James Bond and casinos go hand in hand. Bond has seen off such villains as Le Chiffre (baccarat), Hugo Drax (bridge), and Auric Goldfinger (gin rummy) at the card table, but it is roulette through which his name lives on, thanks to the James Bond roulette strategy. So just what this strategy, and how can it help you leave with the casino manager shaken, not stirred?

How to Play Like James Bond

Before we get started, it’s important to note that the James Bond roulette strategy only works on the European wheel version (a single zero), so don’t go trying it on other variations. The James Bond is a flat betting system, which means that you will wager the same amount every round. To utilize the strategy, you only need to remember three bets:

• Bet #1 – bet $14 units on the number set 19-36
• Bet #2 – bet $5 units on the number set 13-18
• Bet #3 – bet $1 unit on 0

The idea of the James Bond strategy is that there will be 25 winning numbers and 12 losing ones, with the following possible outcomes of the spin:

• If the ball hits 19-36, you win a total of $8
• If the ball lands on 13-18, you win a total of $10
• If the ball hits the 0, you win $16
• If the ball lands on 1-12, you lose $20

On the face of it this system actually manages to do the impossible and turn the odds in the player’s favor, right? Actually, no.

Where the Strategy Falls Down

James Bond usually walks away from the casino a richer man, but following the strategy that takes his name will likely have the opposite effect in the long term. This is due to something called ‘negative expectation’. Imagine that you spin the wheel 37 times and each of the possible numbers is hit once. Utilizing the James Bond betting system would get you each of the following results:

As we can see, in the long run it turns out that you’ll end up losing $20 every 37 spins. It could be argued that that the chances of landing 37 different numbers in 37 spins are slim, and you’d be right. Of course you can either win more or lose more, depending on your luck. In the end however things tend to even out to the mean, and playing roulette using the James Bond strategy is more likely to lose you money in the long run than win it.