D'Alembert vs Martingale: which wins in crash games?

D’Alembert vs Martingale: Martingale wins on the typical session, D’Alembert busts less often. D’Alembert says add one unit after a loss and take one unit off after a win, never going below one unit; Martingale says double your stake after every loss and go back to one unit after a win. In our 1,000-session test at 2x auto cash out with R50 units and a R2,500 bankroll, D’Alembert finished on a median of R1,550 (44.9% busts) and Martingale on R2,300 (46.5% busts). Here is the full comparison for South African players. Both are part of our crash game strategy guide.

D’Alembert vs Martingale: the rules

• D’Alembert: add one unit after a loss and take one unit off after a win, never going below one unit.
• Martingale: double your stake after every loss and go back to one unit after a win.

Both are negative progressions: they raise the stake after losses to win it back. The difference is how fast the stake grows.

How fast the stakes climb

After a run of losses at 2x, your next stake is:

Losses in a row	D’Alembert next stake	Martingale next stake
3	R200	R400
5	R300	R1,600
7	R400	R6,400

That growth rate decides everything. Our Martingale strategy crash guide explains why doubling recovers fastest and why it needs the deepest bankroll.

Simulator results side by side

System (2x, R2,500 bankroll)	Median finish	Top 10% finish	Coldest 10%	Bust rate
D’Alembert	R1,550	R5,050	R0	44.9%
Martingale	R2,300	R5,100	R0	46.5%

Run both yourself with the simulator below, or practise in our free crash game. For the gentler sequence on its own, see dalembert strategy.

Which one should you pick?

• Pick Martingale if you want the stronger typical session.
• Pick D’Alembert if surviving 100 rounds matters most.
• Pick neither if you want zero bust risk: flat betting strategy kept every test session alive.

The best betting system for crash games guide ranks every system we tested.

Play it on Aviator in South Africa

Both systems run on Hollywoodbets Aviator with a 2x auto cash out. Fund with Ozow instant EFT, 1Voucher or OTT Voucher and see our Hollywoodbets Aviator guide for the buttons. Want to play crash games with big-multiplier crypto originals and fast payouts? Compare the best crash game casinos in South Africa, or jump straight into Shuffle Crash.

Pro tip: whichever system you choose, write the stake sequence on paper before you start so you never improvise mid-run.