The Anti-Martingale betting system is a variation on the Martingale betting system – in fact, it is the very antithesis of it. It is a betting system that is based on the idea of “Gambler’s Fallacy”, the idea that something is bound to happen at some point because of previous results. For example, if you spun a coin 10 times, and it came up heads every time, if you think, “It HAS to come up tails this time, because it’s not come up for 10 spins,” then you have fallen prone to Gambler’s Fallacy.
Both systems are perfect to use when playing roulette, because they work best when 50/50 options are available. In roulette, we have red and black, which pay 1:1 – perfect for both the Martingale betting system and the Anti-Martingale betting system. You can, in theory, also use it when playing games such as blackjack and craps, but as there are often slight variations in odds and gameplay, roulette is by far the easiest option when choosing to use either the Martingale or the Anti-Martingale betting system. It can even be used in sports betting, betting on Even money shots, which has been the subject of many a sports betting blogger in the past – can I run $x up into $x betting on nothing but 50/50 chances? And the fun thing is that it doesn’t actually take that many wins to turn $1 into $1,000 – ten double or nothing wins, actually, which doesn’t seem like a lot, especially if you’re betting on things you know a bit about. But, for this instance, we will stick to roulette.
In the original Martingale betting system, the bettor doubles their stake after every loss, in the belief that their luck has to change at some point, and when it does, they will make a profit, albeit a relatively small one given the amounts that can end up being wagers. Because the Anti-Martingale betting system is the polar opposite of the Martingale betting system, it means bettors ride a hot streak, instead of trying to claw back their losses when on a cold streak. So, if you’re a player that believes in streaks, the Anti-Martingale betting system would allow you to minimise any loses you made when nothing is going your way, while allowing you to maximise your winnings when Lady Luck is on your side.
The idea of the Anti-Martingale system is to double your bet after a win. So, we will adopt this strategy in our fictional game of roulette. We’ll start out with a 1 unit bet on black (so that could be $5, $10, $100 or whatever, it depends on your bankroll). Luckily, our bet comes in, and because we’re using the Anti-Martingale betting system, we double out bet. So we bet 2 units on black. Again, it comes in, and the hot streak begins. So now, from a starting bank of 100 units, we now have 103 units sat in front of us. Our next bet would be 4 units, then it would be 8, 16, 32 and so on. The great thing about this is that in the Martingale betting system, table limits can often stop you from making your money back – you might end up wanting to get 256 units, but the casino won’t accept that bet, so you’re stuck a hell of a lot of money and no way of getting it back. However, using the Anti-Martingale betting system, all that means is that the 255 units of profit you have goes into your account instead of back into the casinos coffers.
And what do we do if we lose using the Anti-Martingale betting system? Well, it is simple – you go back to what you started with. So, in our case we’d go back to a 1 unit bet if any of our bets lose. The idea is to never increase your stakes when you lose, which is why it’s the antithesis of the Martingale betting system. So if you have 5 loses in a row, the worst you can do to your bankroll is lose 5 units. But if you win 5 in a row, you make a profit of 31 units from an initial outlay of just 1.
The truth is, there is no way the Anti-Martingale betting system is going to make you money in the long run. If you go on a hot streak, that’s nothing but luck, as you’re just as likely to go on a cold streak. Every time that wheel spins, there is no correlation to what happened on the previous spin, or the spin previous to that. So if you spin that wheel 10 times and every time it comes up black, red isn’t due to come up simply because it hasn’t been seen for 10 spins – there is the exactly same chance that black will come up again as there is that red will come up to break the streak.
However, there is a far more conservative betting strategy than the Martingale betting system, because you’re only every risking 1 unit of your bankroll at a time. With the Martingale betting system, you could risk 32 units of your bankroll, in the hope of making 1 unit profit. And the Anti-Martingale can be used sensibly if you decide to bank after x amount of wins. If you say to yourself, “Once I get three in a row, I’ll bank it,” you can come away with a nice profit should you go on a winning streak. And the other benefit of banking is that you end up playing with the house’s money instead of your own if you hit a losing streak – and at 1 unit a time, if you’re banked enough, it’s more or less risk-free compared to the Martingale betting system.
So, like all betting systems, it can make your gambling experience a bit of fun, as long as you apply it correctly. Do not go in thinking that you are going to make your fortune because you have a system, go in thinking that if you adhere to the rules of the Anti-Martingale betting system, you can have a bit of fun playing roulette, and you might just make a few bucks too.
The Anti-Martingale Betting System Summarized:
While the Martingale betting system is one of the most popular and most used roulette betting systems, many people don’t like it because of the negativity of it, or the whole concept of chasing your losses.
Enter the Anti-Martingale Betting System.
The Anti-Martingale Betting System aims to be more positive than the Martingale Betting System and is basically the polar opposite of the Martingale Betting System. If you want to practise the Anti-Martingale Betting System, the best place to do that is Lucky Red Casino due to the roulette limits that they offer.
Let’s quickly summarize the Martingale Betting System:
You make flat bets when you win, and when you lose you double your bet. Once you win one then you go back to the initial flat bet amount. It’s basically a “double or nothing” system where you keep doubling until you win. .
How the Anti-Martingale Roulette Betting System differs is simple:
Whereas if you bet $10 and win with the Martingale then you continue to bet $10, with the Anti-Martingale we actually would bet $20. Then we are doubling our bet until we actually lose.
Of course – we can’t just keep doubling our bet. If we did that we’d eventually lose – unless we were very lucky! That’s why with the anti-martingale betting system you pick a certain amount of wins to stop at. After three wins for example, where you are betting $40, then you go back to the original stake of $10.
And that is how the anti-martingale betting system works. Have fun trying this out at Paddy Power Casino (Not available to Americans, but check out Roulette 5 at WinADay Casino instead.).