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Does Martingale Strategy work for Roulette? Simulate with Excel Martingale Calculator

The Martingale system has been the subject of debate and study for a long time in the world of gambling strategies. We’ll try to discover whether this Double Down strategy really work with a Martingale Calculator Excel tool.

Disclaimer: Martingale Strategy is a dangerous and risky strategy that can cause big loses of money. The purpose of this post and the additional calculator spreadsheet is not to promote Martingale or any other gaming strategy. The only purpose is just providing a calculation. Someka will not be responsible of any loses of using this strategy, this post or Martingale Calculator Excel tool. All responsibility is on the user’s end. Please think twice before investing in any game.

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This article really gets into the details of the Martingale and Anti-Martingale systems, mainly when it comes to roulette. We will talk about their basic ideas, give simple examples to make things clear, and then take a critical look at how profitable they are and what could go wrong with them.

>> Before diving into the article you can download our Excel Martingale Calculator and run for simulations.

Table Of Content

1. What is the Martingale System?
2. What is the Anti-Martingale System?
3. An Easy Example to Understand the Martingale System
4. Myth Buster: Does the Martingale System Really Work?
5. Why Does the Martingale Strategy Not Work?
6. Excel Calculator for Martingale
7. Key Takeaways

1. What is the Martingale System?

Martingale system is a common way to bet that is often used in games like roulette. In this type of betting, the player doubles their bet after every loss.

The idea is that the first win will make up for all the losses and give you a profit equal to your original bet. This method is usually used for bets that have a nearly 50% chance of winning, like the black/red or odd/even bets in roulette.

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It’s an appealing, but risky, strategy because it’s easy to understand and seems to guarantee quick profits.

2. What is the Anti-Martingale System?

On the other hand, the Anti-Martingale System, which is also called the Reverse Martingale, does things the other way around. In this game, when a player wins, they double their bet, and when they lose, they lower it back to its original amount.

The idea behind this system is to make the most of winning streaks while minimizing the effects of losses. People think that the Anti-Martingale is safer, but players need to go on a winning streak to make a lot of money with it.

>> You can also check for Monte Carlo Simulation to get a better understanding of probability of huge amount of random numbers.

3. An Easy Example to Understand the Martingale System

To understand the Martingale System, let’s look at a simple case:

In roulette, a player bets $10 on the color red. If the player loses, they have to bet twice as much, which is $20. This will keep happening until the player wins. If they lose again, the bet will be doubled to $40.

The player goes back to the original $10 bet after winning. The catch is that if you win once, you’ll get back all of your losses and make as much as you bet.

You can try this on the Martingale Calculator Excel tool.

4. Myth Buster: Does the Martingale System Really Work?

The Martingale System says that if you win, you’ll get back the amount you bet, but it doesn’t work in the long run for a number of reasons.

Myth Buster of Double Down Betting

One important factor is the table’s betting limit, which can be reached quickly when you’re losing and stops you from doubling your bets. The system also assumes that there are unlimited funds and doesn’t take into account the possibility of running out of money before a bet wins.

Let’s go over an example:

There is something called roulette. You know what roulette is, right? It’s a game with numbers and colors. You say it will be red. Half red, half black. So you put 1$, if it comes to red, you get 2$. Actually, the probability is not exactly 50%, as there is green. The probability is 49% to 49% actually. There is a green probability here.

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But let’s say, green is a zero probability. It’s not red or black. Now, one of the most important techniques that people who go to casinos use is double down strategy. For example, you start with 10$, you invest 10$ in red, if it comes red, then you get 20$, if it comes black, you invest twice this time and go with betting 20$ for red. If it comes black again, you invest 40$ next time, and if comes red this time you earn 80$. It seems you made a profit again, yes?

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At first you may say “yes, it is very logical”. People play like this. They call it double down. But how many times will I lose? Do I have enough budget for this? Even if I have, will I risk this amount of money.

It may seem that you can not lose forever, but actually the probability is always the same: 50%!

This is like having four baby boys, and saying that the fifth one will be a baby girl. Right? No, the previous ones does not affect the probability of this new baby. The chance is still 50-50%.

Martingale Calculator Excel Tool:

Let’s check it on the Martingale Calculator Excel tool. Imagine you start with a tiny 100$. And you lose for 10 times in a row. Does it sound impossible? No, it’s not.

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Now your loss is already 102.300$, and the next game you should double 51.200$ and risk another 102.300$!

This is really dangerous? Isn’t it?

5. Why Does the Martingale Strategy Not Work?

The main problem with the Martingale strategy is that it is based on the idea that you can keep doubling your bets forever. This is not possible because of the limits on the table and the player’s limited bankroll. Also, the system doesn’t change the game’s odds, so the house edge stays the same.

This makes it very unlikely that the system will ever be profitable in the long term.

6. Excel Calculator for Martingale

We have built a simple Martingale Calculator Excel to test randomly the total balance of the player.

>>Download our free Excel Martingale Calculator. Instant file.
In this calculator, you can test up to 1.000 games. You can start with any entrance amount.

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Then the Put Down values changes according to WIN / LOSE situation. Whenever you click F9, the Win and Lose results will change randomly. If The result is Lose, the next game the Put Down value will double the previous amount. But, if the result is Win, then the next Put Down value will start from the initial entrance amount. The template will calculate your cumulative balance then.

This can help you get a good idea of how effective and risky the strategy really is.

Do you know that Excel can generate random numbers? You can use Rand and Randbetween functions. Or you can just download our Excel Random Number Generator to create huge amount of numbers randomly.

It will let you created generated lists and sort with customizable configurations.

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– This is the Dashboard of Random Number Generator Excel Template by Someka –

7. Key Takeaways

  • The Martingale System involves doubling up your bet amount on losing bets.
  • In essence, it’s a strategy that encourages a fear of losing, which tries to raise the chances of breaking even but also raises the chances of big, quick losses.
  • The actual risk is much higher than the reward as you will spend higher amounts with each loss.
  • If you run out of money at some point, you can lose everything.

Again, always think twice while making an investing on anything, a game or a venture, anything. And do not forget that this post and calculator does not involves any investment advices or suggestions by any means.

Recommended Readings:

How to Randomize a List in Excel?: A Comprehensive Guide

How to use Excel Solver for Linear Programming: Solving Optimization Problems

Can Excel Generate Random Numbers?

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