martingale

plural martingales · alternative martingal

1. equestrianismA piece of harness used on a horse to keep it from raising its head above a desired point.

   I’ll be bound, Lady Ashton understands every machine for breaking in the human mind, and there are as many as there are cannon-bit, martingales, and cavessons for young colts.

   1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume III (The Bride of Lammermoor), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 8

   Synonyms: tie-down

2. nauticalA spar, or piece of rigging that strengthens the bowsprit.
3. mathematicsA stochastic process for which the conditional expectation of future values given the sequence of all prior values is equal to the current value.

   If a gambler plays a fair game repeatedly, his payoff over time is a martingale.

4. gamblingA strategy in which one doubles the stake after each loss.
5. fencingA strap attached to the sword handle, preventing a sword being dropped if disarmed.

present singular third person martingales · participle present martingaling · participle past martingaled · past martingaled · alternative martingal

1. transitivegamblingTo employ the martingale strategy in gambling.

   The Russians were both martingaling it—doubling their bets when they lost.

   2012, Frank Scoblete, Casino Conquest