Labouchère Roulette Strategy
This particular system takes its name from the English aristocrat Henry Labouchère and can be highly effective and is also known as the Cancellation System. This is a very well known strategy and is probably only surpassed in fame by the Martingale but compared to some other systems it can be a little more difficult to understand.
Basically you will be increasing the level of your bets when you lose as this is another negative progression system based on even chance betting. Having a pen and paper handy whilst you play may be useful.
With this system decisions have to be made by the player before placing any bets. Here the element of choice makes the Labouchère extremely popular with experienced players.
How to use the Labouchère Roulette Strategy
As with many systems that we look at here on Free Casino this strategy is based again on even chance betting. However remember it is not a true 50/50 chance due to the house advantage with the green zero but a 48.6% chance of winning. So looking at this system you will be betting on Red or Black, Odd or Even or blocks of numbers 1-18 and 19-36.
To begin with you need to create a sequence of bets, a line if you like, that you are going to stick to throughout your play on the table. Decide what your minimum betting level will be and for our example this will be a single chip. The sequence we are going to use is as follows –
1 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 1 = 18 chips
If you are able to complete the line you are going to use within this strategy you will win the total amount of all the numbers used. As with this example we would be looking to win 18 chips.
TRY THIS SYSTEM OUT AT WINNERS CASINO NOW
So, how do we use our line. Initially you look at the 2 outside numbers to create your first bet. In our example this would be 1+1=2. So our first bet is 2 chips. The principle will be that if you win you remove those 2 outside numbers from the sequence which would leave the following –
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1
You continue to do this whilst winning. Therefore our second bet would be again 2 chips and if this wins the third bet would be 4 chips. However if you lose a spin you then add the amount of your bet onto the right side of the line. So if the 4 chip bet was a loss you would now have a line that looks like this –
2 – 3 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 4
This new line would now mean that your next bet is 6 chips. You continue to do this removing the outside numbers when you win and adding to the right side of the line when you lose. You follow this pattern up until the point of either completing the line or reaching your own personal betting limit.
Does the Labouchère Strategy Work?
Looking at this system from a mathematical point of view and you stick to the system plus get as many wins as losses, then you will be in profit by the total number of chips in your original starting line.
The main problem with the Labouchère strategy is if you hit a long losing streak. Not only does the original line get longer and longer, the level of bets increase quite quickly. To make this balance out you would then need a long winning streak.
As with all systems you need to bear in mind that the house has the edge and that each spin of the wheel is random to the last.
Try it Out for Yourself
Sometimes it is worthwhile to try a system out for yourself and we recommend Winner Casino which offers a demo of its table games including roulette. Here you can familiarise yourself with the game and then when you want to play for real you can take advantage of their great welcome offer. Simply make a deposit of £35 or more and receive a 200% bonus worth up to a maximum £300 free.
You can read our full review of Winner Casino here.
