Bally: the system that covers 24 of 37 numbers.
Bally is a lesser-known system built on a combination of inside bets. It hits on almost 65% of spins, always returns the same +6 units on a win, and triples the whole spread after a loss. It looks safer than Martingale — until an expensive run arrives. Here you can take it apart step by step and test it on simulated spins.
Test the Bally system on your own bankroll
Set the bankroll, the unit value, the number of spins and the run limit. The simulator shows how the bankroll develops, the deepest drawdown, and the moment the system runs out of money.
Bankroll and spins
Run limit and wheel
The spread covers 24 numbers including the zero; the double zero on American roulette is not covered. Every run uses a fresh random sequence of spins.
Bankroll over time
Many small wins make for a calm curve — but every lost run cuts a deep step downward.
What happened in the simulation: Click "Run the simulation" and you will get a short, plain-language explanation of the result here.
The betting spread and the tripling progression
Bally does not raise one bet but the whole seven-part spread. That is why the costs grow faster still than with doubling.
How the whole spread grows after a loss
The first spin costs 12 units. After one loss 36, after two 108, after three 324. Four losses in a row therefore cost 480 units in total — $4,800 at a $10 unit.
The spread: 7 bets for 12 units
Each part is designed so that a hit returns a net profit of +6 units.
The covered numbers on the roulette layout
The gold-outlined numbers are the ones the base Bally spread backs. The label in the corner shows how many units sit on each. On European roulette that is 24 numbers out of 37.
What will one lost run cost you?
This calculator is not about how often Bally wins. It is about what you pay when a losing run reaches its limit — and how many small wins that erases.
Enter a unit value and a run limit. The result shows what a whole lost run costs, roughly how likely it is, and how many +6-unit wins you need to make it back.
Is Bally a good roulette system?
Excellent as a study in clever bet construction, poor as a recipe for long-term profit. Here is the whole picture, maths and practice, in one place.
What is the Bally system in roulette?
The Bally system is a roulette strategy built on a combination of several inside bets. Its aim is not to hit one particular number but to cover a large part of the layout so that any hit produces the same net profit. The spread covers 24 of 37 numbers and returns +6 units on a hit. If none of the covered numbers lands, the whole spread is tripled on the next spin.
At first glance that sounds attractive. The probability of hitting on one spin is roughly 64.86% — considerably more than a colour bet, where you win 18 spins in 37. That high hit rate is the main reason Bally can feel more stable in the short term than aggressive systems like Martingale.
Why does Bally feel so stable?
Bally does not lose often. Almost two thirds of spins end in a hit and a small win, so for a long time it feels as though the system works. Frequent hits create an illusion of control. But the long-run result is not decided by how many pleasant small wins there are — it is decided by the ratio between the small win and the large loss.
When Bally hits you gain 6 units. When it loses four times in a row through the progression 12 → 36 → 108 → 324 units, the total loss is 480. So one unsuccessful run erases eighty previous wins. It is the same psychological effect as with many progressive systems: many small calm results and the occasional extreme pressure.
The betting spread of the Bally system
The base spread uses 12 units in total across seven bets: 2 units on the 0–1–2–3 combination, 1 unit on the split 4–5, 3 units on the six line 10–15, 2 units on the corner 20–21–23–24, 1 unit on the split 22–25, 1 unit on the split 30–33 and 2 units on the corner 31–32–34–35. That covers 24 different numbers.
The charm of the arrangement is that a hit on any part of the spread returns the same net profit. A split carrying 1 unit earns 17 units when it wins, but the other 11 units are lost — a net gain of +6. A six line with 3 units pays 5:1, so 15 units of profit, while the rest of the spread loses 9. The result is again +6. The corner bets and the zero combination work the same way.
It is an elegant construction — Bally is not a set of bets scattered at random but a carefully designed betting grid. Even so, elegance on its own is no advantage over the casino. Roulette does not care whether a system is nicely put together. Every spin still carries the same house edge.
What exactly does the house edge mean for the Bally system?
The house edge means the expected value of a bet is negative for the player over time. On European roulette it is roughly 2.70%, on American, because of the double zero, roughly 5.26%. These values are built directly into the ratio of payouts to probabilities — they are not specific to any one strategy.
Bally changes none of that. Each of the seven bets in the spread has a negative expected value on its own, and so does their sum. The clever arrangement guarantees the same profit on a hit, but it changes neither the count of covered numbers, nor the payouts, nor the probability of the next spin. It changes only how much you bet after a previous loss.
The Bally variants that were tested
The original test did not only try the basic four-spin limit. Shortening the run to three spins slowed the decline but did not change its character — the system still headed downward, just at a less dramatic pace. Extending it to six spins produced a more jagged chart, but the long-term problem stayed the same.
The interesting case was the very long variant with a twelve-spin limit. There the chart could look profitable and produce a rising curve. But this is exactly where the same problem as Martingale appears: the occasional enormous drawdown. The original test mentions local drawdowns of around 300,000 units. That is not ordinary volatility but a practically unplayable demand on bankroll and table limits.
Another variant tested raised the base bet by one unit after a lost run, to make the lost runs back gradually. The result was again problematic: the chart oscillated around zero for a while, but a downward trend eventually prevailed and individual drawdowns reached extreme values. In the basic variant over 25,000 spins the system finished roughly 25,000 units down.
The biggest risks, and table limits
The first risk is psychological: frequent hits create an illusion of control and the player underestimates the risk. The second is the bankroll. A base bet of 12 units does not look frightening, but a progression of 12, 36, 108 and 324 units means four losses in a row cost 480. At a $10 unit that is $4,800; at $100 already $48,000 — an enormous distance from a seemingly small base bet.
The third risk is table limits. With the longer variants you have to raise a whole spread of bets, not one simple bet. If the casino caps the maximum stake on a particular type of inside bet, the system can break before the next winning spin statistically arrives.
How to read the bankroll chart
A Bally chart has a characteristic shape: long calm stretches of small gains broken by deep steps down. Each step is one lost run. So do not watch only the final result — the deepest drawdown, the largest spread staked and how often the expensive runs appear matter more.
That is why the simulator above has a toggle between the bankroll chart and the bet-size chart. The second view often reveals the problem faster: the bankroll can look stable while the spread is already growing into amounts no ordinary player would accept.
How to use Bally sensibly in the tester
The best way to understand Bally is not to play one demonstration run. It is far more useful to run several simulations with the same settings and watch how much the results differ. One time the system finishes in a quiet profit, the next it meets a run that erases much of the bankroll. That is not a flaw in the simulation but the nature of volatility.
Watch four figures above all: the final bankroll, the maximum drawdown, the largest spread staked and the number of lost runs. The figure of 1.52% may look small, but in a system that repeats over and over, a low probability does not mean the event will not happen — only that it does not happen in every run. Across thousands of spins the expensive runs appear again and again. To compare it with other systems on identical spins, use the Roulette system tester.
The verdict: is the Bally system usable?
Bally is interesting as a study. It shows that even high coverage of the layout is not enough on its own for long-term profit. The system has a clever construction, a regular profit on a hit, and over short stretches it can look very stable. Even so, it cannot remove the house edge.
The greatest value of the Bally system is educational. Unlike simpler systems it shows clearly the relationship between the probability of hitting, the size of the win, the size of the loss and the number of repetitions. Run it in the simulator and you will quickly see that a strategy does not have to lose often to be unprofitable over time. It is enough that its occasional losses are large enough.
The biggest misconceptions about the Bally system
High coverage of the layout invites quick conclusions. Here are the most common myths, explained so a beginner can follow them.
High coverage raises how often you win, but the win is small (+6 units) and the stake large (12 units). The house edge stays the same.
Each of the seven bets has a negative expected value — and so does their carefully designed sum. The construction changes only the distribution of results, not their average.
A low probability does not mean the event will not arrive. It only means it does not arrive in every run. And each lost run costs 480 units.
Bally has a higher chance of hitting on one spin, but it triples an entire twelve-unit spread. After four losses you are at 324 units a spin.
Bally vs. other roulette systems
Bally is less well known than Martingale, but it belongs to the systems that show the hidden risk of progressions well.
| System | Risk | Principle | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martingale | Very high | Doubling the bet after a loss | Understanding the risk of a progression |
| Fibonacci | High | A progression following the Fibonacci sequence | A slower progression after a loss |
| Labouchere | High | A cancellation line; the bet is first + last | More advanced players and experiments |
| Reverse Labouchere | High | The line grows on a win and is crossed off on a loss | Hunting streaks with a capped loss |
| Parlay | Medium | The win stays in play (let it ride) | Short runs after a win |
| Bally | Very high | 24 numbers with a 12–36–108–324 progression | Blanket bets with a harsh progression |
| Charlotte | High | A single-number progression over 88 spins | Hunting the 35:1 payout to a plan |
| Dominance | High | A double street following the dominant side of the table | Players who follow trends |
| Double 10 | High | One number, stepping up after 10 misses | Patient single-number hunters |
| FAST | High | 33 numbers, low and high units | Maximum table coverage |
| Havana | High | One dozen, two levels of units | Dozen players |
| Holy Grail | High | 18 distinct numbers with a progression | Covering half the wheel |
| John Wayne | High | A spread of 18 numbers for 10 units | Combined bets on numbers |
| Numeric Scanner | High | Repeating numbers with a progression | Players who love stats and tables |
| Seven Corners | Medium | Seven corner bets, 27–28 numbers flat | Blanket bets with no progression |
| System 300 | Very high | 34 of 37 numbers, a rare 300-unit loss | Understanding asymmetric risk |
| Five-number system | High | Five numbers, progression blocks of 1-6-11-16 | Hunting the 35:1 payout on a budget |
The name of a system takes you to its page with an interactive test — the current system is highlighted. Want to compare several systems on the exact same sequence of spins? Use the Roulette system tester.
Common questions about the Bally system
Is the Bally system profitable?
Not in the long run. Even though it covers 24 numbers and wins often, the expected value stays negative because of the house edge and the ratio of a small win to a large loss.
How many numbers does Bally cover?
On European roulette it covers 24 of 37 numbers, roughly 64.86% of the layout. On American roulette it is 24 of 38, because the double zero is not covered.
Why is the bet tripled after a loss?
Because the base spread has a small net profit (+6 units) relative to the total stake (12 units). Tripling aims to cover the previous loss with the next win, but it also raises the risk quickly.
Is Bally safer than Martingale?
It has a higher chance of hitting on one spin, but it uses more bets and raises the total stake quickly through the progression. So it is not automatically safer.
What does one lost run cost?
At the basic four-loss limit it is 12 + 36 + 108 + 324 = 480 units. At a $10 unit that is $4,800; at $100, $48,000.
What is the probability of four losses in a row?
On European roulette (13/37)⁴ ≈ 1.52%; on American, because of the double zero, roughly 1.84%. Across thousands of spins such a run appears repeatedly.
What bankroll do I need for the Bally system?
At minimum 480 units for a single lost run at the 4-loss limit. Realistically far more, because the expensive runs come repeatedly — and longer run limits demand reserves an order of magnitude larger.
Does a longer run limit help — 6 or 12 losses, say?
In the original test the 12-loss variant could produce a rising curve for a long time, but at the price of occasional drawdowns of around 300,000 units. That is a practically unplayable demand on both bankroll and table limits.
Does Bally change roulette’s house edge?
No. European roulette has a house edge of roughly 2.70% and American 5.26% — and no arrangement of bets on the layout changes that. Bally changes only the distribution of results over time.
Who is the Bally system for?
Mainly as a teaching demonstration. It illustrates the relationship between the probability of hitting, the size of the win, the size of the loss and the number of repetitions superbly — precisely what decides a system’s fate.
Related tools and systems
First understand the principle, then work out the risk — and test longer scenarios over thousands of spins.