The Martingale and Anti-Martingale strategies are opposing approaches to risk management and betting systems, primarily used in gambling and trading.
The Martingale strategy is based on doubling one's bet size after each loss to recover all previous losses and gain a small profit once a winning bet occurs. The underlying assumption is that a losing streak cannot continue indefinitely, and a win is bound to happen eventually. While this approach can work in the short term, it can lead to significant financial risks due to the exponential growth of bet sizes during losing streaks. Furthermore, limitations such as maximum bet sizes or insufficient capital may hinder the effectiveness of the Martingale strategy. On the other hand, the Anti-Martingale strategy advocates for increasing bet sizes after a win and decreasing them after a loss. This approach is based on the belief that one should capitalize on winning and minimize exposure during losing streaks. This might involve increasing position sizes during a profitable trend and reducing them when the market turns against the trader. The Anti-Martingale strategy mitigates risk by preventing the exponential growth of bet sizes during losing streaks. Still, in some scenarios, it may result in smaller profits than the Martingale strategy.
Martingale's strategy aims to recover losses by doubling bets after each loss. In contrast, the Anti-Martingale strategy focuses on capitalizing on winning streaks by increasing bets after wins and decreasing them after losses. The Martingale strategy carries higher financial risks, while the Anti-Martingale strategy offers a more conservative approach to risk management.