Binary Options Martingale Strategy

The binary options Martingale strategy is an easy-to-understand investing system. Through this high-risk, high-reward strategy, investors aim to capitalise on winning streaks and immediately recover lost funds from trades that go wrong. This guide will explain how to use the Martingale strategy for binary options trading, alongside a number of examples with expected payouts and payoffs, plus setting up tips.

Binary Options Brokers

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    Established in 2017, Pocket Option is a binary options broker offering high/low contracts on forex, stocks, indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies. With over 100,000 active users and a global reach, the platform continues to prove popular with budding traders.

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    IQCent is an offshore binary options and CFD broker based in the Marshall Islands. The brand continues to offer a range of unique account types with bonuses and perks, including payout boosts, TradeBacks and free rollovers. With 100+ assets, around-the-clock trading and 98% payouts, the firm is popular with aspiring short-term traders.

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    CloseOption is a Georgia-headquartered broker with over a decade in the trading industry. The brand offers high/low binary options trading on forex and crypto markets, with decent payouts, welcome bonuses, 24/7 customer support and intuitive trading software.

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    Grand Capital is a MetaTrader broker with welcome bonuses, trading competitions and an intuitive copy trading service. Several account types and 400+ assets provide trading opportunities for various types of investors and strategies. New users can also open an account and start trading in a matter of minutes.

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    Dukascopy is an online broker operated by a Swiss-regulated banking group. It offers a good selection of 500+ markets, with forex, stocks, gold, ETFs, indices, bonds and cryptocurrencies available. It also offers flexible trading opportunities through the choice of CFDs or binary options. Traders will use MetaTrader 4 or a proprietary platform that is well-suited to automated trading.

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    AZAforex is a multi-asset broker founded in 2016. The brand offers a sophisticated proprietary platform, ECN trading and 40+ deposit methods. The brokerage has 120,000+ registered customers with copy trading and a VPS.

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    Launched in 2017, Videforex offers access to stock, index, crypto, forex and commodities markets via binary options and CFDs. The proprietary platform, mobile app and integrated copy trading are user-friendly and will suit new and casual traders, and the market analysis tools and trading contests provide good ways to improve your trading skills.

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    Focus Option is an offshore broker that specializes in binary options as well as CFDs. Binary options trading on forex, cryptos and three commodities is done through the broker's simple web-based platform with average payouts between 70% and 95%. The broker also offers a mobile app for trading CFDs, with 300+ tradeable instruments.

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    BinaryCent is an unregulated binary options broker that offers 24/7 trading on forex, cryptos and stocks with payouts up to 95%. Despite its lack of regulation, this broker takes client security seriously and stores client funds in European banks. The broker also offers CFDs with very high leverage up to 1:500.

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    World Forex is an offshore broker registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines, offering commission-free trading with a $1 minimum deposit and 1:1000 leverage. Digital contracts are also available, offering beginners a straightforward way to speculate on popular financial markets.

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    RaceOption is a binary options broker operating from the Marshall Islands. With over 1,500 clients, the broker aims to offer fast funding, low fees and a secure trading environment. Traders can access over 100 binary options and CFDs, plus copy trading and weekly prizes.

What Is The Martingale Strategy?

The Martingale trading strategy originated as a gambling system in the 18th century, used where the odds of winning are close to 50:50. For example, gambling red or black on the roulette table at a casino.

The idea is that after losing a bet, you double up on your next investment to recoup the losses. Traders essentially keep doubling the size of their trades until they achieve a win.

The challenge lies in ensuring you have enough funds to keep placing trades, as losses can accumulate quickly.

Trading Binary Options Using The Martingale Strategy

Using a binary option Martingale strategy works in a similar way to the traditional method, however, it is not always viable to just keep doubling the stake size. Because the profit percentage of a binary options trade is almost always less than 100%, you need to do more than double the stake after each losing trade. To demonstrate why let’s look at an example…

In this scenario, assume the profit percentage for each trade is 75% and the starting stake size is £100.

If you lose your first trade, the stake size for the second trade is £200. But if you win this trade, your net profit is £50 (-£300 stake + £350 return (£200 stake + £150 profit)). Importantly, this is only 50% of the original trade rather than the 75% expected payoff and so you have not compensated for the original losing trade.

If you lose your first two in a row, you are down £300 and the next stake size is £400. Winning that trade generates a profit of £300, which brings your net returns to zero (-£700 stake + (£400 stake + £300 profit)).

After three losing trades in a row, you will be down £700 and the next stake is £800. If you win that trade, you receive a profit of £600 but this does not cover the losses made up to that point and the net loss is £100 (-£1500 stake + (£800 stake + £600 profit)).

To compensate for the fact that a winning trade will not always cover the losses that happen in succession, you need to more than double the stake if the profit percentage stays the same. For instance, the second trade’s stake size would need to be £233 to generate a net profit of £75 (-£333 stake + (£233 stake + £174.75 profit)).

Trading Binary Options Using The Anti-Martingale Strategy

There is another version of the best binary options Martingale strategy whereby you halve the stake size after every loss and double it after every win. Its name is the anti-Martingale binary options strategy.

Similarly to the original Martingale strategy, it is not ideal for independent events where one result has no impact on subsequent results, for example, a coin toss. Success rests on the idea that you build up a winning streak and you maintain your positive momentum.

This is a viable strategy when trading binary options because a security’s price will trend in both positive and negative directions with varying levels of momentum. For instance, stock price increases or decreases in trends that last for several minutes. Alternatively, if a forex pair increases in value for five minutes, you could open five 60-second binary options where each is a call assuming the uptrend will continue.

Benefits Of The Binary Options Martingale Strategy

  • Easy to execute the strategy
  • Potential to quickly recoup any losses
  • A simple system to understand for smart traders
  • Available to use at most binary options brokers and platforms
  • Free classes, games and videos online with 100% profitable setups explained

Drawbacks Of The Martingale Binary Options Strategy

  • Risk of mounting losses and zero wins
  • Must account for profit percentages being less than 100% when trading binary options
  • UK-based investors cannot trade binaries with FCA-regulated brokers – they must use offshore providers

Tips Explained

Practice

Take the time to learn about binary options trading and how to use the Martingale strategy effectively. Learning how to set up a binary options trade so that the expected payoff on the next trade covers any previous losses is a key first step.

It is also worthwhile registering for a binary options demo account using brokers such as Pocket Option. These practise accounts use simulated funds and offer a risk-free way to build up experience before implementing the binary options Martingale strategy in a live account.

Markets & Money Management

A Martingale strategy for binary options carries a high risk as a series of bad trades can quickly empty your brokerage account. Because of this, trade on markets and assets that you are comfortable with and know well enough so you can make relatively accurate predictions on price movements. The top binary brokers offer free analysis videos, PDF downloads and list daily world market insights to support trading decisions.

Also make sure you have a sensible strategy for binary options money management.

Keep Track Of Your Trades

To help develop and refine your binary options Martingale strategy, keep track of your trades using an Excel document or journal rather than just relying on your memory. You will want to take note of the stake size, outcome and returns for each trade and then take note of the net profit or loss up to this point.

You can also set up a calculator to plan out investments such that the excepted value of a winning trade will compensate for any losses of previous trades.

Bottom Line On Using The Binary Options Martingale Strategy

Being a winner with the Martingale binary options strategy often requires a large amount of capital, so it won’t suit everyone. Also, the expected payout quotes and values at many brokers mean you won’t automatically recoup your losses. However, this doesn’t mean that it is impossible to generate returns. Use a demo account to test the binary options Martingale strategy and to find the right amount to stake based on the payouts offered by your online broker.

FAQ

While the strategy itself is legal, there are restrictions on binary options trading in the UK. If you want to execute a Martingale binary options strategy as a UK-based investor, you will need to use either unregulated or offshore brokers. We have reviewed and ranked the top binary options brokers for UK traders.

What Is The Martingale Strategy In Binary Options?

The definition of the Martingale strategy says that after every losing trade, you double the investment size. However, using a Martingale strategy for binary options trading requires you to more than double the stake following a trade ending out-of-the-money due to the size of typical payouts. Use our guide to build a winning binary options Martingale strategy.

Is The Martingale Binary Options Strategy Suitable For Beginners?

The Martingale binary options strategy is simple enough for beginners to understand and implement. However, as the style carries a high risk, investors new to binary options trading should first practise using a demo account to create a test plan. Additionally, it is important to take a considered approach to risk management and only invest what you can afford to lose.

Is Martingale The Best Binary Options Strategy?

The Martingale binary options strategy has a high upside but comes with high risk. It is a strategy that can produce positive returns but if it goes wrong, you can soon find yourself losing your entire trading capital. It is also worthwhile investigating other binary options strategies or considering using trading aids such as copy trading and algorithmic trading.