Classic Betting Strategies: The Ascot System

The Ascot strategy is an old roulette system for use on equal bets, that is, bets that pay one for one. Odds/pairs, 1 to 18/19 to 36, and red/black pay even money on the roulette table. The Ascot system can be used for other casino games that also have even money bets, such as pass/don’t pass in craps and banker/player in baccarat.

To set up the Ascot system, type a series of numbers. You can make up any series you want, but it’s easier if you choose an odd number of numbers. For example, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20, 30. Place your even money bet on the middle number in the series. In this example, your first bet would be eight units. If you win, move on to the next bet in the series. If you lose, go down a notch for your next bet. When you have won the highest number in the series or lost the lowest number, stop the series and start again. It’s that easy.

This method should allow you to play for a long period of time for a relatively small amount of money. On the downside, any series that requires you to reduce your bet substantially when you lose will cost you a lot of money if wins and losses alternate at the higher bet levels. In the example here, you would lose at 20, win at 13, lose at 20, and so on. It is not a sure path to profitability.

Here are a series of wins and losses that I actually experienced at mini-baccarat at Caesar’s in Atlantic City. Use the Ascot betting schedule above and calculate if I had a win or a loss. (The answer is below.) You can use the same result set to evaluate any Ascot series of your choice.

This series contains 35 wins and 35 losses. Ignore whether the bets are banker (where you pay a commission if you win) or player, and just assume even money bets.

Answer: Total loss of 11 units. At worst, it would have been down 38 units, and at best, it would have been up 115.