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Gambling Progressions: Labouchere
by Mickey Day
The Labouchere system is known severally by other names as well. Some of these
names are actually printable, and so Labouchere is also called the Cancellation
System, the Split Martingale, the Cross-Out, and the 1-2-3 System.
Loosely translated from the French, Labouchere might mean the lady butcher,
where we may be in lovely hands but are dead meat. Alternatively, the word might
mean the mouthing, wherein lies the implication that our bankroll is subject
to severe sucking. Most famously, however, the reverse of Labouchere was the
system used in the book "Thirteen Against the Bank" by Norman Leigh, which is
the true tale of a team of gamblers who broke the banks of a few casinos in
Europe. But the treachery of the Labouchere lies in its promise of requiring
only one win for every two losses endured.
The Labouchere assumes that the gambler knows in advance how much he wants to
win. For the sake of simplicity, let's say he wants to win $100. The gambler
must then decide on a series of bets that, AFTER HE WINS THEM ALL, will add
up to this $100 figure. He writes down a list of sequential bets from lowest
to highest, which will total $100. The choice is his as to how long the string
of bets is, and the amounts of each bet. He decides on a series of 10 bets:
$5- $6- $7- $8- $9- $10- $13- $13- $14- $15.
1) HE MUST BEGIN BY BETTING THE TOTAL OF THE TWO OUTSIDE NUMBERS IN THE PROGRESSION,
FIRST AND LAST, OR $5 + $15 = $20.
IF HE WINS, HE CANCELS OUT THOSE NUMBERS, AND BETS THE TOTAL OF THE NEW OUTSIDE
NUMBERS, $6+ $14=$20.
2) BUT IF HE LOSES, HE MUST NOW ADD THE $20 LOSS TO THE END OF HIS SERIES, WHICH
NOW TOTALS $120. HIS NEXT BET IS NOW $5+ $20 =$25. HIS SERIES HAS LENGTHENED
TO 11 BETS:
$5- $6- $7- $8- $9- $10- $13- $13- $14- $15- $20
AFTER EACH WIN, TWO OUTSIDE NUMBERS ARE CANCELLED. AFTER EACH LOSS, THE SUM
OF THE LOSS IS ADDED TO THE SERIES.
The fallacy of the Labouchere lies in its promise of allowing two losses for
each win, which is certainly not the case, yet still permitting the gambler
to think he is doing well. Even as the series lengthens and the smaller bets
become larger, a small win unreasonably inspires the adrenal gland to demand
continuity. In a series of WWWLLLWWWLLL, where wins and losses are even, our
boy betting the above bet series will make 12 bets, and will be ahead 18 units.
In a series of LWLWLWWLWLLL and betting the same progression, where losses outnumber
wins by only 7 to 6, he will be down $52 and be required to bet $54 on the thirteenth
bet. And should he lose that one, his next bet is $64, and he's in the hole
already for $106. Two more losses and he's out $244, with his next bet at $84.
IF IT'S SO BAD, WHY BOTHER WITH IT?
Because if you are still reading this, you just may have the intelligence and
capability and tenacity and greed to figure out how to make the concept workable.
Norman Leigh, in the above-mentioned book, reversed the process of the Labouchere
and added winning bets to the end of the series, while canceling the two outside
numbers after any loss. His next bet was always the total of the next two outside
numbers. By adding his wins to the series instead of losses, he was able to
use house money instead of his own for much of his play. Yes, he took his lumps
on a slew of small losses, but when the wins started to streak they handed him
the keys to the joint! He had succeeded in turning the Labouchere into an up-as-you-win
progression. If you wish to try this yourself, please practice. Be prepared
for some serious tedium and sharpen a few pencils. As you know, sitting at the
kitchen table is a lot different from stacking your chips on that green felt
table. I have tried the Labouchere twice in live action, the first time in a
very unconventional way, by using it as a formula for placing odds behind a
passline bet at craps. My reasoning was that since any odds win would pay me
more than I had at risk, on a small string of passes- three or four- I could
complete a small Labouchere and begin again at better than even money, and even
absorb more losses than I normally would accept. I went to The Horseshoe in
downtown Las Vegas, where I could get 100X odds, and played $5 on the passline
with no side action, using a Labouchere series of $5- $5- $5- $10- $10-$15 =
$50 as a formula for taking odds. I also parlayed all natural 7s and 11s. Any
time I won the total of the series in flat and odds money I began again. In
this very limited testing it worked well because 4s and 10s hit a few times,
but I will admit that I didn't like putting $85 behind a point of 10 after three
craps rolls in a row. The second time I tried it was at Tom's Sunset on a 25
cent roulette wheel. Given the slow pace of roulette, I think I managed to drink
3 beers while losing a total of about $7.
If you want to practice the Labouchere you'll need a pencil and paper and a
coin to toss. Start with simple progressions like $1- $2- $3 = $6 and $1- $2-
$3- $4 =$10 until you have mastered the arithmetic, and then experiment on your
own with different amounts and different placements of those amounts. The temptation
is to load up the beginning of the series with small, repeated amounts in order
to prevent the escalation from getting out of control, and it certainly has
merit to think that way, except please remember that about as many of your wins
should come on your first series as well as anywhere else in the progression.
Perhaps the larger amounts should be at the beginning of the progression? Bunched
in the middle? Maybe all bets should be the same amount?
One of the facts of playing the Labouchere or its reverse for any length of
time is the need for paper and pencil. As the series grows longer, you will
find yourself writing smaller and smaller, and it will become harder to figure
the proper bets to cancel or add as well. You are free to write at baccarat
and roulette tables, but the house will frown upon a pad and pen at a blackjack
game, and just snicker at the crap table. Online gamblers may do as they please,
of course. Do not be deterred.
The fun of gambling, for a lot of us, is trying to get the edge somehow, to
find a way that has some validity and then to improve upon it. For these purposes,
the Labouchere is one of the best frameworks upon which to attempt some serious
experimentation. And I'd bet there's a kid with a computer somewhere who could
figure this one out for us.
***************
Mickey Day is author of "Master Craps with Einstein" and "Plug-In Parlay Systems."
To order call 800-522-1777
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