Definition of Martingale System

What is the "Martingale system" as it applies to the world of sports betting? What does the term "Martingale" mean?

The Martingale system refers to the betting system of continually doubling up your bets until you win.

For instance, let's say that you start with a $10 bet. You lose your first bet.

Using the Martingale system, you would double up your next bet to $20. Let's say that you lose this bet as well.

The Martingale system dictates that you would double up your bet yet again, this time to $40. Let's say that you win this bet at even odds.

So, you lose $30 with your first two bets, but on your second bet you end up winning $40.

So, over the course of these three bets, you end up coming out ahead by $10.

After your winning bet, you move back down to the minimum wager of $10 and start again.

The main problem with the Martingale system, of course, is that you will likely lose your entire bankroll if you go on a cold streak.

Let's say that your bankroll was $1,000 and you used the Martingale system starting with $10 wagers. Let's look at how this would progress through a cold streak:

$10
$20
$40
$80
$160
$320
$640

So, using the Martingale system, you would be busted if you lost 7 bets in a row. This happens all the time in sports gambling and is the reason why the Martingale system will never work over time. Inevitably you WILL lose seven bets in a row and bust your bankroll.