The Roulette Martingale Explained

Roulette Martingale works on the principle that a player can hypothetically increase their chances of winning in the short term by betting big to win small amounts. The Martingale system is most commonly used on outside bets, or even chance betting. These are bets such as Red/Black, Odd/Even, and 1-18/19-36. If you follow the Martingale system then you may start with a bet of 1 on Reds, if it loses you double it to 2, then 4, then 8 and so on. Be aware, that the size of the bets increases very quickly, after just 14 bets you will be betting 8192 on a spin (luckily there are Roulette tables that will allow you to bet as little as £0.01). In general, it is worth starting with the lowest possible bet allowed by the table.

Following this system, you would keep betting until you win. Then you would return to your original bet of £1 for the next round. Remember, you can make it more interesting by changing what you are betting on, but you need to make sure that you are placing bets that have the same odds.

It is essential to remember how quickly your losses can add up. If you start with a bet of £1 and lose ten bets in a row then you have already made loses of £1023. Then, when you win, your profit will be just £1. This is what is meant by betting big to win small.

Another trap that players fall into is the belief that it is highly unlikely to lose 10 Red or Black bets in a row. However, if you look at the odds then you will realise that it really isn’t that unlikely. If you are betting on Black on a European Roulette table there is a 1 in 784 chance that you will not win for ten spins in a row. Another detail that can’t be ignored is the presence of the green 0, you could have a run of four Reds, a Zero and then five more Reds, leaving you without a Black.
If these odds are starting to put you off then don’t worry. You need to remember that the odds at the start are 1 in 784 but they are very quickly reduced. On the first spin there is a 1 in 784 chance of not hitting a Black for ten spins, but after the fifth spin the odds are dramatically reduced as you have already had five losing spins. That said, long streaks of the same colour do occur.

By changing the method slightly, it is possible to use the Martingale on the Dozens and Column bets. Each of these bets covers 12 numbers and will normally payout at 2:1, so if you bet 1 you win 3. To use the Martingale on these bets you need to change the progression slightly so it looks like this:
1 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 6 – 9 – 14 – 21 – 31 – 47 – 70 – 105 – 158 – 237 – 355.

Martingale needs to be changed as the maths is not as straightforward as it is for the even payout bets. As a result, the profits from a win vary between 1 and 2 depending on where you are in the progression. Here is a small table showing you the first few stages:

Bet Placed Total Loss Profit if Bet Wins
1 1 2
1 2 1
2 4 2
3 7 2
4 11 1

With this system, after fifteen consecutive losses your total loss would be 709 and your next bet would need to be 355 to cover the previous losses. That means that your total bet would need to be 1064, again a very large bet for something that covers less than a third of the table.

Once again, it sounds like there must be a very small chance of fifteen spins in a row without a Dozen or Column bet winning, but the odds are surprisingly short. Playing on a European Roulette table the odds are 1 in 358.

Another variation is to use Martingale  on double Dozen or Column bets, in other words you bet on two Dozens or two Columns simultaneously. This would use the bet progression: 1 – 3 – 9 – 27 – 81- 243. You need to place the same bet on both Dozens or both Columns at the same time.

This variation covers over half of the Roulette wheel so the player could potentially win more than half of his/her bets. The problem is the rate at which the size of bets increase. You are tripling your bet after each loss so after just six bets you will have lost 728. On a European Roulette table there is a 1 in 531 chance of placing six losing bets in a row. Once again, the use of Martingale very much depends on your bankroll and how much you can afford to lose.

Whatever type of bet you are placing, when using the Martingale you have to be aware of table limits. All Roulette games have table limits and once you have reached the maximum bet you can no longer follow the progression. You have to keep this in mind when choosing your starting bet, as you will need to leave yourself space to keep doubling in the event of a losing streak.

Martingale can also be adapted to work with inside bets. The progressions are of course different and the odds become extremely complicated. However, here is a table of the different bet types and the progression that you should use.

Bet Type Progression
Line Bet 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 3 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 10 – 12 – 14 – 17 – 21 – 25 – 30
Corner Bet 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 3 – 3 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 12 – 14 – 16 – 18 – 20 – 23
Three Number Bet 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 4 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 5 – 6 – 6 – 7 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12 – 13 – 14 – 15 – 16
Split Bet 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 4 – 4 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 5 – 5 – 6 – 6 – 6 – 7 – 7 – 8 – 8 – 9 – 9 – 10 – 10 – 11
Single Number 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 4 – 4 – 4 – 4 – 4 – 4 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 5 – 5 – 5 – 5 – 5 – 5 – 6 – 6 – 6 – 6 – 6 – 6