Labouchere system for roulette

How the Labouchere system works

The Labouchere (often written Labouchère, and also known as the cancellation system) asks more of you than any other classic staking plan. Instead of a fixed sequence, you write your own line of numbers before you start. The numbers add up to the profit you're aiming for, measured in units.

Each bet is the first number plus the last number on the line. If it wins, you cross both off. If it loses, you write the amount you just lost on the end of the line. When every number has been crossed off, you've won your target and the line is finished. Wizard of Odds' page on the Labouchère system (opens in a new tab) sets out the same mechanics and tests them in simulation.

It's a negative progression, like the Martingale, because losses make the line longer and the bets bigger. It's normally used on even-money bets: red or black, odd or even, and high or low.

Setting up a Labouchere line

The line you write decides your target, your first bet and how long a sequence is likely to run. Here are four common choices.

A longer line or bigger numbers means a bigger target, but also more spins before you finish and more room for stakes to grow. Since the cost of roulette is total stakes multiplied by the house edge, a line that keeps you betting longer also costs more on average.

Labouchere system rules, step by step

1. Set a session budget and a unit value, for example £5 a unit.
2. Write your line, such as 1-2-3-4. The total (10 units, or £50 at £5) is your target.
3. Bet the first number plus the last number, on an even-money bet at a single-zero table.
4. If you win, cross off both of those numbers.
5. If you lose, add the amount you lost to the end of the line.
6. If only one number is left, bet that number.
7. When the line is empty, you've reached your target. Start a new line or stop.
8. If the next bet would break your budget, the table maximum or a stake cap you set beforehand, abandon the line and accept the loss.

The last step is the one most guides leave out. A Labouchere line has no natural end if losses keep coming, so you need your own stopping rule.

Worked Labouchere example with a 1-2-3-4 line

Here's a line that goes to plan, with £1 a unit to keep the arithmetic simple.

Three wins and one loss, and the £10 target is reached. You'll notice something tidy: at every point, the numbers still on the line add up to exactly what you need to reach the target. After spin two you were level and the line totalled 10; after spin three you were £7 up and the line held 3. That's true of every Labouchere line, and it's the key to understanding the risk.

Why the Labouchere only needs a third of bets to win

Each win crosses off two numbers. Each loss adds one. So with a four-number line, you finish once twice your wins at least covers the four starting numbers plus one for every loss. Over a long sequence, that works out at winning a little over one bet in three.

An even-money bet on a single-zero wheel wins 18 times in 37, or 48.65% of the time, comfortably above a third. That's why most Labouchere lines do clear, and why the system has a reputation for working. It's also exactly where the danger hides, because the lines that don't clear are the ones where losses bunched up and stakes ballooned.

Each bet still has the same odds whatever is written on your line. The roulette wheel isn't aware of your sequence, and every spin is an independent event.

The Labouchere system's hidden risk: a line that grows

Now take the same 1-2-3-4 line through a rough patch: six losses, then a mix with only three wins in the next six spins. Figures are in units, with pounds at £5 a unit alongside.

After twelve spins you're 41 units (£205) down, chasing a 10-unit (£50) target. The seven numbers left on the line add up to 51 units, the 41 you're behind plus the 10 you set out to win. Bets are now 16 units (£80) and rising whenever a loss lands. The line can still clear, but only by putting much bigger sums at risk.

That's what Wizard of Odds means when it says the Labouchère usually produces a session win, but at the expense of huge losses when it doesn't. The target is small and fixed; the potential loss isn't.

Labouchere odds and the house edge

In Wizard of Odds' simulations, the Labouchere's ratio of money lost to money bet matched 2.70% on single-zero roulette and 5.26% on double zero, the house edges of those wheels. Its wider review of betting systems (opens in a new tab) reaches the same verdict for every system: none can even dent the edge.

So the honest summary of the system is this. Most lines end with a modest profit. A minority end with a loss many times the target. Weighted by how often each happens, the result is an expected loss of 2.70% of everything you staked. If your Labouchere sessions put £1,000 through a European wheel, the expected cost is £27, however the lines fell.

There's a deeper reason too. Wikipedia's gambler's ruin (opens in a new tab) article describes how a player in a negative-expectation game will eventually go broke whatever their betting system, given enough time. A Labouchere player with a finite budget will, sooner or later, meet a line they can't finish. Our page on gambler's ruin explains it without the formulas.

Labouchere vs Martingale and other progressions

The Labouchere spreads the recovery of a loss across several future bets instead of one. That softens the climb compared with the Martingale, but the shape is similar: frequent small wins, rare heavy losses. For gentler options, see the D'Alembert and the Fibonacci system, and for a side-by-side of all of them, the roulette betting systems guide.

Labouchere on UK online and live roulette tables

Choose a table with the lowest edge for even-money bets. French roulette with La Partage returns half a losing even-money stake on zero, which brings the edge on those bets to about 1.35%. Standard European tables are 2.70%, and American roulette is 5.26%. Check the maximum bet too: a line that has grown like the one above can reach the table limit faster than you'd think.

At UK-licensed casinos, autoplay has been banned on all online casino games since 17 January 2025, so each bet in a Labouchere line must be placed by hand, and non-slot games must allow at least 5 seconds per game cycle. Your net spend and time played are shown in real time. Before your first deposit you'll be prompted to set a financial limit, and the Gambling Commission's safer gambling advice (opens in a new tab) explains the other tools operators must offer. A written line can make it easy to keep going "until it clears"; if that turns into chasing losses, stop and take a break.

Labouchere mistakes and myths

• "It only needs a third of bets to win, so it must make money." It needs that over a full line, but stakes grow during losing patches, and the edge still applies to every pound.
• Writing a long or high line. A bigger target means longer sequences and larger bets.
• Topping up to finish a line. That's adding money to recover losses; set a stop point before you start.
• Abandoning a bad line and pretending it didn't happen. The losses still count against your budget.
• Thinking past spins matter. No pattern on the hot and cold numbers board predicts the next result.

Our roulette hub covers every bet and table type if you'd rather keep things simple with flat stakes.

Where to play roulette with the Labouchere system

Our partners' welcome offers are mostly built for slots, and no bonus makes the Labouchere work. Table games such as roulette are often excluded from wagering or contribute less, so check the terms before you play. 18+ and terms apply.

Casumo offers new customers who opt in a 50% bonus up to £100 on a first deposit of at least £20, with 10x wagering on the bonus within 7 days, a £5 maximum bet while it's active, and game, play and payment restrictions. At 10bet, new UK customers who select the casino welcome bonus and deposit within 7 days get a 100% match up to £25; it must be wagered 10x on slots within 3 days, bonus winnings are capped at £1,000, and Skrill and Neteller deposits are excluded. Coral's deal for new players is bet £10 on slots, get 100 free spins (10p each on selected games, 48 hours to accept, 7 days to use, no wagering on winnings), with Neteller, PayPal, Paysafe, Skrill, prepaid cards and certain debit cards excluded.

To see what Casumo publishes about its tables, read Casumo blackjack and roulette.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.