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The martingale lends itself to a cruel self-deception. It is in the nature of the martingale that there is always a real possibility of huge loss. However, when it occurs, the gambler is likely to feel that he would have won if only he had been able to raise the money for one more bet, and therefore the loss is not the fault of the system. It would have worked, the gambler thinks, had he not had the impossibly bad luck of encountering eight, or nine, or ten "black" spins in a row.

The martingale lends itself to a cruel self-deception. It is in the nature of the martingale that there is always a real possibility of huge loss. However, when it occurs, the gambler is likely to feel that he would have won if only he had been able to raise the money for one more bet, and therefore the loss is not the fault of the system. It would have worked, the gambler thinks, had he not had the impossibly bad luck of encountering eight, or nine, or ten "black" spins in a row.