Once you’ve mastered the basic roulette rules, you might be curious about the multitude of roulette strategies out there. One such popular strategy is the so-called James Bond roulette strategy. We know the classy chap is a dab hand at Baccarat, but does 007’s technique at roulette actually hold any weight? Let’s find out.
Remember, gambling is all about luck. Nothing you do will influence the outcome of the roulette wheel itself. It’s fun to try strategies, just bear in mind that the house will always have the edge.
What is the James Bond Roulette Strategy?
The James Bond roulette strategy is a method of placing bets that supposedly increases the likelihood of winning. Unlike the Martingale, d’Alembert, and Paroli system strategies that were developed by mathematicians, the James Bond strategy comes from Casino Royale author Ian Fleming!
The James Bond roulette system is easy to learn and ideal if you like to play roulette online. You can tailor the strategy to work for your particular bankroll, so you don’t need a ton of money to get started.
While you can play this strategy on American Roulette games, the single zero European and French Roulette are the preferred game variants.
Bets Involved in the James Bond Roulette System
The James Bond roulette system can be played with a starting bankroll of as little as £2, depending on the table limits. However, in this example, I’m going to begin with £20, just to keep the numbers whole and easy to follow. The strategy involves placing three bets of different amounts as follows:
- £1 on 0 (zero)
- £5 on 13-18 Double Street
- £14 on 19-36 High
If one of the covered numbers comes up, you win. If none of the covered numbers come up, the strategy calls for a Martingale system approach, ie. doubling your bet, to £40 in this case.
James Bond Roulette Payouts
The roulette payouts in this strategy will depend on which of the three bets have won. Remember, there are three different stakes and each bet has different payout odds. Let’s take a look at each, based on our £20 starting bankroll:
| Bet | Stake | Payout Odds | Payout (including stake) |
| Zero | £1 | 35/1 | £36 |
| 13-18 Double Street | £5 | 5/1 | £30 |
| 19-36 High | £14 | Evens (1/1) | £28 |
So, following this strategy, you could win as little as £28 to as much as £36, depending on which of the three bets wins. Note that the payout in all three cases is larger than your initial £20 total stake.
The Theory Behind the James Bond Roulette Strategy
The idea of the James Bond roulette system is to cover as many numbers as possible with the smallest stake, while still maximising payouts. In just three bets, you’re covering 25 out of the wheel’s 37 numbers. That effectively gives you just over a 67.5% chance of winning (25 ÷ 37) and a 32.5% chance of losing. You’ll also notice that the smallest stake is on the bet with the highest payout, and vice versa, to maximise your returns.
However, like many betting strategies, that’s not the whole story. As mentioned before, if you do happen to lose, the strategy calls for you to double your bet. So instead of betting £1, £5, and £14, you’d have to bet £2, £10, and £28. The idea here, as explained in the Martingale system, is to try to make up for that last loss. Unfortunately, as most roulette tips will tell you, this approach is one of the biggest drawbacks of the game.
Pros and Cons of the Bond Roulette Strategy
The Bond roulette strategy is an attractive one, especially when you consider that 67.5% win rate! However, like other strategies, this one is a mix of pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy to learn and use | Doubling up can lead to massive losses |
| Works with varying budgets | Doesn’t work as well on American Roulette |
| Attractive 67.5% win rate per spin | Not all numbers are covered |
The biggest drawback of the James Bond roulette strategy is the potential losses. For example, say you lose your first £20 bet, so you double it up to £40 (£2, £10, £28). If you lose that too, you’ll have to double up to £80 (£4, £20, £56). At this point, you’re sitting on a £60 loss. If you lose the £80 bet too, that’s £140 lost, with a £160 bet next on the cards. The payouts on the bets don’t change, but the likelihood of you being able to recoup those losses and make a profit drops. You may only have a 32.5% chance of losing, but that’s every time. The roulette wheel doesn’t know or care that you lost last time!
Shake Up Your Roulette Game!
Next time you’re at the European or French Roulette table, pretend you’re 007 and take the James Bond roulette strategy for a spin. It’s fun to shake things up a bit. Just remember that unless you’re a double agent yourself, you most likely don’t have HM’s bankroll to play with, so keep it fun and don’t try to chase your losses.
FAQs
The James Bond roulette system is a betting method that covers 25 out of the 37 numbers on a European Roulette wheel with three different bets: 1 chip on zero, 5 chips on 13-18 Double Street, and 14 chips on 19-36 High. The strategy can be adjusted to suit your bankroll and results in a win rate of just over 67.5% per spin.
Yes. There is a 67.5% chance that your bet will win using this strategy. Even better, each of the three bets involved will return more than your initial stake.
One of the biggest risks of the James Bond roulette strategy is that you have to double your stake if you lose your bet, which can lead to quickly escalating losses. Your chances of losing your bet are 32.5% each round. That doesn’t sound like much but it just takes a couple of losses in a row to find yourself down by a lot and less likely to recover those losses.
