Although not the most popular amongst players, Labouchere is still a relevant bankroll management system to known if you’re serious about roulette.
Based on mathematical fundaments, it might just fit the bill in certain scenarios and for certain player profiles.
Want to know why? Keep reading and you’ll understand:
- How the Labouchere system works
- Its pros and cons
- Alternative bankroll management approaches
What is the Labouchere system?
Labouchere is a roulette betting system that requires you to follow a sequence of numbers. These numbers determine the number of coins you need to play with each spin.
The underlying premise of the Labouchere roulette system is that you need to win a third of the time to make a profit.
Unlike other roulette strategies, including the Martingale System, a single win doesn’t cancel out your previous losses. Instead, you need to complete a sequence to make a profit.
How Does the Labouchere Approach Work?
Before you understand how the Labouchere betting system works, we need to quickly go over positive and negative progression systems in roulette.
Roulette bankroll management systems are broadly divided into two categories: positive progression and negative progression.
- Positive Progression: You increase the number of coins you play following a win.
- Negative Progression: You increase the number of coins you play following a loss.
The Labouchere roulette method is a negative progression system because you increase the coin value following a loss.
With that out of the way, let’s get into how to play with the Labouchere approach.
Using the Labouchere Bankroll Management System
You need to create a sequence before you can play roulette using the Labouchere system. You create a sequence by setting a win target.
Let’s say you want to win 20 coins. You divide this number by the number of rounds you need to win in order to get a unit value.
The number of winning rounds required to generate a profit using the Labouchere system is 10. Therefore, you divide 20 by 10 to get a unit value of 2.
Finally, you put your unit value (2) in a sequence of 10 rounds:
- 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2
This is the sequence you need to complete. Once you’ve got that, decide how many coins you want to play with.
Practical Example of a Labouchere Sequence
Once you’ve got a win target and the sequence of numbers required to hit that target, you need a coin value. You get that by taking the numbers from either end of your sequence.
Using the sequence from our previous section, we get the following coin value:
- 2 + 2 = 4
That’s your initial coin value. If you win the first round, the two numbers you used (i.e., 2 and 2) get removed from the sequence. If you lose, the coin value (i.e., 4) gets added to the end of the sequence.
Here’s how our example works in practice:
Sequence: 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2
First round: 2 + 2 = 4 coins on red
- You win
- New sequence: 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2
Second round: 2 + 2 = 4 coins on black
- You win
- New sequence: 2-2-2-2-2-2
Third round: 2 + 2 = 4 coins on black
- You win
- New sequence: 2-2-2-2
Fourth round: 2 + 2 = 4 coins on red
- You lose
- New sequence: 2-2-2-2-4
Fifth round: 2 + 4 = 6 coins on black
- You lose
- New sequence: 2-2-2-2-4-6
That’s how the Labouchere system works. Although it seems complicated at first, it’s simply a case of creating a sequence and working through it until all of the numbers have been removed.
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Should I Use the Labouchere Bankroll Management Approach?
Now that you know how the Labouchere roulette system works, here are some pros and cons to consider:
| Advantages of the Labouchere Roulette System | Disadvantages of the Labouchere Strategy |
|---|---|
| You’re guaranteed to make a profit if you complete a sequence. | Sequences can become prohibitively long if you hit an extended losing streak. |
| Playing roulette with the Labouchere system gives you a clear structure to follow. | The Labouchere roulette approach doesn’t reduce the house edge. |
| It can be used in conjunction with win/loss limits to develop a responsible bankroll management strategy. | Not following the pattern correctly renders the Labouchere roulette system ineffective. |
Alternatives to the Labouchere Roulette Strategy
Plenty of people use the roulette Labouchere system to manage their best, but it’s not the only strategy in town. Here are two alternative bankroll management systems that can be used for even-money options in roulette:
Martingale
Martingale is the most famous bankroll management system in the world. The fundamental premise of the system is as follows: you double the number of coins you play following a loss and reset to your original amount after a win.
The beauty of the Martingale roulette system is that you’ll always be in profit by the value of your initial coin amount when you hit a win. Let’s put this to the test:
- Advantage: A single win cancels out all preceding losses, no matter how many times in a row you lose.
- Disadvantage: The number of coins you need to use increases very quickly, which means it’s easy to hit the table limit or your own personal limit.
Paroli
The Paroli approach for roulette is also known as Reverse Martingale because you have to double the number of coins you play following a win. But, if you lose, you revert back to your original coin value (or stay at the same coin value if you’ve not increased).
Like Martingale, you’ll always be in profit following a loss if you’ve previously hit a sufficient number of wins.
- Advantage: You’re guaranteed to make a profit if you hit a streak of at least two wins.
- Disadvantage: You don’t have a natural stopping point, which means you might have to increase your coin value by a large amount following a series of wins. Managing this is tricky because you might not want to play if the number of coins required is too high.
D’Alembert
D’Alembert roulette system is different from all strategies seen so far, because every play you make only goes up or down by one unit. It does go up when you lose and down when you win, which makes it a negative progression system.
In that regard, it’s just like Labouchere, but simpler and more conservative.
- Advantage: Because increments and reverting back are so slow, you’ll likely be able to be at the table for a long time without exhausting your bankroll for the session
- Disadvantage: You’re not exponentially upping your play for a win to cancel out several losses, which can happen with systems such as Martingale…or even Labouchere, to a certain extent.
Fibonacci
Just like Labouchere, the Fibonacci strategy would imply that you play an higher amount when you lose and a lower one when as you win.
The major difference is the sequence – here, you go up one step when you lose, but go back 2 steps when you win.
- Advantage: Growth in this sequence is progressive, which means it takes a while for your bankroll to be exhausted and it potentially increases your playing time.
- Disadvantage: Again, it’s not the best strategy for trying to recover losses (which isn’t something we’d recommend, anyway, as you should play for fun)
Final Thoughts on the Labouchere Roulette System
As you can see, the Labouchere roulette system could be an interesting choice if you’re a conservative player.
Of course, there are more ambitious ones and, on the other spectrum, you might just choose to always play the same no matter what if the flat roulette system.
Before wrapping up, there are some tips that you can keep in mind when playing roulette with the Labouchere system – seeing that’s the one you were keen on.
Set a Limit and Stick to It
Labouchere roulette strategy is a great way to manage the moves you make during a round of play, but it doesn’t cover the bigger picture things, such as when to stop sessions.
For example, we know that playing roulette with the Labouchere system gives us a formula for starting and stopping a sequence of moves. How, then, do you know when to stop playing? The Labouchere approach doesn’t tell you, which is why you need to set win and loss limits.
These limits dictate when you stop playing. If you hit a coin value equal to your win limit, you stop. If you hit a coin value equal to your loss limit, you stop. Other than the financial aspects of stopping at the right time, win/loss limits remove emotion from your play.
It’s very easy to get swept away in a game and lose sight of logic. When this happens, you’re more likely to make poor decisions. Setting limits before you play removes the risk of acting impulsively. When you combine this with Labouchere, you’ve got an effective bankroll management system.
Prepare for Long Sessions
As a conservative bankroll management system which relies on complete sequences to produce results, the Labouchere approach needs time.
Be mindful of this, because short sessions won’t be where it shines. Bankroll might not be an issue, but your time and focus could well be.
Choose Even-Play
For the system to work best, it’s recommended that you play on predictions such as red/black, odd/even or 0-18/19-36.
Because probabilities are closer to 50%, it will sort of match the steady progression of this system.
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Try the Labouchere Roulette Strategy at McLuck
That’s everything you need to know about the Labouchere roulette system. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll make a profit. Your results will always ebb and flow randomly, as they do in all casino games.
However, the structure Labouchere provides is based on sound mathematical principles. Therefore, if you can implement it successfully, you’ll make a profit when you hit a winning run on the roulette.
The only thing left to do now is to log into your account at McLuck social online casino and try the Labouchere roulette bankroll management system for yourself.
