The Martingale System – A Simulator

| Author : Anonymous

Probably the oldest, certainly one of the simplest – the Martingale system is also one of the most misunderstood roulette strategies in existence. Depending on which site you visit then the martingale is either described as a huge confidence trick, a mysterious hidden secret to wealth or somewhere in between. In this page with the help of a small computer program I want to demonstrate the reality behind the Martingale system and then you can make your own mind up (the simulator is at the bottom if you want to skip straight there!).

First of all let me first say that in general I don’t believe in roulette systems, if you look at the mathematics behind most of them then they simply don’t add up. I’ve lost count of the number of systems I’ve worked through to discover that they in fact do absolutely nothing to increase your chances of winning. In fact on a purely mathematical basis I would tend to agree with the Wizard of Odds who states that all betting systems are worthless.

But are they worthless? It’s true that none actually reduce the house edge. However if you’ve ever watched a drunken punter at 3.00 AM at a Vegas casino throw his chips around the table like confetti, you’ll realise that some people could actually benefit from a more structured way of playing.

Summary of Martingale System

But back to Martingale, the concept is quite simple and fairly logical. You place a bet on an even money return like red/black or odd/even, if it wins you pocket the cash but if you lose then you double your next stake. You keep doing this until you win, therefore in theory guaranteeing a small win on every sequence you play. The problem is the real world and these important points -

Betting Limits – All Casinos place a limit on a single bet, if your required amount in martingale goes above this, then you will lose.

Infinite Bankroll Required – The amounts required can quickly get very large if you get a streak of bad luck. You need the cash to place the large bets needed otherwise you lose.

The Zero (or zeros on an American wheel) mean that it’s not a true 50/50 bet

These two facts make the Martingale a very dangerous system to play, for instance just imagine a small losing streak. The first spin you bet $5 then $10, $20, $40, $80, $160, $320 and then $640. Streaks like this are surprisingly common if you spend any amount of time watching a roulette game.  So remember if you do play Martingale then start low and you need to play at a European roulette wheel with one zero and which has a high stake limit.  Oh and don’t forget the large bank roll of course.

The Martingale System Simulator

But if you want to play around with the possibilities of  the Martingale system then try this simulator.  It allows you to input your stake, the length you want to play, your bank roll and then generates a sample session. You’ll probably notice that on long sessions you will almost certainly lose inevitably hitting one of those streaks that blow your bankroll – the simulator doesn’t count maximum stakes. You can alter the house edge by selecting the different roulette wheel.

If you cut the number of spins down to 25 or 50 you’ll see what usually happens with martingale, that you’ll generally win a series of small amounts but these will be interrupted by some huge losses. Make sure you change the wheel to a European one to see the most favorable results, frankly no-one should ever play roulette on an American roulette wheel – if that’s the only thing available play something else !

Oscars Grind – Roulette Betting System

| Author : Anonymous

The origin of this particular betting system goes back to the 1950s, Oscars grind was originally developed by a craps player called (not surprisingly) – Oscar. It was actually made popular a little later in the 1960s by a writer and journalist called Allan Wilson, who documented the system based on a conversation he had with Oscar. This system allegedly was the gamblers main income and he consistently earned regular but modest profits with the Grind system

Summary of Oscars Grind

For those who are looking for an exciting, whirlwind strategy that has the possibility of making your fortune then let me tell you straight away, Oscars system is definitely not it. I’m not sure who he was but I get the idea he may have been a very meticulous accountant or bookkeeper who devised this. Personally I think it would drain all the fun out of any casino game you could mention !

The system is best placed on even money bets in roulette and craps. It is based on sequences, each set of bets is defined as a sequence and you must follow the system exactly during each sequence of bets. Each sequence is designed to bring a profit of a single unit, no more and no less – when this win has been completed you start again or leave the casino.

So lets try and explain – first of all you place a single unit on an even money bet. If you win then there is no sequence so you start again (the sequence ends when you make a profit of 1 unit), if you lose then you continue to bet the same unit. If you win then your next bet is one unit larger than the previous one, you continue this progression until you’ve recouped your profits and made a single unit profit.

Bet and Outcome	Accumulated Loss/Wins
Bet 1 Unit and Lose	-1
Bet 1 Unit and Lose	-2
Bet 1 Unit and Lose	-3
Bet 1 Unit and Win	-2
Bet 2 Units and Win	0
Bet 1 Unit and Win	1
Sequence	Ends

So you can see in this example sequence, we’re betting a single unit on an even money bet. The first three bets lose, so we keep betting a single unit as soon as we win we increase the next bet by another unit up to two. In our example we come back to zero so our next bet is only one unit, the target is +1 nothing more and nothing less, as this bet wins the sequence ends. You can see none of the figures are large and the idea with Oscars Grind is to keep racking up winning sequence like this.

Here’s a slightly bigger example, remember goal is to reach plus one unit, we’ll never make a bet that takes it above that level.

Bet and Outcome	Accumulated Loss/Winnings
Bet 1 Unit and Lose	-1 Units
Bet 1 Unit and Lose	-2 Units
Bet 1 Unit and Lose	-3 Units
Bet 1 Unit and Lose	-4 Units
Bet 1 Unit and Win	-3 Units
Bet 2 Unit and Win	-1 Unit
Bet 2 Units and Lose	-3 Units
Bet 2 Units and Lose	-5 Units
Bet 2 Units and Win	-3 Units
Bet 3 Units and Win	0
Bet 1 Unit and Win	+1 Units

Little bit longer here but you can see from the example, the sequence is a winning won with the required outcome of +1 Unit. It’s not a reckless system and in fact some people accuse it of being too conservative for a gambling strategy. But remember it does nothing to alter the house advantage or edge so you should always set up a maximum limit that you will stick to. It’s possible with Oscar’s Grind just like Martingale to be placing a very large bet just to recoup a single unit of profit.

I’ve just been trying out Oscars system in the new zero edge casino from betfair – no zeros on the roulette wheel at all ! I’ve made money on the two times I’ve played it here, it’s not surprising as these sort of systems work much better with no house edge obviously. Not sure if I’ve got the patience to play this regularly though.

This Post is Also Available in German – Oscars Grind