Roulette is a game that has been enjoyed for centuries. It’s straightforward, easy to understand and super fun. To the untrained eye, roulette may seem like a game where the odds are against you, but this is not always the case. There may be a couple strategies that may help, one of which is the D’Alembert Strategy.
This strategy is pretty easy to understand and closely resembles the Martingale strategy, with one exception — the bet progression is much less aggressive with the D’Alembert strategy than with the Martingale, making it one of the easiest and safest strategies to execute.
Having a betting strategy may be a good way of managing your bankroll too. So let’s take a closer look at how this strategy works.
What Is The D’Alembert Strategy?
The D’Alembert system was named after a French mathematician Jean-Baptiste le Rond d’Alembert. In the 18th century, d’Alembert argued that even-probability wagers will see an equal number of wins and losses. A coin is, theoretically, more likely to land on heads if the outcome of the previous toss was tails. This philosophy was then applied to the gambling industry, specifically on games with even-money bets, like roulette or craps. Similarly to the Martingale, the idea is that increasing a wager after losses will yield marginal return and profit on a win.
Like the Martingale betting system, the D’Alembert method is designed to work on bets with a 50:50 chance of winning. These are the even-money bets like Red/Black, Odd/Even and 1-18/19-36 bets on roulette. For example, if there has been a win streak of black, then red is statistically more likely to hit on the following spins. With that said, instead of doubling your wager after suffering a loss — as with the Martingale method — players increase their bet by one unit. When the player wins, they decrease their stake by one unit.
How Does The D’Alembert Strategy Work?
Let’s break it down. First, you’re going to need to decide what ‘unit’ to increase or decrease your bet by. This will serve as the backbone of your strategy. Whether it’s one chip or multiple, it’s up to you to decide. Keep in mind that you may be placing multiple bets, so make sure that your unit’s value amounts to no more than 2% of your bankroll. Experts suggest that 0.33% or 0.50% is safer, but our unit’s value is entirely up to you.
Once you’ve decided what your unit value is, you can begin strategising. D’Alembert’s main emphasis is decreasing your wager on a win and decreasing on a loss. You decrease or increase by the value of your single unit. Your unit is also your starting wager.
Some players choose to use a reverse D’Alembert strategy, which consists of increasing bets when winning and decreasing when losing. But we will focus on the classic D’Alembert method. Let’s dig a little deeper with the following example:
Suppose you start with a unit of €1.
| Round | Bet | Outcome | Balance |
| 1 | 1 | Win | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | Win | 1 |
| 3 | 1 | Loss | -1 |
| 4 | 2 | Loss | -2 |
| 5 | 3 | Loss | -3 |
| 6 | 4 | Win | 4 |
| 7 | 3 | Loss | -3 |
| 8 | 4 | Loss | -4 |
| 9 | 5 | Win | 5 |
| 10 | 4 | Win | 4 |
The number of losses is equal to the number of wins, which is statistically probable on even odds. Even though you’ve placed larger wagers after each loss, you still reaped a profit of €2.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of The D’Alembert Strategy
Now that we’ve turned this strategy inside out, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of this betting system.
Advantages
This strategy has a much lower variance than the Martingale system. This implies that the number of losses will not drastically eat away at your fund, and so, you will be in much better control of your bankroll. Having such control is one of the main reasons why this system is so highly regarded. This system also mitigates the damage from stacking up losses, which not the case with the Martingale; instead, your losses build and even out over time.
Another benefit is that this system can add more structure to the way you place bets. One of the main things that players struggle with when playing roulette is remaining in control — the D’Alembert strategy is a good way to address that. On top of this, many players utilise this system simply because it’s easy to implement, as opposed to other strategies like the Labouchere method.
Disadvantages
While this strategy works quite well, it obviously is not perfect and comes with a few disadvantages.
For instance, it may be difficult to win back your total losses considering you’re only increasing your wager by one unit, rather than doubling it. It will be especially hard when your losses begin to stagger and build up. Although this method is safer than the Martingale, you may not be able to gather many wins. This system is not designed to reel in profits; instead, it aims to reduce the damage from losses. The D’Alembert method does not decrease the house edge either — it simply takes advantage of streaks.
No single betting system is a sure-fire way to win, it may sometimes be appropriate to switch up your strategy or abandon it altogether.
The D’Alembert Strategy At EnergyCasino
Now you’re all set to try out this strategy for yourself! The D’Alembert betting strategy is a pretty good system for beginner players to work their way up to more complex methods. Of course, the best place to take this strategy for a test run is EnergyCasino. Our roulette games never fail to impress players with their special features and unique gameplay — spin for a chance to a win but remember to always play responsibly!