You can try all sorts of strategies when you play roulette online. No system ever guarantees a win. They can’t. At most, they give you a hypothetical scenario where you’ll turn a profit if everything goes your way. The Labouchère system is no different, but it is the only option where you’ll actively decide how much you want to win ahead of time and lay out your strategy accordingly. Join Go Spin as we reveal what makes the Labouchère system different from its counterparts and teach you how to use it today.
What Is the Labouchère System?
Known as the Cancellation strategy, or, occasionally, the Split Martingale, the Labouchère system is a mathematical model developed in the Nineteenth Century by British aristocrat Henry Labouchère. Labouchère developed his system specifically for roulette gameplay, so unlike other betting systems, you needn’t look at this option when playing other games.
The system involves deciding what you want to win, dividing that number in a sequence of smaller numbers, and then combining the end numbers to form stakes. The basic idea is that when you run out of numbers in the sequence, you’ll have your winnings.
Roulette Betting Systems Explained
No roulette betting systems ever guarantee wins. Instead, most (if you use them according to strict rules) guarantee that you’ll make a profit when you win. Of course, most require you to avoid lengthy losing streaks, which are ruinous to bankroll management. The Labouchère system is, on paper, no different, but it allows you to set what you want to win and provides you with a strategy for getting there. Whether you’re successful or not is still down to Lady Luck.
The Labouchère System – How to Use It
The Labouchère system is a lot simpler to understand than it first seems. What you’re doing is creating a list of numbers that add up to whatever you want to win. Every bet sees you wager the first and last numbers in the list or sequence.
When you win, you’ll remove the end numbers in the sequence. When losing, you add whatever the total stake was at the rightmost end of the list. Once you no longer have numbers in the sequence, you should have the same winnings you wanted to take away from the game.
To begin with, let’s say you want to win $10. First, you’ll divide that into smaller numbers and add them in sequence. For instance, 1+2+3+4 = 10, so our Labouchère sequence is 1, 2, 3, 4.
Because your bet always features the first and last numbers in the Labouchère sequence, your first bet is worth $5 (1+4).
- If you win this bet, you remove 1 and 4 from your list, which now resembles 2, 3. Next, you’ll bet another $5 (2+3), and if you win again, you’ll have made your $10 target.
- If you lose the first bet, you must add your losses to the sequence. It now looks like this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. On your second bet, you’ll wager $6 (1+5). If you win now, you’ll remove the 1 and 5 from the chain, leading your sequence as 2, 3, 4. If you lose again, you’d add 6 to the chain, forming a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 sequence, and so on.
The Flaws with the System
The great thing about the Labouchère system compared to other strategies is that you can clearly see your path to victory. In short, if you win a couple of rounds in succession, you’ll easily hit your target. However, like other roulette betting strategies, there are flaws worth considering, and we’ll touch on those below.
Losing Streaks May Mean Bankruptcy
Losing streaks are not your friend, and if you go on particularly losing streaks, you’ll easily go bankrupt. The more you lose, the longer your chain gets, making it more difficult to hit those targets without busting your bankroll.
Ideal for High-Rolling Players
The Labouchère system, like all negative progression systems, is ideal for players with huge bankrolls. High-rolling players can sustain losing streaks on account of their balance.
Fine for Online, but Difficult in a Land-Based Setting
The Labouchère system may feature increasing long sequences. This is fine online when writing them down isn’t an issue. However, you can’t bring pens and paper into land-based casinos, so you must learn it off-by-heart if you’re using it in those surroundings
Not as Advantageous as Positive Progression Systems
While the Labouchère system has its pros, it simply isn’t as ideal as positive progression systems. These see you wager more when winning and less when losing, eradicating some of the risk involved with losing streaks.
Practice Makes Perfect – Free Roulette Games
The best way to utilise the Labouchère system as a newbie is to play online roulette games for free. Free-to-play demo games give you a risk-free environment in which to experiment with this strategy. It’s something we recommend for all budding roulette players eager to take their first steps into the world of roulette betting strategies.
FAQ
Does the Labouchère system guarantee I’ll win in roulette?
No. However, when you play roulette online with the Labouchère strategy, you’ll at least see a roadmap to victory, detailing what you must bet to win whatever figure you choose to set.
Isn’t the Labouchère system just the same as the Split Martingale?
Effectively, yes. The Labouchère is the same as the Split Martingale, otherwise known as the Cancellation strategy.
What type of betting system in the Labouchère?
The Labouchère system is a progressive negative progression system. Progressive in that you’ll alter your bet each time, and negative progression in that you raise bets when losing and lower them when winning.
Can I use the Labouchère system on other gambling games?
Theoretically, yes. However, the Labouchère system has always been geared towards roulette, so it’s most effective when you use it for roulette gameplay.
