Martingale & Pokies: A Winning Combo or a Dangerous Gamble?
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Want to be among the 11% of NZ pokie players who know how to minimize their losses using the Martingale strategy? Learn how to apply the most popular betting system to your pokie sessions and discover why most online casino operators started to consider it a bonus abuse practice.
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How Does the Martingale Strategy Work?
The logic behind the strategy is relatively easy – you double your wager after an initial loss, and you keep doing that until you win. It is believed that you cannot hit a large number of consecutively losing bets. You will definitely have to win at some point. This system has been considered over time to work for players. It does not just work properly for pokies, and that is because a slot is a game of algorithms and numbers.
In short, this strategy only works properly sometimes, irrespective of its variation for pokies, although you could try it.
What Variations of Martingale Exist?
There are different variations of Martingale, and players can explore the advantages of these variations while playing casinos. You should note that while these variations come with benefits, there are disadvantages as well.
Classic Martingale
The classic Martingale deals with colours, which are used while playing roulette. Roulette is a game of colour, and this strategy allows you to bet on just a particular colour. On a roulette, every colour has 18 numbers, and they are red and black colours. For this strategy to work, a player must place a bet starting from the smallest amount of the colour of their choices, and they apply the strategy of doubling the stake in case they win and reducing just in case they lose. The problem with this strategy in roulette is that there is a 0; whenever this is hit, the player does not win.
Mini Martingale
This is one of Martingale’s strategies that allows you to curb your losses. It is potent in financial conservation as it encourages players to reduce how they increase their stakes as they lose.
Great (Grand) Martingale
The strategy behind this comes from the belief that the original strategy allows you to double your stake after you have one. There is a huge possibility that when you eventually win, you will have little profit after getting your money back. However, the Great Martingale Strategy allows you to double your stake after losing and add a unit of a sum. It comes with a simple idea: when a player finally wins, he wins vast.
Anti-Martingale
The Anti-Martingale is also known as the reverse system of Martingale because it goes contrary to the original strategy. The Anti-Martingale expect a player to double their stake after they have managed a win instead of typically increasing after a loss. This can be a huge loss if not careful, and players are expected to know when to play to avoid huge losses.
How to Apply Martingale: Scenario in Book of Dead
To better understand how Martingale plays out, OnlineCasinos365 experts walk through an example scenario of using it in the popular slot Book of Dead:
- Imagine starting with a $1 spin size and using the classic Martingale approach of doubling your bet after each loss.
- You can see how quickly the bets compound and increase risk. After 6 straight losses, you’ve lost $63.
- But you finally win on Spin 7, recouping your $64 bet and profiting $16 overall.
| Spin Number | Bet Amount | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Lose |
| 2 | $2 | Lose |
| 3 | $4 | Lose |
| 4 | $8 | Lose |
| 5 | $16 | Lose |
| 6 | $32 | Lose |
| 7 | $64 | Win $80 |
Modified Martingale for Low Rollers
For NZ players who wish to minimize risk, here’s one way to tweak Martingale:
Only increase your bet after 10 consecutive losses, and use a low base bet like $0.20. So, in the first round, you would go with 10x $0.20 per spin:
| Spins | Bet Amount | Result | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-10 | $2 ($0.2 spin value) | Lose | – |
| 11-20 | $4 ($0.4 spin value) | Lose | – |
| 21-30 | $8 ($0.8 spin value) | Win $50 | – |
| 31-40 | $2 (back to $0.20) | Lose |
As per the example, you win in the third series of 10 spins at $0.8 spin. Supposing the $0.8 per spin size and a win at 80x your stake, we can see how the outcome is realistic. Be aware that when you use Martingale, you have to start over with the same spin when recouping your bets.
This allows some losses to occur before ramping up bets. The downside is it requires many spins if on a cold streak. But it prevents bets from escalating too severely.
What Do the Experts Think About Martingale for Pokies?
Over the years, the idea of how effective Martingale’s strategy is when it comes to pokies has been a wide sort of debate among experts. This is due to the nature of the game. Pokies are believed to be a game of chance, and it is based mainly on randomly generated numbers. Experts feel this strategy does not apply to pokies because:
- Pokies generate numbers and are all mathematically calculated.
- The previous outcomes of pokies do not decide the next, as they do not work with probabilities.
- This would yield considerable losses to players who apply the strategy since they are doubling their previous bets.
- There is no stopping point for Martingale; players have to keep playing and doubling until they win.
- It can be financially devastating for players who apply these methods to pokies as there is no probability of winning.
Martingale Strategy does not offer that for its long-term success as it deals with short-term winning. Experts have argued that even those who use these methods to win pokies have been lucky, as there is no guarantee that this strategy works as well as it does with table games.
If you are a new player and need to understand the mechanisms of the games better, especially for slots, online casinos offer no deposit free spins. The offers allow you to play before making a deposit, hence getting more accustomed to the algorithm of the games.
How Do Casinos Control the Martingale’s Strategy
This strategy is more familiar than it has been since the 18th century. Some online casinos, even some of the best ones on the market, have put in place measures to ensure the strategy does not work by limiting the amount that can be doubled when you stake. This is also a substantial discouraging factor for the players who use them.
365’s Verdict: Is Martingale Really Working on Pokies?
The Martingale strategy appears not to work for pokies, and it is suggested you refrain from applying this strategy while playing pokies to avoid substantial financial losses.
You should also remember that gambling is a game of luck, and you should be prepared for the worst as long as you hope for the best. Always employ strategies that prompt you to stop playing when you are running into losses instead of one that encourage you to double up your stake.
Before you bet, you should understand the principles guiding each game, and it is advised you use just the strategy that works for each game while playing. Refrain from generalising strategies only if you want to lose on your stakes.