Roulette Betting Progressions

Players have been looking for the perfect strategy to apply during their betting session for centuries, and as a result, a great number of betting systems were developed throughout the years. After all, everyone wishes to win since winning is, in fact, the ultimate goal of playing any casino game for real money, be it roulette, craps, baccarat or blackjack.

• Betting Progressions Explained
• The Positive Betting Progression
• The Negative Betting Progression
• Reversed Betting Systems
• The Level-Betting Approach
• Is Dropping the Betting Level Advantageous
• Roulette Betting Systems Flaws
• Conclusion

In broader terms, we can distinguish two major categories of betting systems. Some systems are based on positive betting progressions, while others revolve around negative betting progressions. Generally speaking, following a betting progression means players will adjust the size of their stakes depending on the outcome of their previous bets.

Some betting systems are quite effective, others not so much, but one thing is certain – if you wish to turn a profit or at least reduce your losses to the minimum, adopting an adequate betting system while playing roulette might be one of the possible solutions. Even more so, if we take into consideration the fact that roulette is solely based on chance, and the outcome of the spins is not affected by players’ level of skill and experience, this comes to explain why most gambling enthusiasts are looking for a way to enhance their results. The following article aims at introducing the types of betting progressions that can be applied to the game of roulette.

Roulette Betting Progressions Explained

Gambling enthusiasts need to know that the main purpose of the betting progressions is to help them adjust their wagers in accordance with the way in which the game pans out. In other words, betting progressions will not provide any information on the intricacies of roulette. What players should not forget, however, is that prior to applying a betting progression, they should be satisfied that they have learned the nuts and bolts about it.

As it seems, there are various techniques gambling enthusiasts resort to so as to enjoy better results during their roulette betting sessions. While some of them resort to prediction techniques, others prefer the so-called “hunch” method, which involves picking numbers you think are lucky ones. Another exceptionally popular method of wagering on roulette involves applying different mathematical systems. As it turns out, many players disapprove of mathematical betting systems for the simple reason that they have failed to apply them properly, which caused them to lose larger amounts of money.

Roulette lovers should be aware that there are no foolproof betting systems or methods of playing the game. Take into account the fact that the betting progressions we will elaborate on do have limitations that should not be neglected. The bulk of the roulette betting systems revolve around wagers that pay even money, which is the case with bets laid on black and red, odd and even, or high and low numbers.

When it comes to the types of roulette betting progressions, they can be positive, negative, or flat. As it can be inferred from the name, flat betting requires placing wagers that have the same value, no matter if your previous bet was settled as winning or losing one.

Yet, this is not the case with the positive and negative betting progressions due to the fact that when they are applied, players will be required to adjust the amount they will put on a stake according to the way in which their previous bets were settled.

With positive betting methods, gambling enthusiasts will increase the staked amount, so that a winning streak can bring them even more money. With negative betting systems, however, players need to place bigger stakes while losing so that they could prolong the time they will spend at the roulette table or compensate for the losing wagers they have laid. Furthermore, some progressive betting methods can turn out to be exceptionally useful when players are looking to deal with cold streaks.

If players are looking to tap into a winning streak, positive betting systems are the way to go as they will allow players to advance, thus ensuring that a loss will not have such a harmful effect on their bankroll.

The Positive Betting Progression

Strategies that rely on positive betting progressions enjoy great popularity among roulette players who are looking to make the most out of their betting session and reduce their losses to a minimum. This is anything but surprising as positive betting progressions are easy to master and implement into your gambling strategy. In fact, many roulette players consider that positive betting progressions are the better choice.

With positive betting progressions, the player increases their stake after each winning bet. How many units the bet will be increased with depends on the betting system you have adopted. Then again, the player is expected to reduce the size of their stake each time a loss occurs. The idea behind the positive betting progression is that it will eventually enable players to maximise their profits should a winning streak occur. Adopting this approach may also help players keep their losses to the minimum whenever they experience a longer losing streak.

It is fair to say that this theory makes sense. When players are on a winning streak, increasing the size of their stake after each win may help them accumulate greater profits. Also, when you follow this progression, a longer losing streak will not completely exhaust your bankroll. That being said, it is important to mention that adopting a system based on a positive progression will do nothing to affect your chances of winning or losing as the wheel has the final say.

Two of the most popular gambling systems, based on positive betting progressions, are the Paroli and the Parlay systems.

Paroli Betting System

Being a positive betting system, Paroli involves expanding your stake after you have made an accurate prediction and decreasing it after your attempt was unsuccessful. What this means is that when this system is employed, it will allow players to exploit winning streaks so that their losses could not have that harmful effect on their bankroll.

Something vital to remember about this betting system is that the stakes players will make are capped and should be twice as big as their original bet. Thus, if we assume that initially, you have staked £10, and you have won, your next bet should be worth £20. If we go further with the Paroli betting system, your next wager should be worth £40.

In the event that casino enthusiasts have made three correct picks in a row, it will be best if they go for the amount they initially staked, which in our case is £10. In this scenario, players will have won a total of £70.

If you are a risk-averse player, returning to your original stake when you have enjoyed three consecutive wins is vital as that way, you will make sure that the next spin of the wheel will not wipe out the wins you have amassed.

Parlay Betting System

The Parlay betting system is also based on a positive betting progression, and according to it, roulette mavens are required to increase the staked amount each time they win and reduce it after losing. Let’s follow through the way the betting system functions, and assume that players have started their betting session by wagering £10. If we presume that their wager is resolved as a winning one, on the next spin of the wheel, they will be required to double the amount they will put on a stake, which therefore means that their next bet should be worth £20. If players have made one more accurate prediction about the properties of the winning number, next time, they will need to stake £40. At this point, the net winnings of players will be £70, which comes to explain why so many players are keen on the idea to employ the Parlay betting system.

In fact, the main idea behind the Parlay betting system is that when gambling aficionados increase their wagers after they score a win, in practice, they will be playing using the winnings they have managed to amass. In this way, they will be able to accrue enough profit so that they could deal with potential losing streaks.

As likely as not, at this point, you might be wondering what will happen if your stake becomes a losing one. If this comes about, however, your next bet should be taken down to the level of the initial stake you have laid, which in our case is £10.

The option to jump off using that betting system is yet another reason why it is so preferred by players. Yet, before they decide to apply the betting system, they should make up their minds about the ceiling on their wagers because as they can see, the amount they will need to stake will rise steeply.

The Negative Betting Progression

Many gambling systems are based on the principle of negative betting progressions. The latter is precisely the opposite of its positive counterpart as they call for increasing the size of your stake with one or more units after each losing bet and reducing the stake after each winning bet.

The idea behind the negative betting progression is that you will eventually win, and the increased stakes will enable you to offset your losses. As a result, you will turn a profit. This theory, too, seems logical at first glance. Yet, it is fundamentally flawed for the simple reason that there is no guarantee you will break out of your losing streak quickly. Even if you do break out of the losing streak, your profits will be far from impressive. You might also end up losing repeatedly with increased stakes until you exhaust your entire bankroll.

Some players fall prey to the misconception that if even-money bets on red, for example, have won repeatedly, the ball is bound to end up in a black pocket on the next spin. The truth of the matter is there is no such thing – the ball is just as likely to end up in a red pocket again as it is likely to land in a black one. This false belief that previous outcomes can affect future outcomes is known as the gambler’s fallacy. What players should never forget is that implementing a betting progression, be it a positive or a negative one, has zero impact on the outcome of the spins.

Some of the most popular systems that are based on negative betting progressions include the Martingale, the Labouchère, the D’Alembert, and the Fibonacci systems.3

Martingale Betting System

The Martingale betting system is also based on a negative progression, and as it seems, inexperienced roulette fans find it exceptionally alluring. Yet, casino enthusiasts should be aware that if things go wrong with the Martingale system, its usage will have an exceptionally detrimental effect on their bankroll as they need to double the staked amount after each losing wager.

If we assume that you have chosen to stake £10 on Red, and your prediction was not accurate, this means that the amount you need to put on the line on the next spin of the roulette wheel is £20. If you lose once again, you need to double up the staked amount, thus risking £40. In the event that the small white ball does indeed fall in one of the red pockets, the profit you will get will be only £10. When they pay closer attention to this scenario, roulette mavens will figure out that they were required to risk 40 chips so as to make up for the losses of 30 chips that incurred in the previous rounds.

What players should not forget is that while making use of the Martingale betting system, placing a winning bet means that they need to revert to the wager they made at the very beginning or £10. Considering the speed at which their bets will increase, players should certainly pay special attention to the maximum stake of the table they have joined.

As you can see, the risk you will need to assume is rather big, and you will need to lay loads of winning wagers so as to recover. Roulette mavens should be mindful of the fact that losing streaks do occur, and this happens more often than they might have expected.

Fibonacci Betting System

Roulette lovers who are familiar with the Fibonacci sequence might be aware that in order to get the next number, they should have the previous two numbers added together. The Fibonacci sequence works in the following way: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, and so on.

Each of the enumerated numbers represents the wagers gambling enthusiasts will need to place, which means that each new wager they need to lay will be a sum of the previous two. Please bear in mind that the figures might be bigger because of the bare minimum the casino has introduced on wagers. The way in which this system functions is exceptionally straightforward as players simply need to score two wins in a row.

Sometimes, scoring several wins in a row can turn out to be rather hard, which means that gambling aficionados might be required to risk small fortune. Even though making several correct predictions might bring players heftier wins, they should take into account the fact that if they lose, it will take a rather long time to win back the lost amount.

Labouchere Betting System

Apparently, roulette fans prefer to steer clear of the Labouchere betting system due to the fact that it is much more complex, especially when compared to the above-mentioned options. Yet, if you do not feel intimidated by the higher level of complexity, you should make sure that you have a pen and paper before you get down to betting on roulette.

The Labouchere betting system is all about canceling the losses you have incurred by increasing the staked amount. As is the case with the better part of the betting systems, the Labouchere is also applied when placing even-money wagers.

What is specific about it, however, is that players will be required to write down a sequence of positive numbers that will be used so as to determine the number of units they will be required to put on a stake.

So, if we presume that the sequence you have chosen is 1, 1, 1, 1, this will mean that the goal you have set is to bag 4 chips. In the event that you are looking to get greater wins or you have a bigger bankroll, you can simply continue the above-mentioned sequence or pick other numbers.

Still, what roulette lovers should be mindful of is that if they are looking to snatch bigger wins, they will need to risk a larger portion of their bankroll.

So, if the chosen sequence is 1, 1, you will be required to put together the outside numbers from the sequence so as to figure out how many chips you need to put on a stake, which in our case are 2. If we presume that the wager was a losing one, next time, you will need to stake 3 chips as you have added 2 to the sequence. In the event that the next wager you have laid turns out to be a winning one, instead of adding new numbers to the sequence, players will be required to remove the first and the last number from it.

D’alembert Betting System

Known also as a pyramid betting system, the D’Alembert betting system is hugely popular among roulette lovers. The reason why it is so preferred by players is that they should not necessarily possess a large bankroll so as to put it through its paces.

The main peculiarity of this betting system is that it is set up on the idea that players will win nearly as many times as they will lose. It must be pointed out that this betting system is also applicable exclusively to even-money wagers or in other words, bets laid on red, black, even, odd, high, and low numbers.

While employing this betting system, roulette lovers will be required to augment the staked amount by one bet unit each time they lose and decrease the amount they will put on the line by one unit after scoring a win. Thus, if players start by wagering £10 and lose, they will be required to stake £20. If players’ third and fourth wagers are losing ones too, they will end up betting £40. Yet, if their next wager wins, they need to decrease the staked amount by one unit, or in other words, the wagered amount should become £30.

As you can see, this betting system is not that aggressive, which renders it a suitable option even for players who are on a tight budget or such who are rather risk-averse.

Reversed Roulette Betting Systems

What roulette lovers should be aware of is that some of the above-mentioned betting systems have reversed versions as well. This is exactly the case with the Labouchere, Martingale, and D’Alembert betting systems.

In terms of the D’Alembert betting system, roulette players will once again need to make up their minds on their profit targets. Initially, they will need to start by betting one unit and increase the staked amount by one more unit as soon as they score a win. Their bet should be decreased by one bet unit when their prediction is inaccurate.

Players will be required to adjust their wagers in this manner until they reach the profit target they have set or the net loss they have settled on.

The reverse Labouchere is slightly more elaborate as while employing it, players need to make a decision on the number sequence they will stick to, which was also the case with the original Labouchere betting system. Once again, players’ first stake will be determined by the first and last numbers from the sequence they have decided upon. In case you lose, the first and the last numbers from the sequence should be removed. If you win, however, you should add one more number at the end of the sequence.

The Martingale betting system also has a reversed version according to which roulette fans will be prompted to double the staked amount after a win, and not after a loss. The reverse Martingale is popular among players also as Anti-Martingale, and in spite of being a slightly better option than the original system, this does not make it a foolproof way of making money while betting on roulette.

The Level-Betting Approach

Adopting the level-betting approach, also known as flat betting, may prove to be the smartest move while betting on roulette. The concept of level-betting is probably the easiest to grasp. If the ball fails you on your first bet, you neither increase nor decrease your stake but repeat the same bet, until you eventually win. One of the main advantages of level betting stems from the fact that there are no mathematical progressions to work out since you always bet the same amount of money, which will make it less likely to deplete your bankroll in just a few spins by chasing your losses.

For example, if you adopt the level-betting approach and end up losing four consecutive bets of £10 on red, you will be down only £40. Then again, if you have adopted the Martingale, which calls for doubling your bets after each loss, you will be down £150. The idea here is that by doubling your bets, you will eventually win enough money to offset the previous losses in addition to your base betting unit. However, when one is faced with a longer losing streak, they might run out of money to play with when following negative betting progression systems such as the Martingale.

It becomes evident that out of all betting systems, those that are based on level betting are the least volatile since the chances of players to exhaust their bankrolls are the smallest.

Is Dropping the Betting Level Advantageous

Dropping the bet level when you notice that things do not pan out the way you wish is yet another option players can resort to while reveling in roulette. This approach is exceptionally straightforward due to the fact that it only involves decreasing the staked amount when you notice that the incurred losses continue to mount.

Let suppose that so far, you have made several even-money bets of £20 each and your losses are worth £200. Instead of sticking to the same bet amount, again and again, players should consider lessening it to £10, for example, or another amount they are comfortable with. By doing so, they will be able to cope with the losing streak as in practice, the decisions they can make will be twice as more than the ones they will be enabled to make when staking £20.

It is important to note that the same approach can be applied also when inside bets are concerned. Such wagers provide heftier payoffs that can sometimes, make up for the losses players have seen during the previous rounds. For that reason, it is advisable to determine the size of your stakes rather carefully, no matter which option you will go for.

Roulette Betting Systems Flaws

In spite of the fact that many roulette players are tempted by the idea to employ any of the above-mentioned betting systems as they seem like an infallible way of winning on roulette, there are certain things they should take into consideration.

One of the most important things players should remember about roulette is that it is a game in which skill and knowledge are almost completely removed from the equation, which is not the case with some of the other casino offerings.

It is vital to remember that the probability of winning on the next spin of the wheel is exactly the same as it was during the previous spins or they are for the spins to come. Since the roulette wheel has no memory, it does not matter if a specific number has not become a winning one for an hour or the small white ball has landed in its pocket in the previous round, the outcome of the next spin remains completely random.

Since each spin of the roulette wheel can be described as an independent event, this comes to explain why the above-mentioned betting progressions will be of little use if players want to make sure that they will win consistently because as you already saw, all betting progressions take into account the outcome of the previous spin of the wheel. Do not forget that the number of times one of the numbers has appeared or not appeared makes no difference in terms of which the next winning number will be.

Any serious roulette player should be fully aware that applying a positive or a negative betting progression will not have an impact in terms of the edge the house gains over them as well.

As we already mentioned, the risk that is associated with the above-mentioned betting progressions is rather high and should not be neglected, especially considering the sums players might end up putting on a single bet. If luck is not on your side while you are using a rather aggressive betting progression, it might be rather difficult to sustain the losing streak without ending up with an emptied bankroll.

Conclusion

While following a given betting system may enable roulette players to minimise their losses and turn a profit, it is essential to remember that systems do not influence the outcome of the spins. Besides, the house always wins in the long run. Nevertheless, adopting a betting system based on either of the two progressions might instill a certain degree of discipline in roulette players. Yet, they should not forget that betting progressions can turn out to be a double-edged sword, which is the reason why they should be rather careful while using them.