Enter a starting sequence and a series of wins and losses to see how Labouchere changes your stakes and bankroll.
| Bet | Sequence | Units | Stake | Result | Bankroll |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calculate to see the progression. | |||||
Labouchere changes stake size according to a number sequence. It does not change the probability of the underlying bet or remove the house edge.
The Labouchere system, sometimes called the cancellation system, uses a sequence of numbers to determine the size of each bet.
A common starting sequence is:
To calculate the next stake, add the first and last numbers in the sequence.
With a €10 base unit, a 1-2-3-4 sequence produces an initial stake of five units, or €50.
After a win, the first and last numbers used to calculate the stake are removed from the sequence.
If only one number remains, that single number becomes the stake. A win then removes it and completes the sequence.
After a loss, the number of units just staked is added to the end of the sequence.
The next bet would then use the new first and last numbers:
Start with:
The progression develops like this:
The bankroll moves from €500 to:
After the final win, the sequence is empty and the cycle is complete. In this example, the net result is +€100.
A loss adds the stake back to the sequence instead of cancelling numbers. This means future bets may become larger because the new number becomes part of the calculation.
Several losses can therefore create a longer and increasingly expensive sequence.
The system may begin with small numbers, but repeated losses add more numbers to the line and can significantly increase the amount required to continue.
A Labouchere cycle is complete when every number has been removed from the sequence.
In the traditional even-money version, the sequence is designed so that completing the cancellation process can produce a target profit related to the sum of the original sequence.
But that relationship depends heavily on the odds being used.
Traditional Labouchere is normally described using approximately even-money bets.
At odds of 2.00, a winning €50 stake produces €50 profit. At odds of 1.80, the same €50 stake produces only €40 profit.
The cancellation rules can be followed perfectly while the actual bankroll result differs from what an even-money example would suggest.
That is why this calculator uses the actual odds entered when calculating each bankroll change.
Both systems can increase stake size after losses, but they do it in very different ways.
Labouchere can appear more flexible because stake sizes do not simply double after every loss.
But a long losing sequence can still create large bets and significant bankroll exposure.
No.
If the underlying wager has negative expected value, changing the staking sequence cannot turn it into a positive expected value wager.
Each individual bet still has the same underlying mathematical characteristics regardless of what numbers remain in the Labouchere line.
Labouchere has an appealing structure because every win appears to cross numbers off a visible target.
That can create a strong sense of progress: fewer numbers remain, so the bettor feels closer to completing the cycle.
But a loss can add another number to the sequence and push that apparent finish line further away.
The psychological focus on “finishing the sequence” can also make accumulated bankroll risk less noticeable.
The mathematics of the sequence does not mean previous losses must be chased until every number has been cancelled. A sequence can continue growing while available bankroll becomes smaller.
Labouchere can become difficult to follow mentally once several wins and losses have changed the original sequence.
This calculator tracks the sequence before every bet, calculates the required number of units, applies the actual betting odds, updates the bankroll and shows what remains afterward.
That makes it easier to see how the system behaves in practice and where the bankroll risk appears as the sequence changes.