Labouchere
The Labouchere System
The Labouchere goes under various names: you might see it called the Spilt Martingale, The Cross-Out System, The Strike-out System or even The Cancellation System.
This system was famously used by James Bond in his many trips to the casino in Monaco, the name is often abbreviated to "The Labby".
The Labouchere was devised by an English gentleman who went under the name of Henry Labouchere. This famous (or infamous?) gambler died in 1912, but not before he claimed to have taken a few casinos around the world to the cleaners with his system.
How The Labouchere works
The Labby is basically a progression system like The Martingale, but instead of generating the sequence with a mathmatical formula, you set it manually to give you more control over your bets.
Follow these steps:
1. Jot down a list of numbers. The amount of numbers you choose and the numbers you pick are up to you. We are going to illustrate the system with the following numbers: 1.3.5.7.7.
2. On your initial move, make a bet equal to the sum of the 1st and last digits, so 1+7=8 with the list above.
3. If you lose the bet:
Add the total amount of your previous bet to the progression. So, with our sequence above, you would stick on an 8 to the end so your list of numers become 1.3.5.7.7.8. You next bet is then 1+8 = 9
4. If you win on the wheel, strike off the initial and last numbers ( you would have 3.5.7 in the example sequence).
5. Repeat the Labouchere. Your next bet is 3+7 = 10. If you win, cross the first and last numbers off again. Your last bet is now 5 (assuming you have a good winning streak). If you win again, you will have crossed all your numbers off.
If you want to continue betting after you have crossed off all the numbers, just kick off with either the same progression or come up with a fresh one.
The Labouchere aims to win you back any losses incurred on a lsoing streak, plus to accelerate your winnings on a winning streak.
Labouchere Banana Skins
As with all systems, understand that you are not improving your odds with this system. This is a function of the physical attributes of the wheel and ball. However, you are building a system into your play which will at least make you play more methodically.
Test the system out on the free games software (most casinos offer this), or better still make use of a promotional offer such as a FREE HOUR no deposit required promotion, to test the system out.
WARNING: you may run into the same problem as The Martingale in that there will be a maximum table
limit (probably $300) which will limit your ability to cover your
losses after a prolonged losing streak. Also remember that these types of systems work best on the so called "even money" bets, such as red/black. BUT remember that the roulette wheel also has a zero pocket (or 2 in American Roulette). Every now and then you will suffer a loss on the zero pocket which kind of sits outside the Labouchere Plan. ALWAYS play European Roulette over American Roulette when playing the Labouchere. The odds are better as there is one less zero pocket. Unless of course you are playing The Labby on the double zero pocket which we would definitely advise against!
Managing your risk
You can reduce your exposure by sticking lots of 1s at the front end of your Labby progression- this will keep your bets low.