There are dozens of roulette betting strategies, including famous ones such as the Martingale or the D’Alembert systems, which focus on even-money outside bets. However, there is one particularly interesting betting system that differs from all classic methods, called the Kavouras system. It is unique, aggressive, and very chaotic, at least at first sight, but it is often described as the best guaranteed way to win at roulette.
All this sounds very promising and would appeal to most gamblers, especially newcomers to roulette, one of the most exciting and elegant casino games ever created. So, what is the Kavouras strategy, and is it really as successful as it claims to be? Unlike most casino betting systems that have been around for more than a century, it is a recent invention. It is named after its creator, a gambler known simply as Kavouras, who published the system in 2010. Interestingly, no detailed information is available about this roulette player, and over the years the betting system has been shrouded in mystery.
Today, it is fairly popular among the gambling community, although few players admit to using it in land-based or online casinos. This could be attributed to the fact that it is often described as quite expensive, chaotic, and absolutely outrageous compared to the rest of the betting systems, which are well organized, methodical, and conservative. The reason why the Kavouras is considered an unorthodox betting system is that it requires the player to bet on 20 numbers that are positioned in no particular order on the wheel.
In fact, the strategy contains inside bets that have a low probability of winning but high payouts at the same time. For most players, such a system of bets would look counterintuitive because, generally, the safest options when wagering on roulette are the outside bets, and the vast majority of betting strategies focus on them. Still, the Kavouras has gained a lot of popularity and is currently among the hottest and most discussed roulette systems. In the sections below, gamblers can find a complete description of it so they can decide for themselves whether it is worth applying and whether its claims hold merit.
Kavouras Roulette Strategy Gameplay
The Concept of the Kavouras Strategy
The Kavouras strategy is a betting system specifically designed for roulette. In contrast, the majority of betting systems can be applied to a wide variety of games where there are two equally likely outcomes, such as a coin flip. This method, however, abandons the traditional wagering on even-money bets such as red/black, high/low, and even/odd and instead allows players to make inside bets. The idea is that these bets pay out much more than the typical 1:1 payout for red or black, for instance.
According to the professional roulette player Kavouras, roulette is random and based on pure chance, which means it is chaotic. Therefore, to be successful, the bets should also be chaotic. And they are: the system includes 20 numbers that are scattered around the roulette wheel in no particular order. This approach, according to the creator of the strategy, prevents any action by the dealer or the casino that aims to lead the ball away from the sector chosen by the player.
Kavouras Strategy Additional TipsThe next important step is to keep the stake amount chaotic, too. The system achieves this by placing different quantities of chips on different selections of numbers. To be more specific, two chips are placed on a six-line bet, one chip goes on the basket bet (0 through 3), and another five chips are placed on five different splits. In total, players need to bet at least 8 chips on 20 numbers. The idea is to bet on as many numbers as possible for as little as possible and to keep applying this pattern until the ball lands on one of the five splits. Then, the 17:1 payout should be large enough to compensate for any previously lost funds.
The strategy claims that it wins more often than it loses. According to the author of this system and some players who apply it, it manages to beat the odds and guarantees winnings over the long run because, for every individual spin, there are 20 ways to win against only 17 ways to lose (or 18 in American roulette). Indeed, players can expect to win more times than they lose.
How to Apply the Kavouras Strategy to Roulette?
When speaking of the strategy devised by Kavouras, we can describe it as a strategy, a system, or simply as the Kavouras bet. Gamblers who decide to play roulette with this bet should know that it always remains the same, at least in terms of the numbers it covers. As mentioned above, a total of 8 chips is placed, but the chip size can vary, depending on the table limits and the player’s individual bankroll. It could be worth $1, $5, $10, or more, so let’s refer to the preferred basic bet amount as a unit. The Kavouras pattern includes the following bets:
- 1 unit on 0-1-2-3: the corner or basket bet pays 8:1, 1 unit profit
- 2 units on 31-32-33-34-35-36: the six-line bet pays 5:1, 4 units profit
- 5 units on 8-11, 13-14, 15-18, 17-20, 27-30: the split bets pay 17:1, 10 units profit
Kavouras Strategy Additional TipsAs we can see, we bet 8 units on a total of 20 numbers with this system, but the payout for each group of numbers is different. Let’s say we place $8 with the Kavouras bet and the ball hits 32 red. For this particular number, we will receive $10 in winnings (5:1) plus the $2 stake placed on the six-line. When we deduct the bet amount from the total, we get a net profit of $4. We can easily calculate the expected profit from the other bets in the same manner. It becomes obvious that whenever the Kavouras bet wins, the profit is 1, 4, or 10 units. When it loses, however, the net loss is 8 units.
Flat Kavouras Betting
Players are advised to start with the table minimum when determining the exact amount of the betting unit. They can opt for flat betting (keeping the amount of the bet the same) or choose a betting progression. The type of progression could be of any kind as long as it suits players’ individual bankrolls. Doubling the number of units every time is an option, but it is too aggressive and risky. Besides, the three types of bets that are included in the pattern have different probabilities and payouts, so most players prefer to increase their size accordingly.
Below, we have demonstrated a random gaming session using flat bets. We started with the minimum betting limit of $1, so each wager would cost $8.
| Spin | Bet | Outcome | Payout | Profit/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $8 | Lose | $0 | -$8 |
| 2 | $8 | Win, split 17:1 | $18 | $2 |
| 3 | $8 | Win, split 17:1 | $18 | $12 |
| 4 | $8 | Lose | $0 | $4 |
| 5 | $8 | Win, split 17:1 | $18 | $14 |
| 6 | $8 | Lose | $0 | $6 |
| 7 | $8 | Win, split 17:1 | $18 | $16 |
| 8 | $8 | Lose | $0 | $8 |
| 9 | $8 | Win, corner 8:1 | $9 | $9 |
| 10 | $8 | Lose | $0 | $1 |
| 11 | $8 | Win, corner 8:1 | $9 | $2 |
| 12 | $8 | Win, split 17:1 | $18 | $12 |
| Total Bet Amount: | $96 | Total Payout: $108 | Net Profit: $12 |
Bet Progression with the Kavouras Strategy
As demonstrated in the example above, the Kavouras system could be very successful, yet just a few losses during a gaming session can easily cut down the profits. Players with a higher tolerance for risk and larger bankrolls have the option to address this problem by staking more on each following spin and to make the most of their winning streaks. As the Kavouras bet covers most of the roulette table, it is already expensive, and any further increase in the wagered amount should be done with caution.
When we want to apply some type of betting progression to this strategy, we start our gaming session with the basic 8-unit wager. The most common progression for the Kavouras bet continues with placing 18 units as follows: 3 units on the corner, 5 units on the six-line, and 10 units on the five splits (2 units per split). The idea is to be able to generate bigger profits each time we win. The progression stops, and we return to our initial bet after a loss.
Players with really high bankrolls can also continue with betting 8 units on the corner, 11 units on the six-line, and 20 units on the splits. In total, the third bet would cost 39 units. Those who have reached this level are advised to stop the progression and return to their original 8-unit Kavouras bet, as any further increase is considered too risky. In the example below, we can see how the system would look with only a medium level of risk, where we increase the bet just once and continue with flat bets until we lose.
| Spin | Bet | Outcome | Payout | Profit/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $8 | Lose | $0 | -$8 |
| 2 | $8 | Win, split 17:1 | $18 | $2 |
| 3 | $18 | Win, split 17:1 | $36 | $20 |
| 4 | $18 | Win, split 17:1 | $36 | $38 |
| 5 | $18 | Win, six line 5:1 | $30 | $50 |
| 6 | $18 | Lose | $0 | $32 |
| 7 | $8 | Lose | $0 | $24 |
| 8 | $8 | Lose | $0 | $16 |
| 9 | $8 | Lose | $0 | $8 |
| 10 | $8 | Lose | $0 | 0 |
| 11 | $8 | Win, six line 5:1 | $12 | $4 |
| 12 | $18 | Win, split 17:1 | $36 | $22 |
| Total Bet Amount: | $146 | Total Payout: $168 | Net Profit: $22 |
Can the Kavouras Strategy Beat the Odds?
The Kavouras strategy is considered by some players to be the best system for roulette right now because, by covering most of the numbers on the roulette wheel, it effectively beats the odds. This sounds plausible: with this bet, gamblers play with 20 numbers, which means they have 20 ways to win and 17 ways to lose on each spin (we will take the single-zero European and French roulette games for this example). In reality, the Kavouras bet covers 54% of the wheel, and winning spins are expected to occur more often than losing ones.
Indeed, the system does beat the odds. Usually, the best odds in roulette are for the even-money bets, which have a probability of winning of 48.65% and odds of 19 to 18 against the player. Here, the odds are in players’ favor, 20:17, while the probability of winning is 20/37 or 54.05%. But no strategy or betting pattern can actually beat the house advantage, which is much more important as it takes into account the payout offered by the casino for each bet.
In reality, for the Kavouras bet, or any other bet for that matter, to guarantee long-term winnings, it would need to be advantageous to the player and not the casino. The house edge is the precise indication of this, as it compares the true odds of a bet, the payout offered if it wins, and the actual probability of winning. Players can calculate the house edge of the different types of bets that form the Kavouras pattern using the following formula:
House Edge = (True Odds – Casino Odds) * Probability
Let us see the expected value (this is the opposite of the house edge, the same number but with a negative sign) of any of the split bets that are placed as part of the Kavouras system. The true odds of a split are 35/2, where 35 indicates the number of ways to lose this bet, while 2 corresponds to the number of ways we can win the bet. The casino odds, on the other hand, are the funds offered as a reward if we win a split bet, or 17/1 (17:1). The probability is equally easy to get because it is the ratio between the ways to win and all possible ways. In this case, we have 2 winning numbers out of 37, so the probability is 2/37. The house edge for the split bet can, therefore, be calculated like this:
House Edge = (35/2-17/1)*2/37 = 0.5*0.05405405405 = 0.02702702702
To express the casino’s advantage as a percentage, we simply multiply this number by 100, and we get 2.70%, which is exactly the house edge of European roulette. We can calculate the house edge for the rest of the bets in the pattern, and every time we will get that exact same percentage. This proves that, while the Kavouras system may be winning in terms of the number of wins, it is not profitable in the long term due to the casino advantage built into the payouts of the bets.
The house edge suggests that out of every $100 wagered in European roulette, the casino keeps $2.70. Players who bet $100 in American roulette, on the other hand, can expect to lose $5.26 on average since the house advantage there is 5.26%.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Kavouras Strategy
After learning how it works and the mathematics behind it, roulette players are now probably wondering whether the Kavouras bet is worth using or not. As with all other strategies for roulette, this system has its strengths and weaknesses that should be considered very carefully. One of its unique aspects is that it is not an even-money bet system but a combination of several inside bets. When winning, these wagers are much more profitable than the black/red, high/low, and even/odd bets that are typically placed in most roulette strategies.
With the Kavouras pattern, players certainly hit more winning spins than losing ones, which is probably the biggest advantage of using this particular betting system. As the pattern covers more than half of the numbers on the wheel (20 out of 37), wins will be more common than losses. Of course, another great thing about the Kavouras is that it is extremely simple and easy to apply on the roulette table once you learn the pattern. Nothing changes in the system, except for the optional betting progression, so after a few spins, most players should be able to remember it.
Advantages and DisadvantagesIf used more conservatively with flat bets, the Kavouras strategy is relatively safe and reliable. If the bet wins, it always turns a profit of 1, 4, or 10 units, and if it loses, the player loses 8 units. While this may not be too much at first, this loss could be hard for players to recover from if they hit a six-line bet or a corner, as the profit from these would not be enough to cover the 8-unit loss. Things could escalate even more if a losing streak occurs.
This is, in fact, the biggest downside to the Kavouras system: it generates decent profits while the player is winning, but as soon as several consecutive losing spins are registered, the player’s bankroll is in real danger. The only way to regain the losses is by hitting several splits in a row, which, although possible, is not very probable. The real trouble starts when the player decides to adopt a betting progression together with the strategy and experiences a losing streak.
Conclusion
The Kavouras strategy is certainly one of the most interesting and entertaining roulette systems in existence, and it enjoys great popularity among both casino veterans and complete novices. It is easy to apply online and in land-based casinos, and it provides great coverage at the lowest possible price. Of course, there are other strategies that allow you to bet on large sectors of the roulette wheel, but the Kavouras differs significantly because the numbers it includes are arranged chaotically on the wheel.
Overall, this is a good and fun strategy that allows players to make their game more diverse, riskier, and potentially rewarding. It is suitable for those who are already familiar with the game and are looking for an interesting and smart approach that can actually bring them meaningful profits. High rollers may also opt for increasing the total amount of the stake to maximize their winnings and make the game a little more thrilling.