Does The Martingale Betting Strategy Work?
The Martingale strategy is one of the simplest and most popular betting systems out there.
The idea? Double your bet after every loss so that when you eventually win, you recover everything you’ve lost—plus a little extra. Sounds foolproof, right? Not so fast.
In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how the Martingale works, test it out myself (spoiler: I end up in the red), and give you tips on how to use it responsibly.
What Is The Martingale Strategy?
The Martingale betting strategy has been around for centuries and can be traced back to 18th-century France.
It’s a straightforward betting system designed for even-money bets—wagers where the probability of winning is nearly 50%, such as red or black in roulette.
The concept is simple:
- You start with a base bet (e.g., $1).
- You double your bet after every loss.
- When you win, go back to the original bet size.
The goal? To recover all prior losses and make a small profit with a single win.
At first glance, it seems infallible—how could you not win eventually? But as you’ll see, the strategy is risky.
Why Does The Martingale Strategy Not Work?
The strategy’s Achilles’ heel lies in the rapid escalation of bets.
While doubling after each loss might sound manageable, losing streaks can quickly drain your bankroll or hit table betting limits before you can recover. Here’s why it’s risky:
- Bets Can Grow Quickly: A few losses in a row can result in massive wagers. For example, starting with $1, a 6-loss streak means your next bet would be $64.
- Your Bankroll Is (Probably) Limited: Even with a modest starting bet, consecutive losses can deplete your bankroll faster than anticipated. Unless you’re Drake, those losses will cost you over time.
- Some Games Have Betting Limits: Many games have maximum bet limits, effectively capping your ability to double your bets infinitely. It’s a good thing, actually.
The key takeaway? The Martingale strategy doesn’t guarantee wins—it’s simply a method of managing bets with a high-risk, high-reward mindset. The Anti-Martingale strategy is a much safer option if you don’t fancy huge progressions.
How to Use The Martingale Strategy Responsibly
I realize the above probably isn’t enough to convince you, and that’s fine! I’ll be happy if, at the very minimum, this guide just teaches you how to use the strategy responsibly.
Here’s my two cents:
- Set a Strict Bankroll Limit: Before you start, decide how much you’re willing to lose. Stick to it, no matter what.
- Use Stop Loss and Stop Win Limits: Most games have loss and win limits, so be sure to use them.
- Don’t Chase Losses: Accept that losing streaks happen. Gambling is meant to be fun, not stressful.
- Play Low-Stakes Games: A smaller starting bet can stretch your bankroll and reduce the risk of major losses.
Testing the Martingale Strategy on Stake’s Dice
For this guide, I decided to test the Martingale strategy in Stake’s in-house Dice game and BC.Game’s original crash game.
This crypto casino favorite is simple yet versatile—you need to guess whether the dice roll will land over or under a chosen number.
Why Stake’s Dice Game Works for Martingale
- Even-Money Bets: You can set the odds to create a 50/50 chance.
- Autobetting Features: Stake allows you to automate the doubling process, making it easy to use Martingale.
My Setup
- Bankroll: $20
- Starting Bet: $1
- Risk Level: Medium (48% win chance)
- Auto Bet Settings: Double bet on loss (+100% adjustment); reset to $1 on win; stop on loss of $20.
My Test
Here’s how it went:
- First Roll: I bet $1, guessed “over,” lost. Bankroll: $19.
- Second Roll: I bet $2, guessed “under,” lost. Bankroll: $17.
- Third Roll: I bet $4, guessed “over,” lost. Bankroll: $13.
- Fourth Roll: I bet $8, guessed “over,” won. Bankroll: $21.
My last win recouped my prior losses, with a $1 profit. However, after repeating this cycle a few times, I hit a streak of losses that depleted my $20 starting bankroll.
Unfortunately, I ended up closing my Stake tab with nothing, except for some:
Lessons Learned
- Short-Term Wins Are Possible: Martingale can recover losses in the short term.
- Long-Term Risk Is High: Extended play makes a losing streak almost inevitable.
Testing the Martingale Strategy in Crash
So even though we are aware that the Martingale strategy is flawed, we still decided to give it a chance (just like we did with the 1,01X cashout strategy).
We thought to ourselves that if we placed small enough bets and cashed out at the 2X multiplier, we could potentially make a profit without encountering losing streaks that would drive our bankroll to the ground.
You should use it as well!
We used BC.Game’s free JB cryptocurrency which is designed specifically to test the games at this casino!
Here are the settings for our first experiment!
Here is an overview of our Martingale script settings:
- We set 1 JB to be our base bet amount
- Our automatic payout multiplier was set to 2X
- The script would stop running if our bet amount exceeded 100 JB
- On a loss, our bet amount would double (as per the Martingale principle)
- On a win, our bet amount would return to its base value (1 JB)
An entire day of testing
To get reliable results, we left this script running for at least 1000 rounds of crash.
That is it, putting this strategy to work with the use of advanced betting automation tools is incredibly simple. If you want to repeat our process, read our full guide on BC.Game Crash scripts and our guide on how to really test crash strategies to learn more!
Our start to this journey was very promising, as you can see in the image below, we were building up a nice profit, and we felt positive!
However, after 195 rounds of crash, we stumbled upon 8 consecutive losing rounds, which meant that we had to double our base bet amount multiple times in order to win back what was lost in this losing streak.
As this bet exceeded our maximum limit of 200 JB, the script automatically stopped running. At this point, we were at a crossroads. Do we continue or do we give up after 200 rounds of crash?
TBH
If we were playing with real funds, we would have stopped playing at this point.
Since we were using “free money,” we decided to proceed with our experiment and place that 256 JB bet. Fortunately, we won, and as shown in the image below, we were back in the green!
After this initial shock, our strategy seemed to be working. Granted, we did raise the limit at which our script automatically stopped running, but we figured that such long-losing streaks should not occur that often.
After exactly 350 rounds of crash, we already had 104 JB in profits after wagering 1288 JB in total. You can see how that one losing streak caused a major disruption in our live stats chart below.
At this point, we felt comfortable leaving the strategy script running unattended overnight. However, we were in for a big surprise the next morning.
Sometime during the night, after 905 rounds of crash, we stumbled upon 11 consecutive losing rounds, which drove our bankroll to the ground. We lost absolutely every single one of our free JB coins.
We felt devastated, even though we were aware that this was coming. We got caught up in believing that this might actually work, that we found the holy grail of crash gambling strategies, but in the end, we suffered losses.
But we did not stop there, we quickly asked BC’s support agents to replenish our wallet with some more JB coins and started optimizing our strategy.
Low-Risk Crash Martingale Strategy
Our second attempt at the Martingale crash strategy took a different route. We kept all of our settings the same, but we decided to cash out our winnings at the 1.5X multiplier automatically.
Indeed, a win would not double our money, but we thought it was worth trying since we had significantly increased our odds of winning and decreased the chances of long losing streaks with a lower payout multiplier.
If you want to know how changing the payout multiplier influences your odds of winning in crash gambling, read our guide on crash gambling odds!
After exactly 1000 rounds of us running this low-risk crash Martingale strategy script, we finished our journey with 678 wins, 322 losses and 46,5 JB in profit!
While it is true that we finished this experiment with a profit, keep in mind that we still had to wager 1845 JB in order to get a measly return of 46,5 JB.
Repeat, repeat, repeat
Strategies like this need to be tested over a much greater amount of time to be able to claim that it is securely profitable.
And while we did end up finishing our 1000-round journey with a profit, we could easily lose it all in the next 100 rounds, so keep that in mind.
Applying the Martingale Strategy to Popular Casino Games
So, we’ve discussed using the Martingale for Dice (and my disappointing results), but there are other games for which this strategy is more commonly used.
Martingale Strategy for Roulette
Roulette is the poster child for the Martingale strategy, thanks to its clear even-money bets like red/black, odd/even, or high/low numbers. Here’s how it works:
- Place an Even-Money Bet: For example, you can bet $1 on red.
- Double Your Bet After a Loss: If the ball lands on black, increase your next bet to $2.
- Reset After a Win: If red hits, go back to your initial $1 bet.
Roulette even-money bets offer almost a 50% chance of winning. As you know, the Martingale strategy thrives on this simplicity, making it easy to track your bets and recover losses with a single win.
Of course, I’d still recommend that you stick to low-stakes games with a higher house edge.
Martingale Strategy for Blackjack
Blackjack isn’t the first game that comes to mind for Martingale, but it can work on even-money bets, like betting on whether you’ll win a hand. Here’s how you might use it:
- Reset After a Win: Once you win, go back to your initial bet size.
- Bet on Winning Hands: Place your initial bet (e.g., $10) and play the hand as usual.
- Double After a Loss: If the dealer wins the hand, increase your bet to $2 on the next round.
Unfortunately, using the Martingale betting strategy for blackjack is more complex than using it for roulette. Why?
A natural blackjack (21 with two cards) pays 3:2, while insurance and ties complicate the doubling process.
Also, blackjack requires skill and decision-making, such as whether to hit, stand, or double down. The choices you make can affect how Martingale plays out.
What About Using The Martingale for Crash Games?
Crash games can work well with the Martingale strategy if you aim for even-money payouts, like cashing out at a 2x multiplier.
I even included a section on this strategy in my dedicated guide to Crash gambling strategies! Here’s how you’d do it:
- Start Small: Begin with a low bet (e.g., €1) and aim to cash out at 2x.
- Double After a Loss: If the game crashes before you cash out, double your next bet.
- Reset After a Win: Once you successfully cash out at 2x, return to your starting bet.
Because Crash is a fast-paced game, I’d be very careful using this strategy—you may find yourself burning through your bankroll too quickly.
The Truth About The Martingale (and Other Strategies)
Every gambling strategy—whether it’s the Martingale, Paroli, or something else—ultimately runs up against the house edge. You’ll surely know the popular saying, “The house always wins.” Well, it’s true!
Gambling strategies often fail because of:
- Randomness: No amount of planning can overcome pure chance.
- House Edge: Casino game odds are never in your favor, especially in the long run.
- Player Limitations: Bankroll limits can ruin even the best-laid plans.
The truth is that bankroll management is the only surefire way to limit loss over the long run.
Final Thoughts
The Martingale is one of the most popular gambling strategies, and it’s simple to see why: it’s easy!
Even so, it’s far from a winning formula. While testing it on Stake’s Dice game, I experienced both the thrill of recovery and the reality of running out of funds.
My advice? Experiment responsibly, set clear limits, and never gamble more than you can afford to lose.
