Doubling your bet in roulette, often associated with the Martingale strategy, may sound like a foolproof way to recover losses. The idea is simple: you bet on even-money options like red/black or odd/even, and every time you lose, you double your stake. This approach seems solid in theory, but the reality is quite different. Here’s why doubling your bet doesn’t work in practice.
- You need a huge bankroll. Since you’re doubling the bet after every loss, the stakes can spiral out of control fast. Let’s say you start with an AUS 1,5 bet and have the misfortune of losing ten times in a row (which statistically has only a 0.12% chance of happening). By the 11th bet, you’d need to wager a whopping AUS 1,600 just to cover your previous losses. If you don’t have a massive bankroll, your game ends there.
- Table limits will stop you. Even if you have plenty of cash, casinos have table limits to protect themselves from strategies like Martingale. If the maximum bet allowed is AUS 1,500, you can’t even place that crucial 11th bet, meaning the strategy fails when you hit the limit, no matter how much money you have.
- The house edge always wins. Even if your bankroll is huge and the table limits are high, one unbeatable factor is the house edge. The longer you play, the more the casino’s advantage works against you. No amount of doubling can overcome that.
In short, while doubling your bet sounds like a smart tactic, the risks far outweigh any potential rewards.