Crossword clues for martingale
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Martingale \Mar"tin*gale\, Martingal \Mar"tin*gal\, n. [F. martingale; cf. It. martingala a sort of hose, martingale, Sp. martingala a greave, cuish, martingale, Sp. alm['a]rtaga a kind of bridle.]
A strap fastened to a horse's girth, passing between his fore legs, and fastened to the bit, or now more commonly ending in two rings, through which the reins pass. It is intended to hold down the head of the horse, and prevent him from rearing.
(Naut.) A lower stay of rope or chain for the jib boom or flying jib boom, fastened to, or reeved through, the dolphin striker. Also, the dolphin striker itself.
(Gambling) The act of doubling, at each stake, that which has been lost on the preceding stake; also, the sum so risked; -- metaphorically derived from the bifurcation of the martingale of a harness. Called also Martingale strategy. Such a betting strategy does not change the overall likelihood of winning, but in a short run it increases the probability of winning a small sum, balancing it against an increased probability of losing a large sum. [Cant]
--Thackeray.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1580s, from Middle French martingale (16c.), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old Provençal martegalo, fem. of martegal "inhabitant of Martigue," making the etymological sense "worn in the manner of the people of Martigue;" or perhaps from Spanish almartaga, word for a sort of halter or rein, from Arabic almartak, in which case it might have been influenced in form by the Provençal word.
Wiktionary
n. 1 A piece of harness used on a horse to keep it from raising its head above a desired point. 2 (context nautical English) A spar, or piece of rigging that strengthens the bowsprit. 3 (context mathematics English) A stochastic process relating random variables to earlier values 4 A gambling strategy in which one doubles the stake after each loss. 5 (context fencing English) A strap attached to the sword handle, preventing a sword being dropped if disarmed.
WordNet
n. a harness strap that connects the nose piece to the girth; prevents the horse from throwing back its head
spar under the bowsprit of a sailboat [syn: dolphin striker]
Wikipedia
A martingale is any of a class of betting strategies that originated from and were popular in 18th century France. The simplest of these strategies was designed for a game in which the gambler wins his stake if a coin comes up heads and loses it if the coin comes up tails. The strategy had the gambler double his bet after every loss, so that the first win would recover all previous losses plus win a profit equal to the original stake. The martingale strategy has been applied to roulette as well, as the probability of hitting either red or black is close to 50%.
Since a gambler with infinite wealth will, almost surely, eventually flip heads, the martingale betting strategy was seen as a sure thing by those who advocated it. Of course, none of the gamblers in fact possessed infinite wealth, and the exponential growth of the bets would eventually bankrupt "unlucky" gamblers who chose to use the martingale. The gambler usually wins a small net reward, thus appearing to have a sound strategy. However, the gambler's expected value does indeed remain zero (or less than zero) because the small probability that he will suffer a catastrophic loss exactly balances with his expected gain. (In a casino, the expected value is negative, due to the house's edge.) The likelihood of catastrophic loss may not even be very small. The bet size rises exponentially. This, combined with the fact that strings of consecutive losses actually occur more often than common intuition suggests, can bankrupt a gambler quickly.
In probability theory, a martingale is a model of a fair game where knowledge of past events never helps predict the mean of the future winnings. In particular, a martingale is a sequence of random variables (i.e., a stochastic process) for which, at a particular time in the realized sequence, the expectation of the next value in the sequence is equal to the present observed value even given knowledge of all prior observed values.
To contrast, in a process that is not a martingale, it may still be the case that the expected value of the process at one time is equal to the expected value of the process at the next time. However, knowledge of the prior outcomes (e.g., all prior cards drawn from a card deck) may be able to reduce the uncertainty of future outcomes. Thus, the expected value of the next outcome given knowledge of the present and all prior outcomes may be higher than the current outcome if a winning strategy is used. Martingales exclude the possibility of winning strategies based on game history, and thus they are a model of fair games.
A martingale is a type of dog collar that provides more control over the animal without the choking effect of a slip collar.
Martingale dog collars are also known as greyhound, whippet or humane choke collars. The martingale dog collar was designed for sighthounds because their necks are larger than their heads and they can often slip out of buckle collars. These collars have gained popularity among other breed owners in the recent past with many trainers now recommending them instead of choke chains or buckle collars.
A martingale collar is made with two loops. The larger loop is slipped onto the dogs neck and a leash is then clipped to the smaller loop. When the dog tries to pull, the tension on the leash pulls the small loop taut, which makes the large loop smaller and tighter on the neck, thus preventing escape. Properly fitted, the collar will be comfortably loose when not in use.
A martingale is any of several designs of tack that are used on horses to control head carriage. Martingales may be seen in a wide variety of equestrian disciplines, both riding and driving. Rules for their use vary widely; in some disciplines they are never used, others allow them for schooling but not in judged performance, and some organizations allow certain designs in competition.
The two most common types of martingale, the standing and the running, are used to control the horse's head height, and to prevent the horse from throwing its head so high that the rider gets hit in the face by the horse's poll or upper neck. When a horse's head gets above a desired height, the martingale places pressure on the head so that it becomes more difficult or impossible to raise it higher.
Martingale can refer to:
- Martingale (probability theory), a stochastic process in which the conditional expectation of the next value, given the current and preceding values, is the current value
- Martingale (tack) for horses
- Martingale (collar) for dogs and other animals
- Martingale (betting system)
- a dolphin striker, a spar aboard a sailing ship
- In the sport of fencing, a martingale is a strap attached to the sword handle to prevent a sword from being dropped if disarmed.
- In the theatrical lighting industry, martingale is an obsolete term for a twofer, or occasionally a threefer.
Usage examples of "martingale".
Then he fastened a head martingale on, and buckled it to the girths atwixt his fore legs.
National Gallery, the woman that Agent Martingale recognized, has been associated with BA in the past.
Agent Martingale had apparently finished asking questions and was now talking at length, for the admissions clerk had her mouth shut and her eyes open.
Agent Becca Martingale joined Millie shortly after the Rapid Response Team pulled out.
There, Clyde was introducing himself to Hubert Martingale, Terry Trent, and a lady of dowager specifications who was obviously Mrs.
Hubert Martingale, short but pompous, with a five-inch part in the middle of his carefully combed hair, gave Clyde the angry eye through a pair of gold-chained spectacles.
Doubting that either Trent or Martingale would tell their business to Clyde, Margo had resolved to question the third party in the case, Mrs.
Thora and her husband, a Thomas Martingale, preferred the continent to England.
Remembering what I had been like when I was younger, I was sure Lillian Martingale must think this all a tremendous lark.
From what I understand, Miss Martingale never tried to escape the convent.
Steve normally used on the gelding and slipped it through the looped end of the martingale before fastening it.
I took all the gold I found, and playing the martingale, and doubling my stakes continuously, I won every day during the remainder of the carnival.
I still played on the martingale, but with such bad luck that I was soon left without a sequin.
The man had a stasis generator, and his female mount also had one on its chest, held in place with a martingale strap.
The reins, martingale, and whip are composed of solid silver in woven strands.