Roulette Strategies

Gamblers have been attempting, for hundreds of years, to devise infallible betting systems for roulette, betting systems in which your next bet is predicated on a prior sequence of wins or losses. All of these systems, except one, have failed and have bankrupted hundreds and probably thousands of gamblers who dreamed of striking it rich in the casinos. They have failed because of a common fallacy—increasing one's bet to cover all or a portion of prior losses.

For example, the oldest of these Roulette Strategies—the Martingale—requires the gamblers to double their bets on each successive loss until a win and then return to a one-unit bet. The gambler risks his entire bankroll to win one unit! Consider the following losing sequence: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512. If the gambler possesses the necessary 1,023 units to cover this losing sequence, he bumps against the house maximum of 500 units in attempting to make the tenth bet. Most gamblers go broke long before they reach the house maximum. And ten losses in a row just isn't that uncommon.

If you have been using such a system and winning, you are "dancing between the raindrops." It is just a matter of time before you blow your entire bankroll.

But there is a way to turn the use of a progressing betting system to your advantage. In my twenty-five years of gambling research, this particular strategy is the only progressive betting method I have found that frequently works. No, it won't overcome the house advantage. But still you can use it to win with the necessary patience and discipline.

It combines the three elements we require for our Roulette Strategies: percentages, money management, and chance. It does add a fourth—patience—so I debated for quite some time before incorporating it into this Tournament Strategy.

But, in all due diligence, I firmly believe that this system* provides you with the best shot at winning not only the Roulette and/or Baccarat Tournaments, but in coming home a winner from your normal gambling sessions as well.

The method is elegant in its simplicity. It is based on Labouchere betting progression which looks like this: 1, 2, 3, 4.

In a normal Labouchere progression, the gambler bets the sum of the two outside numbers. He crosses these two numbers off on a win or adds the amount of his bet to the series on a loss. A sequence of wins and losses—W,L,L,L,L,W,W,L,W,W—would present the following line: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, J7, 0, II, It.

We have won five times and lost five, crossed out the series, and won 10 units (the sum of all numbers in the original series).

The gambler is duped into thinking that he has an infallible system because he can win fewer times than losing or win about half the time but still make money. But we know it doesn't work that way and so did Norman Leigh as he masterminded the scheme described so eloquently in Thirteen Against the Bank.

The essence of the scheme: We reverse the progression and force the casino to play the system as we play the casino. We increase our bets and add numbers to the series as we win instead of as we lose. Losses are used to cross the number off. Thus our same sequence of wins and losses as above (W,L,L,L,L,W,W,L,W,W) would produce now the following line: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

The third loss in the above sequence wipes out our series because we cross off the two outside numbers for each loss and add the amount of our bet on a win. So we start a new series thus: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, #, 8, 11.

The above line would result from the end of the above sequence: L,W,W,L,W,W. Our line stays alive, keeps extending itself on a series of dominant wins. We are playing with money won and our bets keep getting larger. Let's continue the above series with the following sequence: W,W,L,W,W,L,L,W,W,W-->I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, X, 8, 11, 14,.1JM0, 24,25, 36,47...

Our objective is to keep the line open by picking one even-money bet (roulette: red, black, odd, even, 1-18, 19-36; baccarat: players or bank) and sticking with it.

If losses force you to cross out a line, you have lost 10 units (1 + 2 + 3 + 4) and you start over with a fresh line.

Your objective on any line is to reach the table maximum bet—in this case, $1,000. If you are lucky enough to reach the table maximum, you are finished with your line and return to a new 1, 2, 3, 4, and a 5 unit—in our case $5—bet.

Now, I admit that you are going to cross out many series and incur many 10-unit losses before you will experience one that will take you to table maximum. But that one series often will more than compensate for all your prior losses.

And you have just as good a chance at getting your series during the tournament round of 70 spins (roulette) or 80 hands (baccarat) as any other time.

Here is how to play the reverse Labouchere (or "Reverse Labby," as Leigh affectionately called it in Thirteen Against the Bank) in the tournament:

For the beginning game (first 25 spins at roulette; first 30 hands at baccarat), assign the value of $1 to your units. Your series 1, 2, 3, 4 consists of 10 $1 units and you are never betting less than the $5 minimum (1+4 or 3 + 2).

You must pick an even-money bet: red, black, odd, even, high, low at roulette or players or bank at baccarat. This is purely a subjective decision on your part except for baccarat. I recommend going with the players. That way you avoid the 5% commission on your wins on the bank side (which would increase your 10-unit loss for each series).

In roulette when the house green comes up you lose half your bet. Leave the other half out on the same bet and don't count it as a loss unless you lose that half on the next spin. Don't count it as a win unless you win the next two times.

If you have a series going as you approach the Middle Game, do not change units until your series is either crossed off or extends itself to the table maximum.

When you start a fresh series in the Middle Game, increase your unit to $5, i.e., multiply the sum of your two outside numbers by $5 to get your bet size. Your first bet in the starting series of 1, 2, 3, 4 will now be $25 instead of $5, and you are now losing $50 per crossed-off series instead of $10. This aggressive approach should be used only for tournament play and not for your normal gambling sessions.

Remember that your stop loss is $500 and to withdraw from the tournament if you hit that number.

In the End Game (last 20 spins at roulette, last 20 hands at baccarat), you must decide whether or not to back off from a winning line before you get to the table maximum. I recommend that you consider backing off only during the last six plays, and then only if you have a substantial lead and don't wish to risk losing it. Even then, backing off may be dangerous unless your lead is insurmountable.