Martingale Strategy

A martingale strategy doubles the position size after every loss so that one win recovers all earlier losses plus the first trade’s gain; the size grows exponentially with each consecutive loss.

KCM Academy Editorial Team
Editorial policy
Last updated 27 October 2026

A martingale strategy doubles the position size after every losing trade, so that a single win recovers all previous losses plus the first trade's gain. The idea comes from betting systems. After n losses in a row the next trade is 2 to the power n times the first: after 6 losses it is 64 times the size.

How does martingale doubling work?

Martingale doubles the lot after each loss, so the risk on each trade doubles too and any single win returns only the first trade's gain. On a $1,000 account starting at $10 of risk, the sixth trade risks $320, and six losses in a row lose $630 in total, as the table below shows.

A trader with a $1,000 account trades EURUSD with a 20-pip stop and starts by risking $10, which is 0.05 lot (about $0.50 a pip). The risk doubles after each loss. Margin is shown at 1:100 leverage with EURUSD at 1.0800 (lots × 100,000 × 1.0800 ÷ 100).

Trade Lots Risk on this trade Margin needed Total lost if this trade also loses
1 0.05 $10 $54 $10
2 0.10 $20 $108 $30
3 0.20 $40 $216 $70
4 0.40 $80 $432 $150
5 0.80 $160 $864 $310
6 1.60 $320 $1,728 $630
7 3.20 $640 needed $3,456 Only $370 left

If any trade in the run wins, the result is the original $10: trade 5 winning gains $160 against $150 already lost, net +$10. If trade 5 loses, the account is down $310. Margin binds before cash does: trade 5 needs $864 of margin with $850 left in the account, and trade 7 needs $640 of risk with $370 left.

Bars for seven trades in a losing run, with the lot size doubling each time from 0.05 to 3.20; margin runs out at trade 5 and cash at trade 7
Martingale doubles the lot after each loss, so size grows 64 times in six losses until margin or cash runs out.

How often do losing streaks happen?

With a 50% chance of losing each trade, six losses in a row have a probability of 0.5 to the power 6, about 1.6%, or once in 64. Over a longer run the chance of meeting at least one streak of six somewhere grows: about 55% across 100 trades (calculated).

Spread and other trading costs are paid on every trade, at the doubled size too. The why beginners lose lesson shows how doubling after losses turns a 10% loss into a 70% one.

What limits martingale doubling?

Margin and the broker's maximum volume limit martingale doubling, because each doubled position needs twice the margin and has to fit the symbol's volume limits. Cash runs out too: in the table above, margin stops the run at trade 5 and cash at trade 7.

Position sizing works the other way: a fixed, small share of the account per trade, so a losing streak shrinks the size instead of growing it.

How do you spot martingale sizing in MetaTrader 5?

In MetaTrader 5 you spot martingale sizing by opening an Expert Advisor's inputs and checking whether the lot size increases after a loss. Some Expert Advisors (automated trading programs) use martingale-style sizing, sometimes under names such as "lot multiplier" or "recovery". Test any EA in the Strategy Tester and on demo before running it live.

Does martingale always end in a win?

No: martingale only ends in a win while the account, the margin and the broker's volume limit allow the next doubled size. The belief rests on a win eventually coming, but the doubling stops first when any of those three runs out. In the table above, margin ends it at trade 5 and cash at trade 7.

Sources

Learn it properly in the full lesson: Why Do Most Beginner Traders Lose Money? Causes and Fixes

Practise what you learned

Open an account to use MetaTrader 5. Start on a demo account before risking real money.

Open Account