The Labouchere betting system is a negative progression system also known as the Cancellation System. There are many variations on this betting system, as it is left up to the player to select a series of number which best suits their style of play and bankroll.

It is believed that the Labouchére betting system got its name from Henry Labouchére. Labouchére was a prominent English writer, publisher, politician and theatre owner during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. In addition, he was apparently a fairly avid gambler.

The best way to explain how this system works is to start off with a very simple series of numbers: 1,2,3,4,5,6. Each of these numbers represents a betting value unit so 1 signifies 1 chip or $1 (or $10, depending on the player’s bankroll, 2 signifies 2 chips or $2 and so on. The player selects their betting amount by taking the sum of the first and last units in the sequence, in the above example this would be 7 units (1+6).

If the player wins the bet then they would cross out the two units in the number sequence used (in this case, the 1 and the 6) and move on to the new extremes of the sequence (in this case, when you scratch the 1 and 6 out of the sequence, you are left with 2 and 5). The next bet would be, again, 7 units (2 units + 5 units). If the player wins that bet then they move on to the sum of the last two numbers remaining in the sequence, 3 and 4 making the third bet 7 units. If the player wins the third bet then they have made what is termed as a “coup” and have completed the sequence and begin again.

Let us say that the player loses the first bet of 7 units made up of the 1 and the 6 in the sequence. The player would then add the “7” to the end of the sequence so that the series becomes 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7. The player’s next bet would be 8 units (1+7).

Let us now say that the player wins the first bet of 7 units but loses the second bet of 7 units. In this case, the player scratched the 1 and the 6 from the original series of 1,2,3,4,5,6 after the first winning bet leaving a sequence of 2,3,4,5. The second bet uses the 2 and the 5 remaining in the sequence for a second bet of 7 units. Now, the second bet is lost so the new sequence is 2,3,4,5,7 so that the player’s third bet would be of 9 units (2+7).

In essence, when a player loses a bet, the next bet goes up so that if that bet is won then the player makes up for the previously lost bet. In this way, if a player completes a “coup,” they will always walk away with a profit.

It is important to keep in mind that using this system does not guarantee a win. In order to truly work this system, a player must be ready to absorb some losses. It is for this reason that most experts will only recommend this system for use by high rollers.

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