Roulette betting systems that work? Six systems tested by simulation
Are there roulette betting systems that work? None of the six tested here beats the house edge. Over 10,000 simulated sessions each, every system lost money on average, from -$342.36 (Flat on red) to -$3,422 (James Bond) a session. The edge is a fixed cost on every dollar wagered, so a system can only change how much you bet and how the results are spread, never the cost.
Roulette betting systems promise to turn a house edge into a profit. spinner tests them the honest way: it plays each one for thousands of seeded sessions and counts what happens. Here are the saved runs from the spinner gallery, with the numbers the app computes from them.
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The systems side by side
Every run uses the same setup: 10,000 sessions of up to 500 spins, $5,000 bankroll, $25 unit, European wheel, and the same seed, so the systems face the same spins.
| System | Mean net per session | Finished ahead | Went bust | Mean max drawdown | Mean wagered per session | Expected loss per hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat on red | -$342.36 | 25.9% | 0.0% | $839.54 | $12,500 | $27.03 |
| Martingale on red | -$948.44 | 32.3% | 51.7% | $5,490 | $34,758 | $111.31 |
| Fibonacci on red | -$855.57 | 56.4% | 40.1% | $3,764 | $30,169 | $83.88 |
| d'Alembert on red | -$1,972 | 31.4% | 62.3% | $5,802 | $74,259 | $241.52 |
| Labouchere on red | -$1,931 | 16.5% | 83.4% | $8,514 | $76,563 | $407.47 |
| James Bond | -$3,422 | 14.2% | 78.6% | $7,005 | $125,648 | $539.12 |
Each system
Flat on red
One unit on red every spin. The baseline every other system is compared with.
mean -$342.36 ± $11.14 per session · P(ahead) 25.9% · bust 0.0%
Martingale on red
Double after each loss, back to one unit after a win; eight steps ($25 to $3,200), then reset.
mean -$948.44 ± $94.10 per session · P(ahead) 32.3% · bust 51.7%
Fibonacci on red
Next Fibonacci number after a loss, two steps back after a win; 12 steps (1 to 144 units).
mean -$855.57 ± $68.16 per session · P(ahead) 56.4% · bust 40.1%
d'Alembert on red
One unit more after a loss, one less after a win (never below one); capped at 20 units.
mean -$1,972 ± $83.47 per session · P(ahead) 31.4% · bust 62.3%
Labouchere on red
Bet first + last of the line; cross both off on a win, append the bet on a loss; a new line when it empties.
mean -$1,931 ± $137.22 per session · P(ahead) 16.5% · bust 83.4%
James Bond
20 units a spin: 14 on 19-36, 5 on the 13-18 six-line, 1 on zero ($350 / $125 / $25). Loses only on 1-12.
mean -$3,422 ± $70.86 per session · P(ahead) 14.2% · bust 78.6%
Why no progression changes the house edge
Every roulette bet pays a little less than its true odds, because of the zero. On the European wheel used here every bet carries the same edge: 2.7% of each dollar wagered, in every run on this site, whatever the system. A betting system changes only how much you bet and when. Each spin is independent of the ones before it, so no sequence of stakes can change the edge: the expected loss is always the edge times the total amount wagered.
What a system does change is the size of the bets, and with it the total wagered and the shape of the results. Raising the stake after a loss puts more money through the wheel, so the expected loss grows with it, and the risk piles up in the long losing streaks that the progression cannot afford. Compare the amount wagered, the bust rate and the drawdowns of each system in the table on the strategies page.
About these numbers
Each figure is computed by spinner’s own analysis code from the saved run file, and is the same number its Analyze screen shows. Percentages carry 95% intervals on the individual pages. To run longer sessions, a different bankroll or your own rules, open spinner and build the experiment yourself; it runs in your browser, with play money, and nothing is uploaded.
Why do recovery systems feel like they work? The roulette strategy research takes them apart chapter by chapter, from why doubling feels like it works to cash-out targets.