Labouchère is often called the cancellation system, and the idea is to cross out bets in a sequence to achieve your desired win. What’s great about this strategy is that it’s very flexible. It’s up to you to determine how much you want to win and how you want to spread your bets.

We’ll provide a breakdown of how it works, examples, benefits and other variations of the system below. So, the next time you visit the roulette tables, you’ll have one more strategy to benefit your gameplay.

About the Labouchère roulette strategy

The Labouchère betting system was invented in the 19th century by Henry Labouchère, a British aristocrat and avid gambler. It’s one of the more recent roulette strategies and was specifically designed for this game, with Labouchère himself being a roulette enthusiast.

The goal with this betting system is to achieve your desired profit by placing a series of bets that add up to it. You decide how much you want to win and then separate that number into smaller bets. Say you want to win £15 – you can separate it into:

1, 2, 3, 2, 4, 3

The above sequence will determine how you place your bets. The system was designed to work with even bets (red/black, even/odd, 1-18/19-36) because these have the highest odds for payouts out of all the roulette bets – almost 50%.

A breakdown of the Labouchère roulette strategy

This betting technique has three fundamental rules:

Add the first and last numbers in the sequence to determine your bet. If you win, cross out the numbers. If you lose, add the bet to the sequence.

When you manage to cross out all the numbers in the sequence, you’ll achieve the desired profit.

The Labouchère roulette strategy in action

Step 1 – Decide your profit margin

Start by selecting how much you want to win, ensuring that it’s a reasonable amount relative to your bankroll. Let’s use the example mentioned earlier, which is the £15 desired profit.

Step 2 – Separate into smaller bets

We can also use the sequence above – 1, 2, 3, 2, 4, 3.

Step 3 – Place your bet

According to Labouchère’s rules, your bet is the sum of the first and last numbers in the series: 1 + 3 = £4. If you win, you cross out 1 and 3, and your new sequence will be 2, 3, 2, 4. If you lose, you add the bet to the series, and the new sequence will be 1, 2, 3, 2, 4, 3, 4.

**Step 4 – Repeat step 3

You keep repeating the third step until you clear the sequence.

How to determine the sequence of the Labouchère roulette strategy

With Labouchère, it’s you who sets the building blocks for the sequence. It’s up to you to determine the projected win amount. The way that you spread your bets is also entirely your choice. For instance, there are many other ways to break down the £15 we’ve used in the example above. You can go with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1, or other combinations. All you need to do is ensure that it adds up to your desired win. The reason why you add your lost bets to the sequence is to make up for those losses.

Example game using the Labouchère roulette strategy

Using our sequence – 1, 2, 3, 2, 4, 3 – let’s take a practical example of how this strategy works within a roulette game. The table below illustrates the Labouchère roulettestrategy implemented over a series of even bets:

Total Profit - £15

The reverse Labouchère roulette strategy

The reverse Labouchère is another variant of this roulette betting system. If you choose to use this technique, you’ll cross out the numbers that sum up your bet whenever you lose and add the new number to the sequence whenever you win. It’s essentially the opposite of the standard Labouchère strategy.

The main advantage of this reverse system is that it allows you to capitalise on winning streaks. You’ll be adding a new number to the sequence whenever you win, and each subsequent bet size will be larger than the previous one. This means that you can win consistently larger profits when you’re on a winning run. Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell when this will happen for you to maximise this strategy. That’s why there’s no guarantee for success when using Labouchère, or any other strategy for that matter.

Why you should use the Labouchère roulette strategy

There are several reasons why you should use this strategy, and there are also some flaws to its usage. For starters, this is one of the best strategies for managing your bankroll, as the bet sizes don’t shift dramatically. This also means that you won’t take huge losses from a single bet. Also, should you hit a winning streak, the system will pay off generously. It’s a great strategy to try if you’re looking for small wins, especially if you already have your desired profit in mind.

On the other hand, the sequence can grow really long if you hit a losing streak, and this reduces your chances of achieving the endgame. It’s also easy to lose track of the number sequence as the longer it grows, the harder it is to follow. No strategy can guarantee a win and Labouchère certainly doesn’t. However, it helps you to structure your bets in a way that mathematically increases your chances of winning.