Winners Method Betting System: How to Use It and a Simulation

The Winners Method is a betting system in which you keep a sequence of numbers, adding and crossing off numbers according to set rules. A cycle succeeds once every number in the sequence has been crossed off.

Like the Monte Carlo system, it works with a sequence of numbers. With the Winners Method, the bet is unlikely to rise during a losing streak, but a cycle does not end unless you win more than 50% of your bets, so recovering your losses can take a long time.

What You Will Learn

• The Winners Method is a relatively defensive betting system that aims to recover losses while keeping the bet from rising quickly during a losing streak.
• It works best on table-game bets that pay even money (1 to 1).

This article takes about 13 minutes to read.

What Is the Winners Method?

The Winners Method is a betting system that can be used in games such as baccarat and roulette.

Put simply, you start writing down a sequence of numbers after two losses in a row, then work those losses off with later wins. To cross off the whole sequence, however, you need to win more bets than you lose, so there is no guarantee that you will recover your losses.

The bet does not rise while you are on a losing streak, so the amount you bet each round grows only gradually over the course of a cycle. This means your results swing less; it does not change the house edge. If a cycle drags on without being completed, the bet does keep rising, so set a stop-loss limit before you use the system.

How to Use the Winners Method

This betting system relies on a sequence of numbers, so always keep a pen and paper or a notes app ready. The steps are as follows.

1. Set the value of one unit
2. After two losses in a row, write down the starting sequence “1,1” and bet twice the leftmost number
3. If you win, cross off the leftmost number in the sequence
4. If you lose, add the amount you bet to the right end of the sequence
5. Repeat the previous three steps until the sequence is gone

Set the Value of One Unit

First, decide the value of one unit. A unit is the base amount for your bets and is also the size of your first bet. As a guide, avoid a unit larger than 1/50 of your balance. The examples below use 1 unit = $1.

Start the Winners Method After Two Losses in a Row

Do not start the Winners Method after a win, whether that win follows other wins or a single loss. Always start right after you lose two bets in a row.

After two losses in a row, write “1,1” in your notes. Your next bet is twice the leftmost number: in this case, twice 1, or $2.

If You Win

If you win, cross off the leftmost number in the sequence.

For example, if you bet $2 with the sequence “1,1” and win, cross off the leftmost number, leaving “1”. (If you want to keep a record of the numbers, strike it through instead: “1,1″.)

Your next bet is again twice the leftmost number (the remaining 1), so you bet $2.

If You Lose

If you lose, add the amount you just bet to the right end of the sequence.

For example, if you bet $2 with the sequence “1,1” and lose, write “1,1,2”.

Repeat Until the Sequence Is Gone

Keep repeating these steps. Once every number in the sequence has been crossed off, the cycle is complete and the Winners Method has succeeded.

If losses pile up and the sequence grows too long to clear, however, cut your losses and reset the sequence. You can set your own stop-loss limit, but as a guide, consider stopping once the sequence reaches seven or more numbers.

Casino Games That Work Well with the Winners Method

The Winners Method is a betting system for bets that pay even money (1 to 1). The sequence is easiest to clear on bets with the highest possible win rate that pay at least even money. A high win rate and a low house edge are different measures, however, and no game you choose will give you a positive expected value.

The list below ranks games that suit the system by the probability that a bet returns at least twice the stake, that is, wins at even money or better. The figure in parentheses is that probability. For baccarat, the figure excludes ties.

• The dice game 100 Bit Dice with the payout set to 2.00x (49.50%)
• The Player bet in baccarat (49.32%)
• Even-money bets in European roulette (red/black, odd/even, high/low) (48.65%)
• Big/Small in Sic Bo (48.61%)

A Winners Method Simulation and What It Shows

If the steps above were hard to follow, try covering the Sequence column below and writing out the sequence yourself according to the rules.

In this example, we bet on Player in baccarat every round and won 10 rounds while losing 17. That is a heavy losing record. Did the session still finish ahead?

Despite one stop-loss, the session finished $12 ahead.

Look first at the opening rounds. The Winners Method does not start until you have lost two bets in a row, so this stretch consists of flat one-unit bets without a sequence. Consecutive wins here add to your balance, but these are still ordinary bets with the usual risk of loss.

In the middle of the session, wins and losses alternate. As this pattern continues, the leftmost number keeps rising, and the bet doubles every few rounds. Here, a later winning streak pushed the running total up to +$24. If wins and losses keep alternating for long, however, the bets can outgrow your bankroll, so watch the size of the numbers themselves, even when the sequence is short.

The session ended with seven losses in a row, and since the sequence reached seven numbers, we cut our losses as described above. The running total was still +$12 after the stop-loss, but only because it had climbed to +$24 earlier. The outcome depends on whether profits have built up before the stop-loss is reached, and the same steps can just as easily end in a loss.

Comparing the Winners Method with Other Betting Systems

Below, we replay the same sequence of wins and losses with the Monte Carlo system and the Martingale system and compare how the bets develop. To keep the conditions equal, each run ends with a stop-loss at the seventh loss in a row.

Monte Carlo System

With the Monte Carlo system, the session ended $32 down. The stop-loss at the end produced a large loss that the profits from earlier in the session could not cover.

The Monte Carlo system is designed so that the sequence shrinks even if you win only about one bet in three, but the profit from each completed cycle is correspondingly small, so a stop-loss tends to leave you with a net loss.

Martingale System

With the Martingale system, the session ended with a loss of $117. Here, too, every win in the first half produced a profit, but the losses from seven defeats in a row were far too large to cover.

Because the Martingale system doubles the bet after every loss, a single losing streak can turn a comfortable lead into a large loss. Set a strict stop-loss limit before you start.

Advantages of the Winners Method

You Can Sometimes Finish Ahead Even with More Losses Than Wins

As the simulation with 10 wins and 17 losses showed, the Winners Method can sometimes leave you ahead overall even when you lose more bets than you win over the whole session.

A single cycle of the Winners Method succeeds only if you win more than 50% of its bets. If you complete several cycles and build up a profit, however, you can still finish ahead overall even after a stop-loss along the way. If the stop-loss comes before you have built up that profit, you finish with a loss.

Bets Do Not Climb Sharply During a Losing Streak, So You Can Start with a Small Bankroll

With the Winners Method, the bet does not increase while you keep losing, because the leftmost number, which sets the bet size, stays the same. This is why bets are unlikely to balloon during a losing streak.

In the simulation, the last bet before the stop-loss was $2 with the Winners Method, while with the Martingale system it had grown to $64. The same losing streak calls for a much smaller bankroll, so you are less likely to run out of money.

When wins and losses alternate, however, the bet tends to rise faster than it does during a losing streak, so keep an eye on the numbers in that situation.

Disadvantages of the Winners Method

The Steps Take Some Getting Used To

The Winners Method sets each bet by adjusting a sequence of numbers, so players who are new to betting systems may find it difficult at first. In live dealer games, betting is open only for a set time, which can make you feel rushed until you are comfortable with the steps.

The actual steps are simple, though: cross off a number when you win and add one when you lose. With a little practice, you will remember the procedure quickly.

Online games without a betting timer let you take your time, so play calmly and make sure you keep the sequence free of mistakes.

Recovering Losses Can Take a Long Time Without Winning Streaks

To complete a cycle of the Winners Method, you need two or more wins in a row at some point. Once a losing streak has lengthened the sequence, you need correspondingly more winning streaks, so clearing the whole sequence becomes harder and takes longer.

Always stick to the stop-loss limit you have set for yourself.

Three Tips for Overcoming the Weaknesses of the Winners Method

Based on the weaknesses covered above, here are three practical tips.

(1) Always Stick to Your Stop-Loss Limit

Use a sequence of seven or more numbers as a guide for your stop-loss limit, and adjust it as needed as the session goes on. Completing a sequence can require anywhere from a few tens of dollars to $100 or more in total bets. A stop-loss limit caps how much you can lose in one session, but it does not change the expected value itself.

(2) Practice with Free Play or RNG Table Games First

If you start using the system straight away in a live dealer game, you may make a mistake in the steps and bet an amount you did not intend. Practice first with free play or with RNG table games, which have no betting timer, and move on to live dealer games once you are comfortable.

(3) Switch Between Different Betting Systems

Rather than relying only on the Winners Method, you can also try other betting systems, such as the Paroli system (also called the reverse Martingale), which builds on winning streaks, or the Monte Carlo system, which uses a sequence to spread losses over several bets. Each result is independent of the last, however, so there is no way to tell in advance that a winning streak is coming or that your win rate is about to fall below 50%.

What the Winners Method Changes and What It Does Not

The Winners Method is a money management approach that puts your bet sizing into a fixed pattern, and it does not change the game’s house edge or expected value. If you bet on the Player bet in baccarat, the expected value per bet is the same whether or not you use the Winners Method.

The only things that change are the swings in your results (the variance) and the shape of the distribution of wins and losses. The Winners Method simply reshapes your results into a pattern of frequent small profits and occasional larger losses when you reach your stop-loss limit.

You Cannot Clear the Sequence Once You Reach the Table Limit

The bet is twice the leftmost number in the sequence. If wins and losses keep alternating and the leftmost number keeps rising, the bet will eventually reach the table limit. At a table with a $1,000 limit, the bet is capped at the limit once the leftmost number reaches 500, and if the number grows any further, you can no longer place the next bet in the sequence.

Estimate Your Maximum Possible Loss in Advance

Suppose you use a unit of $1, start the system after two losses in a row, keep losing until you have lost seven in a row, and stop at a sequence of seven numbers. Your loss is $12. That is the minimum, however. If wins and losses have alternated and pushed the leftmost number up to 4, reaching a sequence of seven numbers from there means a loss of around $40 in that stretch alone. If you set your stop-loss limit by the number of entries in the sequence, keep in mind that the loss can be several times larger depending on the leftmost number at that point.

Setting a stop-loss limit does not change the expected value itself, either. It is a money management rule that caps how much you can lose in one session.

Summary: The Winners Method Limits Swings but Does Not Give You an Edge

The Winners Method is a betting system that uses a sequence of numbers to adjust the size of each bet. It can be used on even-money bets (paying 1 to 1) in games such as baccarat and roulette, including live dealer games.

Compared with other betting systems, your bets rise more slowly during a losing streak, so the swings in your results tend to stay smaller. However, the sequence will not clear unless your win rate is above 50%, and recovering your losses can take a long time. The swings are smaller, but the house edge does not change.

At first, build experience with free play or RNG table games, and move on to live dealer games once you are comfortable with the steps.