Contra D’Alembert Betting System
The Contra D’Alembert betting system is a variation on the popular D’Alembert betting system that can be used when playing roulette. The variation in this case is that it is the opposite of the D’Alembert betting system, as the word ‘contra’ is Latin for ‘opposite’. So, Contra D’Alembert literally means ‘Opposite D’Alembert’.
If you are familiar with the D’Alembert betting system, you will know that it is associated with the French mathematician Rond d’Alembert, who became enamored with the idea that, when betting, wins and losses were evened out over a period of time. This method of thinking has been touted by gamblers for years, but it is not true – as every spin of the wheel, roll of the dice, or every hand dealt is an independent event, what has happened in the past has no bearing on the outcome of the next spin, roll or deal. However, the D’Alembert betting system is still a fun method of betting on even money propositions, while not necessarily guaranteeing that the bettor is going to be successful in the long-term. As long as you remember that it is not a way of becoming a millionaire overnight, the D’Alembert betting system and its variations can be employed when playing roulette.
Because the Contra D’Alembert betting system is the opposite of the D’Alembert betting system, the bettor should bet more on an even money proposition if the previous bet has won, and less after a loss. So, to keep it simple – when a bet wins, you increase your stake by one unit, and when you lose you decrease it by one unit. This betting method is designed to maximize wins should the bettor go on a winning streak, while minimizing any damage done during a losing streak. Of course, as mentioned earlier, while every bettor will go through streaks now and again during a session of play, there is no guarantee that this will happen or even balance themselves out – it’s the idea of ‘gambler’s fallacy’, which most, if not all, betting systems are based around.
To start using the Contra D’Alembert betting system, you need to have a clear bankroll set out. So that could be $100, $1,000, $5,000, it doesn’t matter. You should then divide that by 100 to work out the value of one unit. In the case of a $100 bankroll, one unit would be worth $1, and if your bankroll was $5,000, one unit would be worth $50. 100 units is the minimum you should be going to a table with, as it will help should you encounter a losing streak, giving you enough back to have a decent spell at the table. Defining how much one unit is worth is also important for the Contra D’Alembert betting system, as it relies on the bettor betting set amounts when winning or losing. For our example, we will use a fictitious $1,000 bankroll, so one unit will be worth $10.
Now you have your unit value worked out, you now need to decide what to bet on. In our case, we need to pick an even money proposition, which are few on the roulette table. We’ll opt to bet on black, as it pays even money.
Finally, to prepare to use any betting system, you should always have a set target in mind to know when to finish your session. That may be when you increase your bankroll by 10%, or you may be looking to double your bankroll, it does not matter, as long as you stick to that goal. We will look to increase our bankroll by 10%.
Now we have everything in place, we can start wagering. As with most betting systems, you start with a one unit bet. So, we’ll put $10 on black.
The spin comes up good for us, as the ball lands on a black number. Now, to capitalize on our win, we raise our bet by one unit and bet $20. If the ball had landed on a red number, we would have lost the bet, and we would have been stuck on a one unit ($10) bet.
Our next bet is for $20, and again luck is on our side, and we win. We now have $40 on the table. We increase our bet to three units, which is $30. We pocket the excess $10 and put it into our bankroll. So our bankroll stands at $1,010 and we have $30 on the table. If this bet wins, we would have $60, and our next bet would be $40 (again, raising one unit), so we would pocket the $20 for our bankroll.
However, if our three unit bet loses, we go down a unit, and we would bet two units on our next spin. If that bet lost, we would go back to a one unit bet, and the process would start again.
The downside to the above scenario is that once our $20 bet loses, our bankroll is down to $990, and it becomes hard to make a real profit, as without a long winning streak, your wins get eaten into relatively quickly. But loses are minimized, since on a losing streak, you will end up only wagering $10 at a time.
As with all betting systems, there are inherent flaws in the Contra D’Alembert system, simply because it relies on the idea that hot and cold streaks are real things. They are not, and the previous results have no bearing on future results. But using the Contra D’Alembert can prolong a betting session compared to other systems such as a Martingale Betting System, because fluctuations are not wild, and you will never be betting obscene amounts of money chasing a tiny win. As long as you can secure three wins in a row occasionally, you will see a modicum of success, even if it ends up just balancing things out. So, as with all betting systems, don’t use the Contra D’Alembert for anything other than getting a bit of extra structure and enjoyment out of your betting sessions, as that is all it will give you.
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Practically every player who is new to Roulette will come up with their very own betting system. 