The advantages of a progressive betting progression

[Norm]

Flat-betting is a perfectly fine system, as long as you win.

[Three]

I win every time I go to the casino, if you don't count the times I lose.

You only need what... about 16.3 million units to ride through a 24 bet losing streak?

So you want to risk 16.3 millions dollars to win a dollar? Sounds like a plan or something I guess.

[muckz]

The problem with the martingale is that it can't take advantage of those huge winning streaks you get. I propose people start using the "advanced martingale" which consists of parlaying all winnings.

[Gronbog]

Martingale is a powerful tool in tournament play.

[Shanna718]

We've all heard that the problem with the Martingale is that once you've lost several times in a row, you have to make really huge bets.

[bigplayer]

Martingale is a perfectly fine system, so long as you can double your bet after every loss. As soon as you can't double your bet, the system breaks down, and you've lost a lot of money.

Except that the system, by definition, must ALWAYS at some point break down. Your bankroll is always finite and losing streaks can always come along that exceed either your bankroll or the willingness of your opponent to give you a chance to win your money back. Eventually the casino will have all of your money so even if the casino was willing to go double or nothing one more time you wouldn't be able to make the wager. Talking about "infinite bankrolls" is ridiculous. Casinos have finite bankrolls and thus have table limits to protect themselves. If you had and/or the casino had infinite bankrolls then by definition neither of you could win or lose anything so again the martingale system fails. (Infinity + 1 Unit = Infinity)

In the end, if you play long enough eventually a losing streak will come along, as unlikely as it might be, that will wipe you out. You will ALWAYS run out of money or the willingness of an opponent to accept your wager or willingness of an investor to back you before the worst streak you can imagine will end.

Why are we still discussing this. Indeed there are genuine valuable gambling uses for Martingales and Reverse Martingales, but trying to beat the casino long-term isn't one of them. (32 Losses in a Row would bankrupt Bill Gates at a $10 game)...total loss of

$42,949,672,950.00

Having myself played a 6 deck shoe heads up and going the entire shoe without winning a single hand, I would not have wanted to play a Martingale.

[Dieter]

(32 Losses in a Row would bankrupt Bill Gates at a $10 game)...total loss of

$42,949,672,950.00

... but think of the comps.

If you can't double your bet after every loss, Martingale isn't for you. Most people can't, most people shouldn't play Martingale.

Apparently, the sarcasm gets lost in the tubes.

[Three]

(32 Losses in a Row

I didn't see you at the table when this happened to me. Fortunately I was min betting through is and cauhgt a nice plus cont heads up right after and was way ahead for the session. So Bill Gates Martingale would have lost over $42 billion and then made back $100 or so if he played my position through it.

would bankrupt Bill Gates at a $10 game)...total loss of
$42,949,672,950.00

So if Mr Martingale that couldn't afford the 33rd bet continued to win $10 for every hand won after this loss, he would have to win about 4,295,000 hands to make up for it that one 20 minute run. Assuming 100 hands/hour and winning the expected 42% of them it would take 102,000 hours of play. Lose for 1/3 of an hour and win for 102, 000 hours to still be behind some doesn't seem like a good plan to me.

[Picasso]

In my early days I tried almost all progressions, including the Martingale. I remember being at table max, 200$, the dealer gives me AA and I'm looking at a 2. I don't have the money to split, so I hit and get a 10. I now have 12 still looking at a two; I hit and get a 10 for a big total of 22 skidoo. My lesson: have the money to back up your progression or don't play. I quit the martingale on that terrible day.

[Dieter]

I remember being at table max, 200$ ...I quit the martingale on that terrible day.

You came out ahead, if you quit martingale when you were at a $200 bet.

[Aslan]

People have been losing with the Martingale system since the 18th Century. Can't believe it's still being discussed.

It's etymology is more interesting than it's use. The Origins of the Word “Martingale” -- http://www.jehps.net/juin2009/Mansuy.pdf

[Norm]

Cyrus posted the bit about the backward pants many, many years back. Always wondered if it's true. Good find.