Since we already know by heart that the roulette wheel plays no favorites, meaning, it has no biases, we can then say that the game can be played either on a “hunch” or by using a “system.”
Hunch is when we think of special numbers like the birthday of a loved one, the winning numbers in the lottery, or just pure random digits pulled out of thin air, etc. In this case, the bets are based on a hunch or gut feel. Many novice roulette players go by this method.
We’re not saying that this is not the right way to do it. To each, his own, so they say. However, expert players do it differently, with a more finesse. Of course, like anything in life, we follow those steps that would lead us to success, and the methods utilized by the experienced often work.
For European roulette players, hunches are pure waste of money. They believe that a mathematical system must be applied if you wish to have an enjoyable and fruitful roulette gameplay.
It’s worth mentioning though that there are still players who leave their tables empty-handed in an attempt to apply a roulette betting system. But, the fault still lies on the user and not on the system. For a method to succeed, there must be a proper execution. And this can be done through practice.
Traditional Betting Systems
Let’s take a look at some of the popular betting strategies being used out there. The first that would come to mind is the Martingale betting system. This system, in itself, entails a lot of variations, each as effective as the other.
Through time, the Martingale principle has earned players huge amount of profits, but it also responsible for so many bankrolls to deplete.
The Basic Tenet
In its most basic form, the Martingale System and its other variations work in such a way that the player must increase or double the amount of his initial wager after each consecutive loss. The only time he reduces the unit bet is when he registers a win. He returns to his original bet until he encounters a loss once again.
In this way, all of his loses will be recompensed in as little time as possible.
The System at Work
To have a better grasp on the concept, consider this example: suppose a player wagers 5 units of bet in the first round. This 5 units will be his base unit. He loses and he will double that up to 10 units. He lost once again at the third run and thus, he increases the bet to 20 units. The fourth spin will have him betting 40 units. Fortunately, luck strikes this time. With that huge bet amount, his first three losing wagers (5, 10, and 20) should be covered by this single win. Moreover, he would have gotten a net gain from it.
Pros and Cons
Obviously, the advantage of using a negative progression betting system like the Martingale is the possibility of winning huge just by a single spin. Thanks to the accumulated loses, the stakes have gone higher and higher. The problem with the system, however, is that there’s only so much loses that a player can make.
In a long series of loses, his betting amount will be compounded over and over and there’s the danger of hitting the table limit. In most online roulette casinos, a table limit is often equal to 200 times that of the bet minimum.
Kinds of Martingale
The Grand Martingale – is the most popular variant of the system wherein the basic concept of the method applies. That is, the player has to double his bet from that of his initial bet. And there’s more: he has to add one more unit aside from the doubled betting unit.
An example would be: a losing bet of 4 units become 9 units for the next round. This is because he needs to double the base (4 units) which becomes 8 plus 1 unit and it now equals to 9 units.
Using the sample betting unit, this will be what the series would look like:
4, 9, 19, 39, 79, 159, 319, 639
Reverse Martingale
Some Martingale users don’t want to chase their losses, especially if it grows that big. What they’ll use is the Reverse type. What happens is that the player double his betting unit after every win. This is much like the positive progression betting system which we discuss more here.
