Optimal BlackJack and Roulette Betting System

Overview

This article serves to optimize the Labouchere betting system to give the highest chance of success at either BlackJack or Roulette. The essence of the system is that you are willing to risk your total capital for small incremental gains with a very high success rate. With a moderate amount of capital, this system produces greater than 95% success rate per set. This can be a very successful strategy if implemented correctly. Since this is a betting system, this strategy can work for any type of gambling, including BlackJack, Roulette, Sports betting, and baccarat. This is the best betting strategy I have come across. 

roulette wheel

Labouchere Betting System

The Labouchere betting system or the American Progression increases stakes after lost bets to recover the losses from a smaller number of wins.  At its core, the system only requires 33% success + 1 win to succeed in the strategy, but this is limited by the capital brought into the casino. The system is designed for games that give success rates of 50% minus the house edge (red/black on roulette, blackjack optimal strategy, or sports betting spread). The appeal of the system is that it allows for more bets to be lost than won, while still making a profit. This is what makes it one of the best roulette strategies. 

See more on The Labouchere System

Implementation

The basis of this strategy is to start with a sequence of numbers (e.g. 1, 2, 3). The current bet is the sum of the first and last numbers of the sequence. If the bet is a success, the first and last numbers of the sequence are eliminated. If the bet is a loss, the current bet number is added to the end of the sequence.

 

The sequence being closed is defined as a successful bet when the sequence is less than 2 numbers long. When the sequence is complete, the minimum profit is the sum of all the numbers in the sequence. Depending on the capital, there can be a > 95% closure rate. 

The starting sequence is chosen depending on your capital and the amount of risk you are willing to take. The higher the numbers in the sequence, the lower chance of closing the sequence, but the total profit will be higher. Different starting sequence and their chances can be seen below. 

 

I created a simple app in code.org that can keep track of the sequence for you, along with being able to set the sequence: sequence tracker

 

See the example of the betting system on the right. 

Labouchere betting system

Making the Strategy Better

The first step in optimizing the Labouchere betting system is to outline the statistics associated with different starting amounts and different sequences. These results were simulated > 1 million times, so the results can be trusted using the Law of Big Numbers.
 
Outlined below are sequence closure statistics, or the chance that the sequence will be completed, for common starting sequences. These were simulated for roulette but would be nearly the same for any of the games listed previously. The higher the numbers in the sequence, the worse odds that the sequence does not close.

Sequence

Capital ($)Sequence Closure Rate
5072.2%
10082.9%
15087.7%
20090.0%
25091.2%
30092.8%
35093.1%
40094.1%
45094.8%
50095.1%
For [1 2 3 4] sequence

The general idea from these statistics is that the greater the capital ($), the greater the chance of the sequence being completed. Also, looking at the different sequences, the higher-value sequences have a much lower chance of success than the lower-value sequences. This makes sense because these yield a larger profit, which is riskier.

Minimizing Losses

 The main problem with this system is that a long losing streak can cause the better to lose the entirety of their money quickly. This is due to the increased bet after each loss. The aim of this optimization is to keep the high chance of completing the sequence while mitigating the loss if the sequence is near failure. This way, when the losing streak comes, the loss isn’t catastrophic.

Bet Cutoff

The next step in the process is to try and mitigate the huge losses seen when the sequence is not closed. This idea comes from the fact that the majority of sequences are won in the early stages of the sequence. When the sequence gets large, > 10 numbers in the sequence, the success rate becomes much lower. This optimization aims to mitigate the loss to less than half of the total capital ($) bet by setting a bet cutoff. This means, if the next bet in the sequence is bigger than the bet cutoff, the sequence is taken as a loss and is reset. When the bet cutoff is reached, money will be lost, but not the entire capital, which could happen if the sequence is continued. 
 
The plot below shows the sequence closure rate vs. the bet cutoff non-dimensionalized by the initial capital.
best roulette strategy

This is a huge discovery for the optimization! This plot shows that if a bet cutoff is set to 30% of the total capital, then you have within 1% of the max sequence closure rate, but are mitigating a lot of the risk by setting this cutoff. I would recommend setting the bet cutoff to 20-30% of the initial capital to reduce a lot of the risk, while still having a high closure rate.  

Sequence Length

This section will set a cutoff if the sequence length is greater than a certain length. The idea behind this is that after a prolonged losing streak, i.e. the sequence is long, the next bets are of high value, so it will be better to get out and reset before all the capital is lost. 

 

We can see here that once the sequence reaches a length of 15, there is little difference in closure rate, implying you should reset the sequence if it’s longer than 15 numbers. This is for an arbitrary sequence and can apply to any starting sequence. 

Recommendation

This strategy’s main use to at the electric roulette and blackjack tables at a casino. This is because you can use this app or a notes pages on your phone to keep track of the sequence. Also, these machines have a lower minimum bet, so the numbers in the sequence can be smaller, increasing your odds. 

My recommendation:

  1. Bring 100x the minimum bet at the electric tables (usually between $3-$5, so $300- $500 initial capital),
  2. Set your starting sequence to double the sum of the minimum bet (for a $3 minimum bet, your sequence could be [1 2 3]).
  3. With this initial amount and starting sequence, you are guaranteeing a ~95% sequence closure rate.
  4. Set a bet cutoff at 30% of the initial capital, so if the next bet in the sequence is over $90-$150, stop the sequence and reset, accepting the loss. 
  5. Follow your preset strategy and do not deviate for any reason. Deviating from this sequence at all could ruin your odds. 

I enjoy this strategy because you are playing many games and consistently making money throughout this night. This optimization helps to minimize the potentially huge loss this strategy has, which makes it the best roulette strategy in my opinion. Good Luck!!!!

Notes to Emphasize

  1. Do not ever fall into the gambler’s fallacy, thinking anything affects the next bet. EVERY time you start a new sequence, you have a ~ 95% chance of completing that sequence, regardless if you have won the last 30 sequences. 
  2. The house always wins. Regardless of the optimization of the strategy, the house still has an edge if an infinite number of bets were placed. This strategy does not guarantee success but gives the best chance of it while playing casino games.
  3.  See files to check how the statistics were determined. All coded in MATLAB. 
Please gamble responsibly, and only take the money you are prepared to lose. If you are going to gamble, know the odds so you at least have a chance of beating the house!
roulette motivation
best strategy

Feel free to comment if you have any questions about the statistics, or if you want the statistics run on a certain capital and sequence!

7 thoughts on “Best Roulette Strategy”

  4. debacktechhater11

    i lost my house i lost my housr ai lost my house my life is ove ri hate you deback teck you are my nemesis i can t believe i listedn eto you im sobbing i lost my house

    Reply
  6. Amelia

    Can you tell me what the statistics are for playing roulette with this strategy, starting with $250 and a sequence of [2 3 4]?

    Reply

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