The Martingale betting strategy involves doubling your wager after every losing bet. When you finally win, you’ll profit to the tune of at least your first bet.
Sounds like a winning system, but is it? Stick around as I break down this popular betting method, show you how to use it and explain why I avoid it like the plague!
What Is the Martingale Betting Strategy?
The Martingale betting strategy has been around since the 18th century. Mathematicians were trying to figure out how to profit from a game with even odds like a coin toss and stumbled upon this strategy. The Martingale system strategy is actually used in other fields, as well, such as the stock market, but is more widely known for use in betting.
To use the Martingale betting strategy, you simply double your stake after every losing bet until you win one. As long as the odds are 2.00 or more, you’ll end up in profit at least the amount of your initial stake.
For example, you bet £10 on Arsenal to beat Chelsea, but Chelsea wins. Then you bet £20 on West Ham to triumph over Fulham, but the Cottagers are too strong. Finally, your luck changes when you bet £40 on total goals being over 3, and you receive £80 in total and £10 profit after you deduct all of your previous stakes (£10 + £20 + £40).
How to Use the Martingale Betting Strategy?
The Martingale betting strategy was originally designed for casino games with odds as close to 50/50 as possible, such as blackjack, baccarat and roulette. So, to adapt the strategy to sports betting, ideally, you need to find markets that pay 2.00, have two potential outcomes and implied probability as close to 50% as possible. Handicap, totals and over/under markets are your best bet.
Once you’ve found a suitable bet type, for example, total number of goals for Man City vs Liverpool, you need to select your stake. Your stake should be high enough that if you win, it means something, but at the same time, you should be able to double it five times in case you are on a losing streak. I recommend starting with £10.
Now you place your bet and hope you win. If you pick a winner, you collect your £10 and go on your merry way. If your bet lost, you repeat the process, but this time with £20. You continue doubling your stake until you win a bet, almost like constantly betting on red on the roulette wheel.
Does the Martingale Betting Strategy Work?
The Martingale betting strategy only works in theory, as you need unlimited money and a bookie that will continue to take your bets as your stakes skyrocket. Even though the Martingale strategy may work over the short term, eventually, you’ll go through a nasty losing streak and blow through your entire bankroll or hit the bookie’s betting limits.
For example, your chance of losing ten 50/50 bets in a row is 1 in 1000, so if you’re a frequent bettor, this is bound to happen. If your initial bet is £100 and you follow the Martingale strategy and lose 10 in a row, to get even and net a small £100 profit, your 11th bet would be an insane £204,800!
But what if you just lower your initial stake to £1 instead of £100? That’s the other issue with the Martingale strategy: while starting with a lower bet reduces your chance of running out of money, it also caps your potential profit. To win anything respectable using the Martingale strategy, you need to start with a decent stake. Unfortunately, this also dooms you to wrecking your bankroll when you eventually suffer a lengthy losing streak. Essentially, the Martingale system works if you win the EuroMillions and can afford heavy, heavy losses.
Pros & Cons of Martingale Betting
Going on a losing streak and watching your bankroll dwindle can be psychological torture. The Martingale strategy is so alluring because you can potentially win back all your losses with a single bet. The strategy is incredibly easy to follow as you just double your stake until you win.
Unfortunately, while in theory, it sounds like a good idea, the Martingale strategy just isn’t profitable in the real world. You need huge pockets and a crazy bookie who will take £1,000,000+ bets. But even then, it’s not a good idea because, after a tough losing streak, you’ll end up betting millions of pounds just to win a few hundred; the risk-reward ratio becomes seriously skewed!
Pros
- Fast way to recover losses
- Very simple betting system and intuitive strategy
- Works in theory
Cons
- It’s a losing strategy over the long-term
- The risk-reward ratio is not in your favour
- You need deep pockets
- If a bookie refuses to take your bet, you’re in serious trouble
Is the Martingale System Legal?
The Martingale system is 100% legal, in fact, bookies are more than happy when punters use this strategy. However, bookmakers have betting limits and reserve the right to refuse any action. So you could find yourself in a situation where you need to make a huge bet to get even and the bookie suddenly turns around and refuses to take your action.
If a bookie doesn’t accept your wager, this has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the Martingale strategy. It has to do with their own risk policies where they don’t want too much or too little money on a particular outcome.
What Is the Reverse Martingale Betting Strategy?
The reverse Martingale strategy, also referred to as the anti Martingale strategy, is the opposite of the classic betting system. Instead of doubling your stake after a loss, you only double your stake after winning. For example, if you bet £20 on Aston Villa to beat Liverpool and you win £40, you then bet £40 on Arsenal to beat Chelsea. You repeat the process until you decide to take profit or lose, and then return to betting your initial stake.
The logic behind this strategy is you’re using winnings and the bookie’s money to fund your bets, so you can afford to be aggressive. Unfortunately, this logic doesn’t hold up because winnings are required to balance out losses. So you can’t treat won money as free cash. It is like playing at the roulette table in sports betting.
Just like the classic version, the reverse Martingale system is also a losing strategy because a single losing bet instantly wipes out all your profit. If you win four bets in a row and get a bad beat on your fifth wager, you’re back to square one.
Conclusion
While it may be tempting to YOLO and keep doubling your stake until you win, it’s not a wise idea and will end in tears. At it’s heart, the Martingale strategy involves doubling down on losing bets. You’re better off sticking to flat betting, as they say, slow and steady wins the race!
FAQs
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Does Martingale work in sports betting?Martingale can work in sports betting when you find two-way markets which pay 2.00 and have close to 50% implied probability. However, variance will ultimately catch up with you, and you’ll run out of money or hit the bookie’s betting limits.
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Is the Martingale betting system legal?The Martingale betting system is legal. However, bookies have betting limits and max payouts, typically between £100,000 and £1,000,000 per bet, which prevent you from continuing to double your stake over and over again.
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Is there a better strategy than Martingale in sports betting?Professional sports bettors don’t use the Martingale system. Instead, they take advantage of odds differences between bookmakers, known as arbitraging, or simply handicap events better than bookies and wager when the odds are in their favour, known as value betting.
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Can Martingale in sports betting ever work?
The Martingale in sports betting can work over the short term. The problem is every time you use it, you’re tempting fate. Eventually, you’ll go on a huge losing streak and lose your entire bankroll.
