Roulette system

This post is a long-winded musing over ways to beat roulette. If you don't think it will float your boat then don't bother reading it because you will more than likely find it very boring.

I have been doing some research into my roulette system. It turns out that the system is called the Martingale system and has been around for donkeys years. The general impression on the web is that only an idiot would play this system as the odds dictate that you will eventually lose. Although this is true, I have played this system twice now (once for fake money and once for real money) and it has worked out both times.
From what I can tell on the web, there is no way to really win on the roulette table. For example, if I played my system on a regular basis I would eventually lose and in the long term my losses would be greater than my winnings. There are loads of people out there who claim they know how to win on the roulette table but they all require you to pay for their idea and no doubt they would all be a waste of money.
I have come across another 2 systems that seem interesting although they are slightly more complicated that the one I have used previously.
The first is kind of a reverse of the Martingale system. Basically you double your bet on the same colour everytime you win rather than everytime you lose. You stop betting on the same colour when you have won on it three times in a row or when you lose. I haven't done the maths but on the face of it it seems to work with pretty much the same odds as the Martingale system.
The second is one that takes into account the fact that the three columns have a different distribution of red and black numbers. The first column has 50-50 red and black, the second column has 8 red and 4 black and the third column has 8 black and 4 red. This means that if you put one unit on red and one unit on the third column then you have covered 3/4 of the board with only 2 units. If it comes up red then the worst case is that you have just bet for free. If it comes up red and in your column then you win 5 units (minus your 2 unit stake equals a profit of 3 units) and if it comes up black but in your column then overall you win 1 unit. Of course it could come up black and not in your column but there is only a 25% chance of this happening. Compared with the Martingale system, the third system still gives you a 50% chance of winning but when you win, there is a 50% you will win more and it still gives you a 50% chance of losing but when you lose, there is a 50% that you actually dont lose anything. The only down side is the increased stakes. I'm not sure if you could combine the two systems so that you are basically using the third system but when you lose you double up as in the Martingale system but the idea may have promise.
I will close this post by saying that after all the research that has been done by individuals and by groups, online and offline, over the course of a large period of time, the absolute best system is: bet everything you can on a 50-50 chance, hope luck is on your side and if you win then walk away. I'm not convinced...