Roulette evokes images of elegant casinos and spinning wheels, and with it comes a variety of so‑called “systems” that promise to tame the odds. One of the most curious is the Reverse Labouchere.
The Reverse Labouchere is a positive‑progression betting method that reverses the system created by Henry Labouchere. To appreciate why some players turn the original on its head, we’ll explain how this system works and why gamblers have ended up reversing it.
Henry Labouchere’s original system was designed for even‑money bets, like red/black or odd/even. The player writes down a sequence of numbers. Each bet is the sum of the first and last numbers in the sequence.
After a win, those two numbers are crossed off. After a loss, the amount of the losing bet is added to the end of the list.
Goal: Eventually cross off all numbers and finish with the planned profit.Problem: Long losing streaks make your bets grow fast, which means risking big losses.
Chasing losses is why systems like the Martingale or Labouchere can fail in the long run. Norman Leigh, an English gambler, changed this method in the 1960s by adding numbers to the sequence after wins and deleting numbers after losses.
Goal: Capitalise on winning streaks instead of clawing back from losses.
Norman Leigh’s reasoning, as explained in his book Thirteen Against the Bank, was that if increasing the bet after a loss is what kills you, then maybe doing the opposite will help. With the reverse version, your bet sizes grow only during winning streaks, and shrink during losing streaks.
Leigh’s system attempts to profit from winning streaks while capping losses. But, as we’ll see, it still cannot sidestep the house edge.
| Original Labouchere | Reverse Labouchere | |
| Action after a win | Cross off first and last numbers. | Add the amount of the winning bet to the end of the series, increasing the next stake. |
| Action after a loss | Add the losing stake to the end of the series, causing the stakes to rise. | Cross off the first and last numbers, trimming the sequence and preventing runaway bet sizes. |
| Goal | Complete the sequence to reach a predefined profit target. | Play until the sequence is exhausted or a stop‑loss/profit target is reached. It focuses on amplifying winning streaks rather than achieving the planned profit. |
| Risk | Can produce steady small wins but risks very large bets when losses add up. Long losing streaks can exceed bankroll or hit table limits. | Builds up bet sizes only during winning runs, using previous winnings. Reduces risks during losing streaks but heavily relies on the occurrence of hot streaks. |
| House edge | Neither system alters the house edge. | Neither system alters the house edge. |
The Martingale is probably the most famous betting system. After every loss you double your stake in the hope that a single win will recover all losses and return profit. After a win you reset to the original stake.
The method is easy to grasp, but it can quickly lead to large bets during losing streaks and hit table limits. In contrast, the Reverse Labouchere increases bets after wins, not losses, so you avoid the psychological strain of chasing losses.
The Paroli system is a simple positive progression: you double your bet after each win and return to your base stake after a loss. You decide a progression limit (often three wins), after which you collect your profit and reset.
The idea is to let winnings ride for a short run, then bank them. Like the Reverse Labouchere, Paroli uses the money you’ve already won to fund larger bets, but it doesn’t require keeping track of a sequence (only your wins) and is thus more beginner‑friendly.
The Fibonacci sequence is a series where each number is the sum of the two previous numbers (1-1-2-3-5-8 etc.)
With this system, you move forward one step in the sequence after a loss and back two steps after a win. It’s less aggressive than Martingale but still requires the bankroll to withstand long losing streaks, and it doesn’t exploit winning streaks as well as the Reverse Labouchere.
The Reverse Labouchere system is perfectly legal and you’re allowed to use it, as long as you’re not cheating in some other way. Casinos cannot bar you simply for raising or lowering your bets according to a system, as it doesn’t alter the odds of the game.
Mechanically, yes. You can apply the system exactly as in a physical casino. But “work” in the sense of guaranteeing profit? No. Online roulette uses the same maths as real roulette: over time, the house edge will eat into your bankroll. The system can still produce short-term wins if you hit a hot streak.
| Pros | Cons |
| Uses positive progression: bets increase only after wins, so you gamble with winnings instead of chasing losses. | Highly reliant on winning streaks. A single loss at the wrong moment can wipe out accumulated profit. |
| Forces you to set a stop‑loss and profit target, encouraging disciplined play. | Still subject to the house edge. |
| You can choose any sequence you want. Can be tailored to bankroll and how much you want to risk. | Managing sequences can be confusing. You must track numbers accurately, and that can be stressful in fast games. |
The Reverse Labouchere gained notoriety thanks to Norman Leigh, an Englishman who claimed to have beaten the casinos of the French Riviera in 1966 by using this exact system. He joined a team of 12 other players, supposedly making consistent wins by spreading their betting across multiple tables and sticking to the sequence rules.
He later wrote about it in his book Thirteen Against the Bank. Eventually, the casinos caught on and barred them. Using the system wasn’t illegal per se, but they didn’t like a group winning so much and casinos banned them out of fear.
No betting system can promise you consistent profit or overcome the house edge. While the Reverse Labouchere can produce profits during short winning streaks and limits losses to the sum of your starting sequence, long term the odds favour the house.
There is no single “best” sequence. It depends on your bankroll and how much you want to risk. A low‑risk approach uses small, repetitive numbers to keep stakes modest. Many players choose sequences based on a set loss limit rather than a profit target. We suggest experimenting with some sequences on a free game before risking real money.
It depends on your comfort with tracking numbers and stopping at the right time. Beginners might find simpler positive progressions like Paroli easier. The Reverse Labouchere demands more discipline and keeping records.
Sure! The system can be applied to any even‑money bet that pays 1:1. Players have used it in baccarat and craps as well. As always, be aware of table limits and game rules when applying the system to different games.
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