The Labouchere betting system is a popular, and complex, gambling strategy used in games like roulette. It should only be used with even money bets such as Black/Red, Odd/Even, or 1-18/19-36. It’s also known as the cancellation system or split martingale. The goal of this system is to help you reach a predetermined profit target by creating a sequence of bets.
The Labouchere system was devised by Henry Labouchère whom clearly enjoyed a game of Roulette.
The basics
There are a couple of things you need to make a note of before starting. They are your starting bankroll, in this example I’ll be using $200, and how much money you want to win. Here we are going to chase a $500 profit. When nominating a desired profit, don’t be ridiculously ambitious! Starting with $10 will not produce a $10,000 profit 🙂
Write down a series of numbers which when combined add up to your chosen profit, which in this example will be $500. The more numbers in your series the longer it takes you to reach your level of profit so I suggest choosing perhaps 10 – 12 numbers. For the example below I’ve chosen 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110 which all add up to 500. Each of these numbers represent a bet you will make, Choose numbers which can be used as legal bets, choosing numbers like 7.50, 15.70 would be silly.
Labouchere example
In this example we want to win $500 and have a starting bankroll of $200 balance. Here’s how the Labouchere betting strategy will work for us:
- Create a sequence of numbers that adds up to our profit target, for example 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, and 110.
- Add the first and last numbers in your sequence, in the first bet that would be 10 + 110 = $120. This is the amount you will bet next on one spin of the roulette wheel.
- If you win;
- If you win, cross out the numbers you used (10 and 110) from the sequence and move on to the next numbers. In this case, our new sequence becomes 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90.
- If you lose;
- Add the amount you just bet, and lost, to the end of your sequence. If you lost the $120, your new sequence becomes 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 120.
- Repeat steps 2-4 until you have crossed out all the numbers in your sequence. At this point, you will have reached your profit target of $500, assuming you’ve won enough bets along the way to cancel out all the numbers.
- If you run out of money before reaching your profit target or if you decide to stop, you’ll need to reset your sequence and start over.
A warning
It’s important to note that while the Labouchere system can be a fun and structured way to play roulette, it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll always reach your profit target. Roulette is still a game of chance, and the outcomes are random. You could encounter a losing streak which exceeds your initial bankroll or the sequence might become very long and require high bets. Similarly a winning streak may present itself, in which case order another beer and celebrate.
Labouchere is a better system than the martingale because you are more likely to avoid table betting limits. A losing streak using the martingale will quickly escalate your bets in excess of the table limits. Casinos set limits on how much you can be in order to thwart martingale players.
Remember to gamble responsibly and set limits on how much you’re willing to spend and potentially lose when using any betting system. Also, be aware of the house edge in roulette, which is designed to favor the casino over the long term.
Happy Roulette Adventures Everyone!
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