The James Bond Betting System Explained

The James Bond Betting System Explained

The James Bond betting system is basically a flat betting system. This means that you will be betting the same amount on every round, not increasing or decreasing your bets after wins and losses.

As with all betting systems, you need to start by defining your betting unit. Most agree that it should be no more than 1% of your bankroll and many say that it should be 0.50% or 0.33%. For the same of simplicity, in this article we will take a betting unit to be €1.

The first thing to know about the James Bond betting system is that it requires 20 betting units per round, so €20 in our examples. The idea is to cover numerous different possible outcomes to try and ensure a betting long-term profit.

The system can be used with the European Roulette game and it covers all of the numbers apart from 1 to 12.

You need to place the following three bets:

• 14 units (€14) on the outside bet 19-36 – Pays 1/1
• 5 units (€5) on the inside bet 13-14-15-16-17-18 (the 6-line bet) – Pays 5/1
• 1 unit (€1) on the straight up bet 0 – Pays 35/1

How It Works in Practice

It is worth taking a few minutes to deconstruct the bet. The largest amount is placed on the outside bet. This pays the least but it is the most likely to win. At the other end of the spectrum, you bet the smallest amount on the straight up bet, but it has the largest possible returns.

There are actually just four possible outcomes from a spin:

1. The ball lands on any number between 19 and 36 and wins you €8
   This is because you have won €14 and lost €6
2. The ball lands on 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 or 18 and wins you €10
   This is because you have won €25 and lost €15
3. The ball lands on 0 and wins you €16
   This is because you have won €35 and lost €19
4. The ball lands on 1 – 12 and you lose €20

Some argue that if the ball lands on 1 to 12, then you should double your bet using the Martingale system. We shall return to this later, but first let’s have a look at eight example rounds played using the James Bond betting system:

The table shows that these eight rounds would result in €100 won and €80 lost. Even with three losing rounds, you still make €20 profit, which is equal to the original stake.

Problems with the James Bond Betting System

The problem with all betting systems is that none of them can ever completely overcome the house edge. European Roulette has a house edge of 2.7%, which means that in the long run, the house will always win.

If you were to play 37 rounds of roulette and each of the numbers were to come up once, then this is how things would pan out:

1. 1 spin would win €16 from the straight up bet on 0
2. 6 spins would win €10 each from the Line bet, for a total win of €60
3. 18 spins would win €8 each from the 19 – 36 bet, for a total win of €144
4. 12 spins would win €20 each when 1 – 12 hit, for a total loss of €240

Over the 37 spins you would have bet €740 and would have total winnings of €440. Of course, the chances of 37 spins producing 37 numbers are very small, so you could end up winning more than that. However, you could also end up losing more than that. Ultimately, it is a matter of luck. The point is that over the course of thousands of spins, you are always going to end up making a loss.

Before we mentioned that it is possible to use the Martingale system to try to make back your losses. However, the problem is that simply doubling your bets won’t cover all potential losses. Therefore, a slightly different progression is needed. However, this is also problematic, you will find that the size of your bets increases extremely quickly and either your bankroll will run out or you will reach the table’s maximum bet. In fact, after just two consecutive losses you will be betting a large amount of money and the potential profits will be very small.

Here is a simple example to demonstrate:

On the first spin you bet €20:

• €14 on 19 – 36. You could win €28, minus €20 bet for a total win of €8
• €5 on the Line bet. You could win €30, minus €20 bet for a total win of €10
• €1 on 0. You could win €36, minus €20 bet for a total win of €16

If you lose, then on the second spin you bet €49, plus the €20 from the first spin for a total of €69

• €35 on 19 – 36. You win €70, minus €69 bet for a total win of €1
• €12 on the Line bet. You win €72, minus €69 bet for a total win of €3
• €2 on 0. You win €72, minus €69 bet for a total win of €3

On the third spin you bet €162, plus the €49 from the second spin and €20 from the first spin for a total bet of €231.

• €116 on 19 – 36. You win €232, minus €231 bet for a total win of €1
• €39 on Line bet. You win €234 minus €231 bet for a total win of €3
• €7 on 0. You win €252, minus €231 bet for a total win of €21

These numbers can appear slightly confusing. They represent how much you need to bet on each spin, how much each bet could potentially win, and then what the actual profit is once the previous bets have been taken into account.

They show that after just three consecutive losses you will have had to bet €231 and the potential returns from the second and third round are far smaller than those from the first, despite the fact that you are betting far more money.

While it may seem that the rate of progression is too high, it is in fact the only way to make sure that you are covering your previous losses. Furthermore, it is completely possible that the ball could land on numbers 1 to 12 several times in a row. The example above only covers three losses, imagine how big the bets become after five or six losses.

However, there is one thing worth pointing out. You do not have to bet as much as €20 at once. As we said at the beginning, this is assuming a betting unit of €1. If your betting unit was €0.10, then you would be betting just €2 per spin, which is far more affordable.

To Conclude

The James Bond betting system is as flawed as any other betting system. However, this doesn’t mean that using it isn’t fun. Furthermore, if you keep your betting unit small, then it is a highly affordable system. While you may not want to use it all of the time, it is still something worth having in your arsenal.