Martingale strategy for roulette: can I beat an online casino with this system?

[Charles]

Each spin in roulette is basically 50/50 for red or black, no matter what came before. Still, the chance of the same color coming up again and again feels low.

So doesn’t the Martingale strategy make it more likely to win if you keep doubling your bet? Even though every spin is still 50/50?

I know the house always wins in the end - don't gamble - but can someone explain with math why this system still loses over time?

 

[edwardolmos]

The Martingale strategy makes you feel like a winner - because you’ll rack up lots of tiny wins. The catch is, a single bad streak can drain your entire bankroll.

Here’s how it looks with a $5 starting bet and $1,200 to play with. You’ll win $5 on red roughly 184 times out of 185. But that 185th spin? You lose the whole $1,200 in one brutal hit.

On average, that means you’ll be down about $236 every 185 rounds -or around $1.27 lost each time you “run” the system.

So yeah, Martingale isn’t a ticket to big wins - it’s a slow grind that ends in a hard crash.