when using the Martingale strategy.
First, what is the Martingale betting system? It is very simple: the player doubles his bet if he loses a decision based on the hope of the phrase “I have to win sooner or later, right?” So according to this thinking it would look like this: the player bets 10 and loses; now he bets 20. If he wins the bet of 20, he has recovered his original loss of 10.
If he loses the bet of 20, the player will double that bet to 40. If he loses, he goes up to 80, and if he loses again, he goes up to 160, and so on up to 1280, but keep in mind that many casinos limit the maximum a player can bet. That 1280 may already be too high.
But wait a minute! That means that a bad streak of six, seven (or eight) consecutive losses can probably ruin the player. Yes!
Note: The Martingale system is much like the iceberg that sank the Titanic. Losing six to eight hands in a row seems like a real long shot; but the fact is that anyone who has played roulette has seen red or black, odd or even, high or low plays come up often many times. Casinos place a limit on the amount a person can bet, so that such relatively short odds can deter a player from using this strategy.
When a player reaches the upper end of the Martingale system, what does he seek to accomplish? Very little. Using the amounts above 1, even if the player bets 640 or 1280, he is trying to win only 10. This amount is too high to bet to win 10. At each step of the traditional Martingale strategy, the payoff will be only that 10. Non-traditional Martingale systems are even worse! If you must play with this strategy then stick to the original.
The Martingale betting technique can be summarized as a method of playing against losses without capitalizing on wins. It is a negative flow strategy, increasing bets because previous plays led to a loss. True, on many more occasions the player will win those 10, but it is inevitable that a devastating series of losses will occur. The saying “sooner or later I must win,” should be changed to “sooner or later I will be defeated.”
Note: Although a devastating loss is inevitable when using the full Martingale system, there will be many 10 wins along the way. Will they be enough to make up for the big loss? Not the answer.
