Other Roulette Systems
The Martingale is probably the most famous betting system, particularly for roulette players, but of course there are plenty of other startegies that people use to try and beat the wheel. We have already listed out some Martingale variants. On this page, we are going to list out some other systems and run through a summary of our favourites.
Remember, no roulette system will alter the odds that you get on a roulette wheel, which is set by the design of the game and by the amount that the casino pays out for all the bets (this is standardised and good casinos like the ones that we list on this site will be audited to ensure that they offer fair odds). That doesn't mean it is a bad idea to play systems- in fact, in our view, anything that forces you to plan before you play is a good thing.
At the very least, you should be setting the following before you sit down at the table:
- A stop loss limit (your budget for losing effectively)
- A take profit limit (when you will walk away from the table)
- A time limit.
Anyway, let's talk systems.
Other Roulette Systems
D'Alembert
If we are talking famous strategies like the Martingale System, then we also need to mention the D'Alembert System. This is often used for the even payout bets like red/black and was developed from the thinking of French mathematician Jean Le Rond d’Alembert and his theory of equilibrium. Jean surmised that if you have 2 outcomes with an equal chance of happening (eg red/black), and one starts to dominate (you get a run of blacks for example), then the other must feature heavily at some point in the future, in order for equilibrium to be restored.
What does that mean in plain English? Well, if you see a load of reds, you'll likely see a load of blacks at some time in the future.
This theory is built into the D'Alembert system like this:
You add 1 unit to your last bet if you lose and remove a unit if you win.
Of course this may not be the case, even over 100 bets. You might get a run of even numbers at the start of your session and find that the rest of the session goes with odd.
Worth a test- this is a negative progression, like the Martigale and the Super Martingale, since you increase your bets after a loss, but the profile is a lot less steep. But, bear in mind, that you are not going to cover your losses if you have a long string of them. The main flaw? You still don't know when you are going to see a long sequence of reds, if you have just seen a long sequence of blacks. It could be on the next spin, or it could be in 100 spins time. The wheel has no memory.
Labouchère
The Labouchère system, the Cancellation or Split Martingale, or even just "The Labby" is a betting system most often used in roulette (most of these are- you try playing them on slots)!
Before you play, set out your profit target (and stop loss).
Then, write down a list of numbers on a piece of paper that add up to your profit target.
Eg- you want to make a profit of 10 in a mini session (it's best to break these Labby sequences into mini sessions). So you might have 1,1,2,3,3.
Start betting a sum equal to the first number + the last number (in this example: 4)
If you win, strike off the 2 numbers from your sequence (this is why it is called the Cancellation System).
If you lose, add the amount of your first bet to the end of the sequence. So, in the example above, we'd have:
1,2,3 after a win, and the next bet is 4
1,1,2,3,3,4 after a loss, and the next bet is 5.
If you get down to 1 number, just bet that- and if you win, you have hit your original profit target. You also stop if you hit your stop loss, so keep an eye on your total bet amount and don't chase losses (as always!)
Play the Labouchère System on even payout roulette bets such as Even/Odd, Red/Black or 1-18/19-36.
Fibonacci System
Fibonacci was a famous mathematician who is responsible for the adoption of the Hindu–Arabic numbering system that we all use to day in the Western World in Europe, thanks to his1202 work: Liber Abaci. I bet you didn't know that! (Maybe you did).
Anyway, this is a man who also came up with a very famous number sequence that seems describe the shapes and behaviours of many things in the natural world, including how quickly rabbits breed, and can be used to predict the shape of spiral galaxies, sunflowers and Nautilus shells. You could say thet the Fibonacci sequence is plugged in to the universe somehow (but we are probably getting to deep here). Forex traders use the Fibonnaci to help them identifiy swings in market sentiment.
A Fibonacci progression is one where each number is the sum of the preceding 2.
Let's look at a Fibonacci beginning with 1:
1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21
How does this apply to roulette bets? Well, it can be used as quite a neat progression for roulette bets. Just follow the profile and you end up with a progression that is still pretty aggressive, buyt not half as scary as the Martingale.
The flaw? Well in this system, if you suffer a long losing streak, you are not going to cover all of your losses, you are just hedging against them (but on the other hand you aren't digging yourself as big a hole). And on the other side of the coin, you'll still accelerate your wins on a winning streak.