The Labouchere betting system

The Labouchere betting system is a negative progressive betting strategy also known as "split martingale", which was named after Henry Du Pre Labouchere, an English politician who invented it after being inspired by the work of Jean Le Rond d'Alembert. Basically, Labouchere tried to get rid of the principles of equilibrium from the d'Alembert strategy popular at that time and created the strategy that now bears his name: Labouchere.

Many bettors consider the Labouchere betting strategy interesting because you have the possibility of targeting a certain profit. Also, another advantage is that the stakes don't increase as fast as it happens when using the Martingale betting strategy, therefore the risks are a bit lower.

When Henry Labouchere created it, this betting strategy was mainly used on roulette - but soon it became popular on blackjack and baccarat. Nowadays, it can also be used on sports betting.

How does it work?

In order to begin with this betting strategy we first need to set a profit target. For example, we can set a target of $20. The next step is to split this profit target ($20) into a series of numbers. It doesn't really matter in which order or how many numbers will be in the series.

The sum of the first number and the last number from the series will represent the stake. In case of winning, we'll need to cross off the two numbers we used. On the other hand, if we lose, we'll need to add the lost amount at the end of the series. When there's only one number left in the series, then that's the stake that we'll bet.

Example:

o We choose to split the $20 target into: 1 + 3 + 6 + 7 + 2 + 1
The first bet will have the following stake: 1 + 1 = $2. 
o If the first bet is WON, the updated series will look like this: 3 + 6 + 7 + 2
The second bet will have the following stake: 3 + 2 =$5
o If the second bet is WON, the updated series will look like this: 6 + 7
The third bet will have the following stake: 6 + 7 = $13
o If the third bet is LOST, the updated series will look like this: 6 + 7 + 13
The fourth bet will have the following stake: 6 + 13 = $19
o If the fourth bet is WON, the updated series will look like this: 7
The fifth bet will have the following stake: $7
The fifth bet is won, therefore we end the series.

Let's say that we've placed our bets only on odds of evens (2.00).

o After the first bet= $2 profit
o After the second bet = $7 profit
o After the third bet = - $6 negative profit
o After the fourth bet = $13 profit
o After the fifth bet = $20 profit

As you can see, using this strategy we reached our $20 target and since this series is over - we can start again.

The betting system is not perfect and it has flaws, but that's why you need to carefully set some reachable targets, use series with low numbers and limit your bankroll at the beginning (test the strategy for a while with small stakes) until you get used to it. If you know how to manage this strategy and you're a good bettor, you can have a good profit using it.