The Labouchere Progressive Baccarat System

If we remember the time when we picked out a number series that seemed to delight us—like our birth date (06-05-50 or 2-11-78, and so on)—and we tried the numbers out in a lottery or horse race, we were doing something close to a Labouchere progressive baccarat number system.

At times people would dream a number series and manipulate it a little to form a betting formula out of it. And sometimes they really do hit a win. Adherents like to make it sound scientific and apply it to a game like baccarat. Sure enough, the system sells hot.

The system puts hedges on win and risk factors. The system is said to smartly reduce, if not eliminate, loss incidence in baccarat. It works this way. First, we set up what is called a Labouchere number series. We base our betting pattern on this series. So think up of a number series we like to have, at least consisting of 4 numbers.

Say, we though of 1, 3, 4, 5, because we remembered our first communion when we were 13 and now we're 45 years old. Then, suppose we place a $1 bet unit. Labouchere uses both terminals of a number series multiplied by the unit in deciding bet amounts. So from our 1,3,4, and 5, we have 1 and 5 as terminals, add them, and multiply by $1—we have $6 as initial bet.

Then, according to Labouchere, if we win the bet we eliminate the numbers we have used, so that leaves us with 3 and 4, which is $7. If we win again, we have a total of $13. Then we think up another Labouchere number series. As we can see, this number series or "system" has nothing to do with any hand, play, or card analysis. Out of our whims, we just decide on a number series, follow it, and see if it works.

But since baccarat is a game of risks, we might as well take risks with so-called progressive baccarat systems. If we are beaten we expand our series to make up for the loss. So we add the amount of the bet we lost to the series. If we lost $6 we add 6 to the series, making it 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Our next bet would then be derived by adding terminals 1 and 6, making a $7 bet.

The Labouchere progressive baccarat system combines whim and trust that our number series would win the game for us.