Master the Casino with James Bond’s Iconic Roulette Strategy
James Bond evokes the image of a suave gentleman, seamlessly navigating casinos, ski slopes, or high-speed chases. While perhaps most famous for his Vodka Martini, he also loved a spin at the roulette wheel—so much so that the James Bond Roulette strategy remains popular to this day.
Ian Fleming and James Bond’s Affinity for Gambling
Much of the James Bond character comes from the real life of his creator, Ian Fleming. Fleming spent the Second World War as a Naval Intelligence officer, and he used many of those experiences to help formulate both the character Bond and many of the villains that Bond faced.
Fleming imbued his famous protagonist with many of his own exploits and gave him many of the same attributes, such as a love of the ladies, a craving for scrambled eggs, and even the same golf handicap. One other passion that both Fleming and his fictional counterpart both shared was gambling.
It should come as no surprise that Casino Royale, the very first James Bond book, has our spy trying to beat the villain in a game of Chemin De Fer, a type of baccarat. Fleming alleged that the story was based on a real-life incident.
Passing through Portugal on the way to America, he and his boss spent several nights at a hotel and casino resort situated near Lisbon. The resort was famously known for being frequented by spies, royalty on the run from the war waging across Europe, and other rather colorful characters.
His claims that he and Admiral Godfrey attempted to bankrupt some German staff officers at the gaming tables has been called into question, though.
The fact that both Fleming and infamous MI6 double agent Dusko Popov were both registered at the Hotel Palacio Estoril at the same time that Popov was passing British disinformation to his German handlers has led many to believe there was more to the story than Fleming let on.
While what really happened at that casino in Portugal during the war remains a mystery, one thing we know for sure is that Fleming himself was a lifelong gambler with a thorough knowledge of not only baccarat, poker, blackjack, but especially bridge. He also had enough roulette experience to develop a James Bond betting strategy for the game that some people still bet on some seventy years later.
Where Did the James Bond Betting Strategy Come From?
When we consider the James Bond Roulette strategy, it is important to remember that, like so much with both Fleming and Bond, this betting strategy is apocryphal. There is no hard proof, either in the book Casino Royale or in the films, that Bond ever made this so-called James Bond Roulette bet, though certainly Fleming had the knowledge of the game to have formulated this type of wager.
In fact, there is no mention of a James Bond roulette bet until about ten years ago. We can read in Chapter 7 of Casino Royale titled Rouge Et Noir about Bond playing roulette and betting the dozens. There is no mention of betting the single zero, nor that of betting the double street 13/16, or of the 19-36 bet, or any other component of today’s James Bond Roulette strategy.
While his time-honored vodka tonic, shaken, not stirred, is right there in black and white, the James Bond roulette betting strategy is not the one popularized by countless websites over the past decade. We know from other sources that Ian Fleming himself preferred the complicated and labor-intensive Labouchere system when playing roulette.
This whole James Bond betting system was probably dreamt up by an off-duty croupier, who recalling vaguely Bond’s fascination with covering two-thirds of the board, came up with this bet and decided to name it after his hero in the sincerest form of flattery.
What Is the James Bond Roulette Bet Anyway?
This actual strategy does a good job of mimicking Bond’s betting action in Casino Royale. But instead of just betting two different sections of the dozens each spin as our protagonist does, this bet calls for $14 on the 19-36 even money bet, $5 on the double street that covers 13 through 18, and $1 on the single zero.
Since many Americans will find that they don’t have access to a single zero wheel, this betting strategy is best used to play roulette online as you can easily find European wheels with just one zero at almost all online casinos. Also, this reduces the house edge from 5.26% to just 2.7%.
Betting in this way means we have all but the first dozen covered with at least some portion of our bet. A zero will get us $35 while losing $19 in the process. Thirteen through 18 will see us receive $30 while losing $15. And, of course, a 19 through 36 see us paid $14 while losing $6—however, a one through twelve costs us all $20.
No strategy will beat roulette. Whatever number or series of numbers and outside bets we make don’t change the house advantage, which remains at 2.7% regardless of which type of bet we make. So, in this sense, this strategy is easy to remember and no worse than any other.
You Can Use Labouchere as an Alternative
By contrast, the Labouchere bet favored by Fleming involves deciding how much you would like to win, dividing that number up into three to seven smaller amounts that add up to your desired win, and then writing these numbers down on a piece of paper. You then bet the first and last number in that series on an even number bet.
If you win, you can cross both numbers off. If you lose, you add the total of that bet to the list and once again bet the first and last numbers remaining on your list. You keep at this until you cross every number off your list or your head explodes, whichever comes first.
Regardless of the strategy you choose, you will still be out an average of 2.7% of your total bets, so we think the simplicity and frequency of payouts on the James Bond roulette strategy are certainly not something to take lightly.
Conclusion
While the James Bond roulette bet is probably much like the man himself- just a famous work of fiction – you shouldn’t turn your nose up at it. While it won’t have you breaking the bank at Monte Carlo or leaving Le Chiffre penniless and awaiting the arrival of SMERSH, it is a lower volatility roulette bet that is simple to play and won’t keep you from being social and engaged at the table.
Plus, it has the added bonus of letting you inform the whole table that you’re using the James Bond betting strategy, which is bound to get you all the attention that mentioning the Labouchere system probably will not.
