Roulette Strategy – How to Use Martingale’s Roulette Theory

Martingale is a class of betting strategies that became popular in 18th century France. The Martingale roulette system is a progression system on even money bets.

How to Use the Martingale Roulette Strategy

You can only use this system if you are playing European live roulette. It will not work on any other variations of the game.
Begin by placing a small bet. If you lose, double your bet. If you win, go back to your original bet.
Example: Begin by placing a bet of $1 on a red or black bet. If you lose you bet, on the next spin, place a bet of $2 on the same color. Make sure that you stick to the same color. If you lose again, then on the next spin place a bet of $4. If you lose again, then place an $8 bet on the next spin. If you win on that spin, you will have won $16. However, you will have spent $1 + $2 + $4 + $8 = $15. So, you will have come away with $1 more than when you started. No matter what amount you bet, you will always come away with $1 more than you started – if you win.

Once you have won, you begin the cycle again – starting with your first bet on one of the colors. You can increase you first bet at this stage, but you need to make sure that you have enough of a bankroll to keep doubling your bet until you win.

Theory behind the System

The theory behind the Martingale roulette system is that every win will pay for your losses up until that point. So, no matter how much you have to bet, as soon as you win, you will be ahead of the game. As there is a 50-50 chance of each color being spun per spin of the wheel, you should win in not too long a time frame.

Drawbacks on the Martingale Roulette System

The biggest drawback of this system is that you have to have a big bankroll. While the system will pay out if you win and will make up for previous losses, it does not ensure that you actually ever do win. You could find that you are on a losing streak and that you will lose your entire bankroll without winning anything. There is a lot of risk involved in this system.

Most players of the Martingale system will limit their chain to 8 bets. If you start with a $1 bet, this will mean that you need a $255 bankroll. You will bet 1-2-4-8-16-32-64-128. If you begin by betting $5, you will need a $1,275 bankroll.

You need to be aware of table limits. Particularly if you begin the cycle with a large bet, you may find that you reach the table limit before you have won. This will prevent you from doubling your bet and then when you do win, your win will not cover your losses.