The D’Alembert System of Roulette
Since Roulette has its origins in France it makes sense that a famous French philosopher and mathematician would be one of the first to propose a theory or strategy for effective and successful betting in the game. Jean Le Rond D’Alembert proposed his theory in the late 1700s when Roulette was starting to achieve a great deal of popularity throughout Europe.
Unfortunately, since Roulette is a game strictly of chance there is a fair amount of risk when wagering even small sums of money, but D’Alembert worked to make the system as protective to the initial investment or wager as possible.
The premise behind D’Alembert’s system is for a balanced amount of wins and losses as provided by the fifty-fifty chance of a red or black spin. This can only happen on simple odds and so the D’Alembert system is best applied strictly for even chance bets and payoffs, so most players use it for red and black bets only.
His system is frequently referred to as “the pyramid” because the method employed in building the bank roll of the player. Basically, the player begins with a starting wager slightly larger than the “house” or casino minimum for a particular Roulette table. They then add an additional “increment” or “unit” to this wager on each spin.
If the player’s bet wins they reduce the total bet amount by the set increment or unit amount, and if the player loses they increase the next bet amount by one increment or unit. For example, a player places an eleven dollar wager on a spin and wins; their next bet is ten dollars. This allows them to keep their winnings and continue in active play.
Unfortunately, this system is similar to others that ask a player to increase their losing willfully. This can continue to a degree that makes recouping financial losses almost impossible, especially at tables with a standard five hundred dollar maximum wager.
Theoretically there is only a single winning method for those using the D’Alembert system – they will only achieve a balanced total if they begin with a set of negative or losing spins. Because the system works only for an even number of winning and losing spins there must be a measure of loss to make for balance. What this actually equates to is the requirement of a player to have possession of a bank roll large enough to sustain the losses required for the system to make sense.
It could easily add up to large losses requiring a particularly long streak of good luck to overcome via the incremental or “unity” system. Many players who use this method of betting insist that it is only good when playing in increments of one, two or five dollar chips and no larger. In this way they are protected from any particularly long streaks of negative spins, and they may even be prevented from decreasing their wagers during a particularly long streak of positive of winning spins.