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The Systems | The Martingale

(This Chapter will describe to you how the major classical systems are intended to work)

At first glance, they all appear to be quite foolproof, but each system has limitations and down- falls that need to be fully understood and compensated for. Most roulette betting systems are designed around the even-money bets, which are : red, black, even, odd, low numbers (1-18) and high numbers (19-36). Probably the most popular system of them all is the Martingale. Some say it is likely as old as gambling itself. The Martingale System has you increasing your wager after a loss....the good old double up or nothing routine. Your target is to increase your bets after a loss until you finally do win. At this point, you begin the progression all over again. Your objective is to win one unit, usually on the even-money bets.

Let us assume that the casino was feeling generous, and removed number zero ( a fair game ). Number zero gives the house 2.70 percent edge against the player at all time using this system. Let us calculate the house edge for any roulette bet. First, you will take the actual payoff minus the correct payoff. Now multiply that by the probability of hitting your number. Multiply that by 100 to convert to a percentage and you come out with the house edge that the casinoes bank on. In addition, the probability of hitting a win is one chance in 37 numbers. Therefore, we have : (35/1 - 37/1) x 1/38 x 100 % = 2.703 percent against the player.

This is how the house is able to run a thriving gold business. If it were a fair game, you would not get hurt in the long run using this system, as you would break even. Please realize that a system based purely on whether or not you won a previous bet will lose your bankroll over a sustained period of time.

The Fibonacci