Phew! Martindale! I feel sick! Been there, bought the t-shirt!

I'm no computer whizz-kid and I'm crap at maths, but I have the ability to write simple computer programs that tell me whether a system is profitable.

I can't tell you how many hours I've spent over the years trying to make this system work! I'm happy to say that my stupid programs have saved me from being bankrupt cos it's typical of me to do 5 minutes homework and then jump straight in!

If you've got a million pounds and you start off with £1 stake then martindale could work, but then there's the problem of getting somebody to take your bet when it's in the 1000's.

I'm still fooled by the laws of averages. It's like I can't accept it! Sometimes I get bonuses to play on the casino and I still find myself betting on an outcome that hasn't happened for a while!

where

are you sure about that? never been 10 clears in a row? are you talking across the cards?

I couldnt be arzd to read this whole thread, but just to say that martingale does work as shaky said BUT when used in certain circumstances where the chance of the event happening is better than the odds given.

In that case, martingale is superfluous.

The only thing it might do is make you go bust faster.

We'll see !

now this a bit interesting. Red Baron the fav in 15:45 is lose. It may not be clear fav now or withdrawn. but it still remains the same that whatever the clear fav, it is quite unlikely it will win.

yeah yeah I know, red baron was eventually returned j.fav but rothsay chancer was BF sp clear fav.

Martingale is the way to an early grave!!!

The other day I ran a computer program that chose 2 random numbers (1 & 2).

It told me how many attempts it took to find 1 and the results were really surprising and VERY scary!!!

You'd think it'd never go over 10 BUT that was commonplace! 20+ sometimes!!!

This simple program has saved me a lot of money!

It's CRAZY but I've written lots of programs like it over the years, but I have to keep reminding myself!

I still have problems accepting that the laws of averages don't work! That much so, I created a thread about it!

I mean really well here as I don't wanna see anybody lose all their hard earned cash! Don't do it!!!

32,000,000^0 = 1

with respect you cant beat the fixed odds numbers. not ever. but you can beat the markets where the bookmaker is involved as I said. Study the form and results, dont waste your time on anything like casino etc, else unless you can find a bias, but I doubt you will.

ZEALOT - When I say 'maths' I mean anything to do with working things out. Haha, anything that requires thinking! Calculations is definitely not my strong point!

Put a money in front of a keyboard and he'll eventually type out the complete works of Shakespeare and all that bllokcs! (there's an anagram for you!)

Haha I said money, I meant to say monkey!

sweetchildofmine - Yes I'm a great speller! Hey, don't be lazy and hold the SHIFT key down for your capitals!!!

I shouldn't put myself down too much, it's a severe lack in confidence!

The other day I ran a computer program that chose 2 random numbers (1 & 2).

It told me how many attempts it took to find 1 and the results were really surprising and VERY scary!!!

You'd think it'd never go over 10 BUT that was commonplace! 20+ sometimes!!!

two outcomes and you got 20 of the same one in a row!?

I feel the same. I really don't know how anyone pays PC. every time someone does a challenge thread where bets are posted it fails. I just don't see how anyone can make consistent money from betting to be honest

if you apply a martingale to a fifty fifty bet and have an unlimited bank then you will win if the odds are fair, or in your favour

now youre talking

you have 5 points on a 1.7 shot that loses...just have your usual bet on the next selection at whatever odds

The records of gambling history are replete with sad stories of sorry solid citizens who think they've surmised the supreme secret the bosses don't want anyone to know. It's raising their bets after every loss until the inevitable win boosts them out of the hole and over the top. This strategy for beating the casinos out of comps, if not money, is known as Martingale betting.
The failings of the Martingale system follow from the fallacy of an event becoming due, just because it hasn't transpired after more trials than an inumerate interpretation of the laws of probability seem to suggest. Say a Red number pops 17 times in 37 spins of a roulette wheel. Red is no more favored than usual on the 38th spin even though it's mathematically "expected" to occur 18 out of every 38 tries. The same is true after 37 spins during which Red hit 10, five, or no times at all. What's the chance of 38 spins without seeing Red? It's admittedly low, less than one out of 39 billion, but you could be there when it happens.

Picture how much you'd have to bet when a string of blacks occurs and you keep doubling up on Red. If you start with $5, you'd go to $10, $20, $40, $80, $160, and $320 this with only six blacks in a row the chances of which are close to one out of 88. You've already run through a bankroll of $635 and are about to put $640 on the line. You're risking being behind by $1,275. For what? A crummy $5 payday! Assuming you have this much or more to burn in your belief that Red is due, you're still not home free. Another spin or two and you may reach the upper limit of the game where the casino will no longer let you raise your bet.

There's an alternate way to apply the notion of one win getting you back at roulette. Pretend you're at a $5 table. Bet this much on a single spot. If you lose, repeat the bet. The repeat may be on the same or any other spot. Lucking out on the first attempt gets you $175 at 35-to-1. On the second go-round, you'd net $170, $175 minus the $5 lost previously. You can continue for 36 spins, with a victory on the last returning you to break-even.

The probability of winning somewhere along the line is better than 60 percent. Hardly overwhelming, but more than an even chance. Further, you've got a shot at earning $175, then $170, then $165, and so on rather than just $5. And you can go for 36 spins, about an hour's action in a typical game, on a $180 stake.

If worse comes to worst and you lose $180 with 36 straight misses, but have more moolah in your fanny pack, you can switch to $10 bets and keep on trucking. For instance, were you willing to go as low as $300, you'd get another dozen spins. A win on the first of these would bring in $350; this, minus the $180 you'd already donated to the dealers' pension fund would be a gain of $170 on the bottom line. A win on your last stand, after 36 losses at $5 and 11 at $10 would still net you $60. Your $300 bankroll, bet this way, would yield roughly 70 percent chance of something between break even and a $175 profit.

Compare these two approaches. Doubling up on even-money bets has a better chance of success over a moderate number of trials; however, you can quickly find yourself in a scary position, risking big bucks to chase a prize that's small from the get-go. And, you may be hot to trot at the outset of a series, but get cold feet when your $5 mind-set has you putting $320 or $640 at risk. Although low bets on longshots with high payoff multiples will win less often, they offer greater possible proceeds, outlays with which you can feel comfortable, and extended play on budgets that seemed sensible before you left home.

Neither is much like dropping a dollar into a slot machine, hoping to grab a million. But you don't gamble because none of your other get-rich-quick brainstorms worked, and this is your last resort. You do it for the excitement, the entertainment, the joie de vivre, the coupon for the all-you-can-eat buffet? Right? You do follow this philosophy formulated by the famed poet, Sumner A Ingmark er, don't you:
Approach with utmost trepidation,
A gamble born of desperation.

no. but what the hell do they do?