Labouchere Betting System for Roulette Online Casino Games

There are multiple betting strategies for roulette and all are worth trying. There’s the Martingale progressive roulette strategy and the Reverse Martingale for player win streaks. The most popular flat betting strategy is the James Bond strategy while those with a big betting range generally find the Fibonacci strategy to fit their needs. Most online casino gamesroulette advisors say that the best overall strategy, especially for high rollers, is the Labouchere system.

The system that may work well for one player isn’t necessarily the right one for the next roulette competitor. Most roulette enthusiasts agree that one of the more intriguing systems for roulette betting is the Labouchere system. 

Labouchere

Henry Labouchere, who lived in the 1800s, was a wealthy British aristocrat. He was a politician and a journalist and even had his own magazine. Henry was also a  gambling enthusiast and he especially enjoyed playing roulette.

Labouchere invented an interesting betting strategy that served him sell.  He shared his system for betting with other bettors who found it useful. Today the Labouchere roulette strategy is used at casinos around the world, both in online roulette gaming and in brick-and-mortar casino play.

Compared to the Martingale and Fibonacci systems, the Labouchere cancellation  system is a bit complicated. However, with just a bit of practice, it can be mastered.

You use the Labouchere strategy with even bets. So you can use it when betting on Even/Odd, Red/Black and 1-18/19-36. It’s a bit risky to play on the inside bets because the numbers don’t add up so you might end up losing a lot. It’s best to use it to wager on something with around 50% success chance.

Getting Started

You start out by setting a goal for how much you want to win. For instance, if you want to win $10, you need to separate that $10 into smaller denominations. For instance:

                                    2 - 1 - 2 - 1 - 1 – 2 – 1

The way your sequence is set out is up to you. You determine the amount of money you want to  win and the way the sequence will split it up.

Once the game starts you take the rightmost and leftmost number from your sequence and add them together. (in this case, 1 + 2)  That tells you how much you should bet for the spin. In our example above, the bet should be $3 on  the first spin. If you win the bet, cross out the numbers from the sequence you just used (since you won a part of your goal).

Now look at the sequence as it appears minus the left-hand and right-hand numbers. In our example, the sequence would look like

                                    1 - 2 - 1 - 1 – 2 

On the next spin, the bet would b based on the new leftmost and rightmost numbers – here, 1 + 2 = 3.

You repeat the whole process until you cross out all numbers. Now you’ve completed your objective and won the amount you set out to win. 

Then, you just create a new sequence and start again.

Next Step

If you lose your bet, you don’t cross out any numbers. Instead, you add the number that you just bet (and lost) to the right-most side of the sequence. You now include that in your bet to make up for the bet that you just lost.

In summary:

• After a win, cross out the numbers on the left and right side
• After a loss, don’t cross out any numbers – rather, add the number you’ve just bet to the right side of the sequence

Pros and Cons

People like the Labouchere system because it’s a very organized strategy and, once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty easy. The numbers always add up nicely and you can work towards a goal. If you win as much as you lose, you will come out ahead if you follow the sequence correctly.

There are similarities to the Martingale strategy, but the progression is not as steep. One thing that many gamers appreciate is that losing streaks aren’t disastrous with the Labouchere since you don’t double your bet every time you lose which can result in big hits if you experience a loss.

On the other hand, if you’re using the Labouchere Strategy and you hit a losing streak, your sequence can become unmanageably long, to the point that you experience trouble keeping up. If that occurs, unless you hit a winning run, you are never able to cross out all your numbers.

On the one hand, the Labouchere system is great for help you to keep tabs on where you are exactly in the win/lose ratio but, like other systems, it does nothing to tip the scales in your favor when it comes to odds.

So, like other strategies, it’s best to remember that the strategy is just for fun and to expand your gaming entertainment. In the long run, the house odds are in the house’s favor so the casino always has the upper hand.

That doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the action. 

Modifications & Variations

As with other roulette strategies, there are variations and modifications with the Labouchere method. Some of those variations include:

Modifying the Initial Sequence

You create your own initial sequence so you can decide whether you want to start out betting big or keep your bets small at the beginning and raise them as you go on.  That will all affect the way that you build your sequence.

Splitting When Losing

If you’re on a losing streak your bets can become very high. If you want to avoid that, you can split your bets, so a 20 bet can be split into two 10s or four 5s. In that way, they all add up to the sum you had in your original sequence but the bets are more manageable.

The Reverse Labouchere

You can reverse the whole process by adding the sum of the bet at the end of a sequence after a win and erasing the numbers that you bet after a loss. With the Reverse Labouchere, you lose smaller amounts of money while if you start winning and achieve twice as many wins as losses,  you can win big money.

The Labouchere system is helpful in setting up and organizing your game. Remember, it’s not going to turn the odds of the game in your favor or help you beat the house edge. But it makes for a more interactive roulette gaming event.