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The only real way to beat a casino? The martingale system

Roulette wheel
Written by Nigel Simpkins

One of the most repeated maxims about casinos, regardless if they are online or in some swanky venue, is that the ‘house always wins’ – eventually. It refers to, of course, the idea of a house edge, an in-built probability that will ultimately favour the casino. Sure, you could win a fortune as an individual, with a lucky hand or spin on the slots, but over time, as the saying goes, the casino will make a profit.

Of course, there are also all sorts of tales about ways you can beat a casino, including dubious practices like card counting. That still takes in an element of luck, as you are only increasing your chances of winning, rather than guaranteeing it. However, there is one system that can be used to beat a casino, completely legally – The Martingale System. Don’t worry, this is not a shady ‘get rich quick scheme’, it’s simply a look at the interesting mathematics behind it.

Original stake will eventually be awarded in profit

The Martingale System can be applied mainly to roulette, but also any other game, such as a coin flip, that has an ‘either/or’ outcome. In roulette you would use it on a bet on Red/Black or Odd/Even, both of which will pay double your stake for a winning bet. You don’t need to be a member at www.mensa.org.uk to understand how to use the system either; A European roulette wheel has 37 slots – 18 Red, 18 Black and 1 Green. The probability of hitting, say, Red in a spin is 48.65%. All you have to do is keep doubling your bet until you win.

Sound too simple? Let’s look at an example: You start off with a £10 bet on Red. It loses. You then double the bet to £20 (staying with Red). It loses. You double the bet to £40. It wins, so you earn £80. The three bets you made to win £80 were £10 + £20 + £40 = £70, making a £10 profit. It doesn’t matter how many times you need to double it – the exponential growth of the returns will always outweigh the sum of the bets. Your profit will always equal the amount of the first bet. Even if you start on a large figure, say, £1000, the same rules will apply. Inevitably, you will hit Red at some point, so a profit is guaranteed.

Try it for yourself at online casino sites

Sound too good to be true? Well, there are some pitfalls. You could run out of money before you hit the desired result, or the casino may have a maximum bet limit. However, the logic and legality is still 100% sound. You can even go to www.onlinecasinoinfo.com to find the best options for free online roulette and you can test the theory yourself, not to mention find some top casino bonus offers.

Of course, while we are dealing with mathematics, it should be said that it is possible for the losing result to occur an infinite amount of times, but as it is essentially a coin-toss, you’d be fairly confident at arriving at the result sooner rather than later. Remember, the Martingale System only works on the premise of Red/Black, Odd/Even, Heads/Tails etc. And, if you are going to try it, make sure that you check betting limits and any other restrictions, like your own wallet, first.