The Cancellation or d’Alembert Betting System

One of the more popular betting systems out there is called the cancelation or; d’Alembert betting system. The principles behind this system are largely based on two outcomes of equal probability occurring with the same frequency. Its success also hinges on using a larger bankroll. The chances for success will become much greater with the more money you have to bet with. However, this also means you could lose more.

This system also works best with even money bets. These are bets that will roughly have a 50% chance of happening and pay 1-1 on winning bets. Examples of even money bets would be: Blackjack, Red/Black in Roulette, Odd/Even in Roulette and Pass or Don’t Pass bets in Craps.

Important note: While this system relies on using even money bets, no bet in a casino has an exact 50/50 chance of winning. If they did, the house would never make any money. Most even money bets are on average of 48-49% of winning, but are still considered even money bets.

The Cancelation system requires the player to use a sequence of 10 numbers all representing  a unit. Its goal is to win 10 units once you reach the end. A unit is a bet amount and this determined by the player. If you wager $5 a bet, this would constitute 1 unit.

To start, write down the number 1, ten times on a piece of paper. Each bet amount is determined by the first and last number of the sequence. We take 1 and 1, since these are the first and last numbers are 1, 1+1=2; thus requiring the player to bet 2 units at the start.

Let’s say we win this first wager of 2 units. We would then cross out the first and the last number in our sequence of 10 numbers leaving us with; 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1. We would again do the same thing on the following bet. Add the first and last numbers in the sequence to determine how many units to wager.

Now let’s say we lose the second bet of 2 units. In this case you would not cross out any numbers, instead adding the amount of units lost to the end of the sequence. In this example we would have lost 2 units. Therefore, our new sequence of numbers is; 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2. For our next wager, we follow the same guidelines, only this time we have a 2 as the last number. Take 1+2 and we now have our new unit amount to bet on the next hand. If you were to lose again, you would add the number 3 to the end of your sequence, which would leave you with a new sequence of 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-3.

The main rules of this system is to always use the first and last numbers in the sequence you write down to dictate your amount of units to wager. You only cross these numbers out if the bet is won. On all losing bets, you add the amount of units lost to the end of the sequence and never cross out a number.

The overall goal is to have won 10 units once you have crossed out all numbers. When you lose a bet, by adding the amount of units lost at the end, this gives you the chance to recoup the previous loss and gain an extra unit on the following bet.

There are some deviations to this system that are allowed and often times required. If your bankroll is becoming low and the losses, along with numbers added to the sequence are piling up, you may not have enough to wager on the next bet.

If your sequence looks like: 10-12-15-20 and you only have $20 left in your bankroll, you would be unable to place the next bet. Since 10+20=30 (the first and last numbers in the example sequence), you cannot afford to make a bet of $30 units. In this case, many players choose to take either the first or last number and use that as a guideline for how many units to wager.

This system also has some pitfalls you should be aware of. In the previous example of not having enough money to bet, you can see that it’s possible to be placing very large wager amounts. It’s not uncommon in casino games to go on a bad run. You should be prepared for this and realize that there will be times when you go through your bankroll rather quickly using a system like this.

Overall, no system is guaranteed to make you money, but the Cancelation betting system does have some unique characteristics that separate it from others. Its most attractive difference is the ability to increase the likelihood of it working by using a larger bankroll.