Last Updated on 9 November 2025 by Nicholas Lim
A martingale is a method of betting strategies that goes back from the 18th century in France. The system is manly used in Roulette but can be implemented on any bet with the winning odds of 50%. You may use it simple strategy was designed for a game in which the player wins his stake if a coin comes up heads, and loses it if the coin comes up tails.
Martingale system
Martingale system is a little sophisticated, the system is about 200 years old, and this is done by doubling the player’s bet every time he loses. Oftentimes the player assumes that he will win the next round. The goal of the player is to get back all his money.
Of all gambling system the martingale is the simplest and the most popular among any gambling system. You can use the martingale system with many kinds of casino games worldwide. But martingale is often regarded on even money wagering especially on the roulette table. This martingale system is also known as the progressive type of system since the amount of the player’s stakes grows after some losses. Money is doubled until the player wins after losing.
The martingale system goes like this, the player will bet 1 unit of money, if he loses he will bet 2 units. If the player loses again he will bet 4 units and so on and so forth. This process of betting continues on until the player wins. If the player wins he will get all his money back plus an additional 1 unit. After this cycle he will again repeat the same procedure all over again.
This is not a simple betting procedure; the player should be prepared because his money will disappear in a very short period of time. This martingale system is best practiced in the roulette game, but then of course you can use this in a blackjack game.
Super Martingale System
This system progression is with the same pattern as with the martingale system. The betting procedure is the same but the player will then add an additional unit with every bet.
The difference between martingale and super martingale:
The betting progression pattern for martingale- 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and so on
The betting progression pattern for super martingale- 1, 3, 7, 15, 31, 63 and so on
The player will stop if he won his bet back. After the player wins, he will repeat the same procedure from the very beginning. Again just like in martingale, the system works best at roulette. Nevertheless, as a player, you still have to plan your own betting procedure where you can know how far you can go and you can set your own limit of how much you are willing to wager.
Nonetheless, casinos are wise these days. Casinos have set limit on how often the player can double his bet. They would want to eliminate this type of betting system. I suggest that if you are up to doing this progressive betting you must have spare bankroll to support your losses.
At what point the roulette martingale betting system brakes?
The Martingale system breaks at several critical points. Let me walk you through exactly when and why it fails:
Table Limits
This is the most common breaking point. Most casinos have betting limits like:
- Minimum bet: SGD10
- Maximum bet: SGD500-5,000
Example breakdown:
Bet 1: SGD10 (lose)
Bet 2: SGD20 (lose)
Bet 3: SGD40 (lose)
Bet 4: SGD80 (lose)
Bet 5: SGD160 (lose)
Bet 6: SGD320 (lose)
Bet 7: SGD640 (lose) ← Exceeds SGD500 table max
After just 6-7 consecutive losses, you hit the table limit and can’t double anymore. You’ve now lost SGD630 and can’t recover it with the system.
Bankroll Exhaustion
Even without table limits, you run out of money surprisingly fast:
Starting with SGD10 bets, here’s what you need:
- 10 losses in a row = SGD10,240 total investment needed
- 15 losses in a row = SGD327,680 total needed
- 20 losses in a row = SGD10,485,750 total needed
Most players simply don’t have enough money to survive a moderate losing streak.
Probability Reality
The chances of losing streaks are more common than people think:
- 5 losses in a row: ~2.4% chance (happens roughly 1 in 42 attempts)
- 10 losses in a row: ~0.06% chance (happens roughly 1 in 1,667 attempts)
- Even a single session of 100-200 spins has a meaningful chance of producing a catastrophic streak
The Mathematical Truth
The system breaks because:
- Risk vs. Reward is terrible: You’re risking exponentially increasing amounts to win your original small bet
- House edge persists: Each spin still has the same ~2.7% (European) or 5.26% (American) house edge
- Expected value: You’re just making more negative-expectation bets faster
Real-World Example
With a SGD1,000 bankroll and SGD5 starting bets:
- You can survive 7 consecutive losses (SGD5+SGD10+SGD20+SGD40+SGD80+SGD160+SGD320 = SGD635)
- The 8th bet would need to be SGD640, exceeding your remaining bankroll
- A 7-loss streak happens roughly every 1 in 170 attempts on even-money bets
The Martingale always breaks. It’s just a question of whether you hit table limits first, run out of money first, or get unlucky with timing. The system mathematically cannot overcome the house edge.
Why there are no famous Martingale wins:
- The math doesn’t work long-term – While you can win in the short term, the system is guaranteed to fail eventually due to table limits and finite bankrolls. Casinos have maximum bet limits specifically to prevent Martingale systems from working.
- Catastrophic losses are inevitable – A typical losing streak of 8-10 bets (which happens more often than people think) can turn a SGD10 initial bet into needing to wager SGD2,560-5,120 on the next spin. Most players hit the table limit or run out of money before recovering.
- Expected value remains negative – The house edge doesn’t change. On European roulette (2.7% house edge) or American roulette (5.26% house edge), every bet has negative expected value regardless of the betting system used.
- Survivorship bias – People who win using Martingale in the short term rarely become “famous” for it, while those who lose catastrophically often don’t publicize their losses.
The Martingale is perhaps the most well-known example of the gambler’s betting system – the mistaken belief that you can overcome house edge with a betting pattern. Mathematicians and statisticians universally agree it’s not a winning strategy over time.
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