Football Betting and the Labouchere System

Strategies to win betting are as old as betting itself, which shouldn’t surprise you. When it comes down to it, we all want to win. Some, however, do it for the joy of winning – for others, it’s all about profit. If you’re the latter, or generally want to see your bet winnings increase, you may have heard of staking systems.

The Martingale system is the most famous of these, but its faults are too severe to ignore. So what is the Labouchere system, and can it work in football betting?

What is the Labouchere System in betting?

The Labouchere is a famous and time-tested negative progression staking system. Let’s dissect that for a bit.

 First of all, staking systems are a distinct type of betting strategies. Think of it this way – instead of relying on other sports betting strategies like digging through stats and histories, you simply cleverly control how much you wager and when. If this seems strange, it’s because these betting strategies to win were created for other forms of gambling. In a lot of casino games like roulette, the stake is one of the few things the player can control.

Secondly, negative progression refers to how this stake is controlled. In the context of the best betting strategies and systems, it just means you increase the stake whenever you lose. For contrast, a positive progression system would increase the stake on a win.

How To Use the Labouchere System

Now that we have our terms in order, let’s look at the Labouchere betting strategy itself. The first thing you’ll need to do is make a sequence of numbers. Which numbers? Well, it depends on your bankroll and your target profit. For now, let’s stick to low numbers for an effective Labouchere system example. Let’s say our sequence is 1-2-3.

Essentially, your target profit is the sum of these 3, which is €6. What you want to do is wager the sum of the first and last numbers of the sequence. Place the $4 stake on an even-money bet. If you win, you can take these numbers out of the sequence, leaving you with just 2, which would be your next bet. Do this until you have no more numbers in the sequence, and your plan is complete!

Of course, things don’t always go that smoothly. If you lose, you’ll need to add the lost stake to the sequence. In this example, that would leave you with 1-2-3-4. Your next bet would use €5 as a stake (4+1). The idea here is to make up potential losses before moving on to profits.

All of this sounds simple, but it can quickly get complicated. Let’s say you won the next bet, leaving you with a sequence of 2-3. Since we’re using even-money sports bets, let’s say you lose again. The result is a sequence of 2-3-5. With enough repetition and enough losses, these can get very long.

How does Labouchere Work in Football Betting?

The problem here is that the system was developed for Roulette and not online sports betting. Specifically, it was designed with outside even-money bets in mind. In other words, the system works only with “coin-flip” wagers with a 50/50 probability.

So, to use Labouchere in football betting, we need to find even-money wagers. First of all, you’ll want a footy bet with two possible outcomes. This can be Double Chance, or Draw No Bet, even Both Teams to Score. As long as only 2 results are possible, you’re good to go.

Secondly, you’re looking for bets at odds of 1:1, or 2.00. It may take a while to find enough such wagers, so have patience. Even a small difference of just, say, 0.05 can completely throw off the math. Considering how many football betting offers are out there every day, though, it shouldn’t be much of an issue.

Football Labouchere – Pros and Cons

So why use the Labouchere system in the first place? Well, as long as you finish your wager sequence at some point, you would hit a 14.5% profit. This isn’t particularly high at first glance. However, betting strategies and statistics agree that low-yield, long-term planning is the best way to profit from betting. 

However, the same can be said for any other betting system out there. So why Labouchere? Well, it strikes a nice balance between risky and rewarding. Some staking strategies, such as Martingale, can leave your bankroll torn to shreds with a single streak of bad luck. On the flip side, some of the best football betting strategies are too slow to actually be worth it.

Bear in mind, though, Labouchere is not foolproof. A few consecutive losses will not drain your bank account, but they can ruin your attempt at the strategy. Also, if you want to be safe, you’ll need a considerable bankroll. Otherwise, you run the risk of simply not being able to front the next required stake.

Conclusion

To sum up, Labouchere is one of the best betting strategies for profit. Obviously, it won’t help you win more wagers or something like that. However, the control over your stake can greatly help you produce more stable profits from online football betting.