Is This The Most Dangerous Staking In The World?

Guest post written by Paul Micelli

Although the overwhelming majority of sports betting enthusiasts prefer to make their selections based on traditional indicators such as recent playing form or the head-to-head records of two rival sides, there are a number of punters who prefer to implement betting systems in an effort to give them an edge over the bookmakers. Although there is no doubt whatsoever that an effective system has a rightful place in the world of gambling, there are still a large number of betting methods that are largely ineffective.

One of the most commonly-known betting plans is the Martingale systems. This particular form of structured gambling is many years old and in theory, there is absolutely no reason why it shouldn’t work. Unfortunately, the Martingale system carries a series of flaws that have left many punters in financial ruin. The importance of exposing fundamentally weak betting systems is vital to maintaining a healthy betting bankroll and enjoying profits on a more consistent basis.

How the Martingale System Works

The Martingale system works by betting on even-money chances in any sporting event although horse racing tends to be the most popular choice for disciples of this particular method as meetings are held on a daily basis so there are more betting opportunities are in place.

Online gamblers also use Roulette as a means of testing the Martingale system (and some unscrupulous mail order companies even market it as a ‘new and unbeatable’ system!).

A primary profit target is set for each day. For our example, we are going to set a profit target of £5 each day and use horse racing as our sport of choice. To make our profit, we simply select an even-selection from a suitable horse race and place an equivalent stake of £5 on it.

If our horse wins we have our profit and can move our betting interests to the next day where we will seek to profit again.

If our horse loses, we simply double our stake to £10 on the next even-money selection to win back our losses AND make our £5 profit.

A second loss and we bet £20 on our next even-money horse etc… The Martingale system simply requires us to double our stakes until such a stage that all losses are recouped and a £5 profit is made.

Why the System is Flawed

Although this method appears foolproof, there is one fundamental error associated with the Martingale system. With an unlimited bankroll, it is inevitable that money can be won in theory although it would be impossible to find a bookmaker prepared to accept your bets. However very few sports bettors enjoy the luxury of an unlimited bankroll!

The flaw in this method comes because it is not particularly unusual for punters to go several races without a win and unfortunately, the Martingale system doesn’t have the capability to withstand a long losing run. If a sports betting enthusiast has a losing run of seven races, which isn’t exactly a rare occurrence, their next bet will involve a stake of £640 just to win £5. If a poor run reaches seventeen races (which is easily possible), then the stake for the next event would be an astonishing £655,360. Even though profits for a winning race would only be £5, the total payout for additional accrued losses would be beyond the maximum allowed by many UK bookmakers – if they’d actually take a wager of that size in the first instance!

***Note from the editor***

This is a very dangerous method of staking and will result in you losing your bankroll. Please heed the advice in this article and never use it. If you are ever told to use it from a bought system then don’t touch the system either as it is most likely a losing system that tries to recover its losses using this staking.

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