Martingale Betting Strategy
The Martingale betting strategy has its origins in France. It is around 300 years old but has been described mathematically only since the mid-20th century. It is famous enough to have been featured in Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels. The term “Martingale” comes from the old French word “martengal” which literally refers to an inhabitant of Martigues.
Martigues is a commune northwest of the present-day city of Marseilles, an ancient town built on what once was the site of a Roman camp. Perhaps the inhabitants of the region were eccentric or strange enough to have become associated with the term, but the term itself is used to refer to equipment for controlling a horse carriage. The term’s most popular meaning, however, has to do with mathematical probability theory and betting.
Martingale probability refers to the mathematical expectation that the next succeeding value is based on the current value and the one preceding it. In short, it is a progression in which the next value is based on the current value and the one preceding this current value.
Martingale in Games of Chance
Martingale betting strategy takes this notion and attempts to apply this practically. It can be applied to any game of chance, such as roulette, baccarat, casino war, etc – any bet that comes with a 50/50 probability or close to it (such as roulette’s red/black). The reasoning behind the Martingale strategy is that no streak lasts forever. It dictates that a player double the amount he or she bets after every loss. This is supposed to help him or her to recover all prior losses and give a small profit, equal to the original stake. Stretched to infinity, and with a gambler possessing theoretically infinite wealth, it was seen as a sure thing, a win-win situation.