Reverse Martingale Strategy – Is It the Right Betting System for You?

What Is the Process behind the Reverse Martingale?

Firstly, it’s important to understand that you may see this method listed under two separate names. We’ve headlined the bet as the reverse martingale, but you may also see it referred to as the anti-martingale strategy.

Having established that point, we now need to look at the full process of the reverse martingale strategy. As the name suggests, this is an opposite practice to the conventional martingale where punters double bets when their selection loses. With a reverse or anti martingale betting strategy, we are going to double whenever a selection wins, thereby looking to capitalise on the success of a team or individual.

To start things off, we pick the lowest possible stake that is allowed by a bookmaker, and we’ll say, for the purposes of this exercise, that it’s set at £1. The advice by many who employ the reverse martingale strategy is to then find a bet that comes in at Even Money. You would then stake that £1 on the even money option. If that bet were to lose, you simply repeat the process until you find a winner, but if it does land, you collect a profit and move on to the next step.

The second stage in the anti martingale strategy involves selecting another Even Money bet, but this time, we are doubling our stake to £2. From this point, the process is identical to the previous one. If the bet wins then, we double our stake to £4, but if it were to lose, we reset and go all the way back to £1.

Hopefully, you’ve now got to grips with the reverse martingale strategy, and if that’s the case, we don’t need to talk you through all of the next steps. It’s sufficient to say that you keep on doubling to £8, £16, and so on. In theory, you could go all the way up to the bookmaker’s maximum betting limits, but it’s almost certain that a loss will come in before you actually hit that level.

How to Carry Out the Betting Process

We’ve given you the theory behind the anti martingale betting strategy so now let’s walk you through the process. Firstly, log on to your sportsbook account and consider what market you may want to bet on.

Remember, as a starting point, we’re looking for an Even Money bet and these are more likely to come in via the football markets, simply because we have much more choice here. Once that bet is found you simply click on the box marked Even Money and your virtual betslip will open.

Type in the minimum amount required by your bookmaker as a chosen stake - in this instance we’re going for £1 - and click on the confirm button. All we do now is wait for that bet to play out before deciding on our next move.

Let’s assume, for now, that the bet didn’t come in: In that case, all you need to do now is repeat the above process. Find an Even Money bet and stake £1 once again.

If, however, that bet has won, all you have to do is double the stake: So, the next step is to locate another Even Money bet. Click on the odds box and, when your betslip opens, you type the figure of £2 before confirming.

Moving forward with the reverse martingale strategy, you simply keep doubling in the event of a win or, you revert to £1 when a loss comes along.

Let’s Do the Maths for Anti Martingale Betting Strategy

We’ve given you the system, and now it’s time to do some calculations regarding the reverse martingale strategy. Remember, these are just theoretical examples and the results that you experience may not follow this pattern exactly, but they can underline what is possible.

For this exercise, we’re going to take a series of sports bets that are all quoted at Even Money.

1. Bet £1 at Even Money: Bet Wins - Profit = £1 + £1 stake returned

2. Bet £2 at Even Money: Bet Wins - Profit = £2 + £2 stake returned

3. Bet £4 at Even Money: Bet Loses - no profit

4. Bet £1 at Even Money: Bet Loses - no profit

5. Bet £1 at Even Money: Bet Loses - no profit

6. Bet £1 at Even Money: Bet Wins - Profit = £1 + £1 stake returned

7. Bet £2 at Even Money: Bet Loses - no profit

8. Bet £1 at Even Money: Bet Wins - Profit = £1 + £1 stake returned

9. Bet £2 at Even Money: Bet Wins - Profit = £2 + £2 stake returned

10. Bet £4 at Even Money: Bet Wins - Profit = £4 + £4 stake returned

11. Bet £8 at Even Money: Bet Loses - Profit = £8 + £8 stake returned

In this example, we have used a fairly wide sample of 11 bets. Seven of them have won, and four have lost, so it’s slightly biased towards the success of the reverse martingale strategy, but we might expect that to be a typical set of findings.

But what about the final calculations? If you run through this example, you will find that our total outlay is £27. Our winning bets have returned a profit of £19, but we have also received £19 back in stakes, so our overall return is £38. We can, therefore, bank £11.

Remember, results will vary, but this is a perfect example of how the anti martingale betting strategy can work successfully.

Examples of a Reverse Martingale

We’ve mentioned an even money bet in this review, and that’s because a reverse martingale strategy arose from the roulette tables. Originally, the method applied to near 50/50 bets such as red or black, odd or even. Obviously, the presence of the zero in European Roulette means that it’s not quite 50/50, but you get the point.

That’s why, when the anti martingale betting strategy is carried over to sports betting, it generally asks for an Even Money bet, but you don’t have to adhere to this point completely. Another option is to bet on one of the stronger football teams such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, or Liverpool. These sides win more often than not so we can generally say with confidence that most of our bets in the straight result market will come in.

So, to summarise and give you some examples, we’ll start with roulette as this is where the theory originated.

You approach the roulette table and stake £1 on red to land. The wheel spins, and if the bet loses, you simply repeat the process. If, however, the bet wins, you double your stake to £2 and back red once again. Repeat this process by doubling your stake if the bet comes in but when it fails, simply reset, and go back to your original stake of £1.

Do not, at any stage, switch your decision and start betting on black. The whole point of the reverse martingale strategy in roulette is to keep with your original bet.

We’re here on this site to compare the best football betting sites and discuss football betting in the main so let’s use an example of the anti martingale strategy in the football markets. We’ll say that you’re betting on Norwich City to beat Southampton at odds of Even Money.

Norwich win and you move to the next stage. Ideally, we want to bet on Norwich again but if the price doesn’t fit, simply find an Even Money bet. Double the stake to £2 and keep repeating this process. As soon as you have a losing bet, reduce your stake back to £1.

No strategy is ever going to be foolproof but, as we’ve seen from the formula, the theory of mathematical probability means that the anti martingale strategy can work in your favour as long as there isn’t a long run of losing bets. It’s a definite option to follow, so why not see if it works for you.