Charlotte: 88 spins waiting on a single number.
A lesser-known system that backs not a colour but one chosen number, over and over, following a fixed schedule of 2 to 17 units. It feels calmer than the aggressive progressions — but one unsuccessful run costs 523 units. Here you can take Charlotte apart step by step and test it on simulated spins.
Test Charlotte over thousands of spins
Set the bankroll, the base unit, the length of the simulation and your chosen number. The simulator shows how the bankroll develops, the size of the bets, and how sharply the result depends on exactly when your number lands.
Bankroll and spins
Number and wheel
One number is backed straight up along the schedule 2×27 → 3×10 → … → 17×1. An unsuccessful 88-spin run costs 523 units.
Every run uses a fresh random sequence of spins. A hit pays 35:1.
Bankroll over time
Charlotte can oscillate around its starting point for a long time — but one longer run without a hit can push the result markedly downward.
What happened in the simulation: Click "Run the simulation" and you will get a short, plain-language explanation of the result here.
The Charlotte progression: 16 phases, 88 spins, 523 units
The schedule sets exactly how many units are bet in each block of spins. The bet does not leap the way it does with Martingale — but a long run contains many repeated attempts and its full price is high.
Bet size by phase
For the first 27 spins you bet 2 units, for the next 10 spins 3 units, and so on to the final phase of 17 units on a single spin. At a $100 unit a whole unsuccessful run costs $52,300.
The chosen number and the cumulative cost
Unlike the colour systems, Charlotte works with a single number. A hit is rare, but a payout of 35:1 can turn a run into profit at any moment.
What does one run really cost you?
This calculator is not about one spin but about a whole 88-spin round of Charlotte: the probability of an unsuccessful run, its cost in money, and the expected result of a single run.
Enter a unit and a roulette variant. The result shows the expected value of one Charlotte run, the cost of an unsuccessful run, and the chance of meeting one during a session.
Is Charlotte a good roulette system?
Interesting for understanding single-number bets and long runs, poor as a source of confidence in safe long-term profit. Here is the whole picture, maths and practice, in one place.
The Charlotte system is a roulette strategy built on betting repeatedly on one particular number. You choose a number and try to hit it within a long run of up to 88 spins. If it lands, the run ends. If it does not, you accept the loss and start again. Compared with Martingale or Fibonacci, Charlotte does not use a colour bet but a straight-up bet paying 35:1 — trading a low chance of hitting on any one spin for a higher payout on success.
What is the Charlotte system in roulette?
The original test describes Charlotte as a system similar to Double 10, but with a betting progression. Most of the time you simply repeat the bet along the schedule and wait. What makes it interesting is that the profit of a run is not always the same — it depends on which spin your number lands on.
The chance of hitting within a run looks good at first glance: in roughly 91.03% of runs the number lands at least once. But in the remaining not-quite-9% you go through the whole schedule without a hit — and each of those runs costs 523 units. That is not negligible when a single losing run can erase the profit from many winning ones.
The rules of the Charlotte system
The player starts betting on one chosen number. For the first 27 spins they bet 2 units. If the number does not land, they move to the next phase and bet 3 units for 10 spins. They then continue along the schedule to the final phase, betting 17 units on a single spin. The whole run comes to 88 spins.
If the number lands inside that window you collect the 35:1 payout and the run closes. If it never lands, the total loss is 523 units. Importantly, the net profit is not the same in every case: an early hit yields more, while a late one sees part of the payout merely making up earlier costs. That is precisely why the exact expected-value calculation is less transparent here than with simpler systems.
The Charlotte variants that were tested
In the old test the basic variant was run over 25,000 spins. The resulting curve oscillated markedly, and some runs even showed rising stretches. Overall, though, the system often finished below zero, even when the decline was not always extreme. The test also mentions cases where the chart looked very promising and the curve climbed — which is typical of systems like this: if your number lands at convenient intervals, the system can look profitable for a while. It cannot be relied on, though.
Shortening or lengthening the run brought no stable improvement in the test. The shortened variants had less variance but still drifted below zero. The extended ones could produce a rising curve, but they added larger swings resembling the progressive systems. Another variant tested raised the base bet size after every unsuccessful run — it could show a rising trend, but came with local drawdowns and remained risky.
The biggest risks of the Charlotte system
The first risk is the psychology of waiting. The player feels the number “has to come” because they have been backing it for so long. In reality every spin carries the same probability of a hit, and roulette does not remember previous results.
The second risk is the size of an unsuccessful run. A loss of 523 units does not read as dramatic on the schedule, but at a real $100 unit it means $52,300. At a $10 unit it is $5,230. The size of the unit is therefore crucial with Charlotte — a bankroll should absorb several full unsuccessful runs, not just one.
The third risk is the low frequency of hits. The system can be boring, slow and psychologically demanding all at once. When nothing happens for a long time, a player may be tempted to change the number, raise the unit, or abandon the system at the worst possible moment.
How to read the Charlotte bankroll chart
The Charlotte curve looks different from that of a colour system. Instead of small steps you see a long gradual decline (the ongoing bets without a hit) broken by sharp jumps upward when the number lands and the 35:1 payout returns both the costs and a profit. If the hits arrive at favourable intervals, the curve can happily climb for thousands of spins.
That is why the simulator has a toggle between the bankroll chart and the bet-size chart. The second view shows which phase of the schedule you are in — long stretches of large bets mean a run is nearing its end and the risk of the full 523-unit loss is growing. Watch the deepest drawdown and the number of unsuccessful runs above all, not just the final figure.
The verdict: is the Charlotte system worth it?
Charlotte is an interesting system for demonstrating how a long run and a straight-up bet behave. It is not as well known as Martingale or Fibonacci, which is part of its appeal: it shows a different kind of risk from the classic colour systems. Over time, though, Charlotte does not change the house edge. The system can look good in some simulations, because a hit at a favourable moment produces a handsome rising curve. But once several unsuccessful runs arrive, or the hits are badly timed, the result deteriorates quickly.
The best use of the Charlotte system is educational. It helps you understand how a single-number bet differs from a colour bet, why a high payout does not automatically mean an edge, and why with roulette systems the bankroll matters more than the name of the strategy. To compare it with other systems on identical spins, use the Roulette system tester.
The biggest misconceptions about the Charlotte system
A single-number bet invites a set of errors all its own. Here are the most common, explained so a beginner can follow them.
Every spin still carries the same 1/37 chance. Having backed the number for 80 spins does not raise its probability at all.
A successful run brings +18 to +89 units; an unsuccessful one costs 523. Just under 9% losing runs is enough to keep the system negative over time.
17, 7 or a birthday — every number has an identical probability. The choice changes the feeling, not the expected result.
The 2-to-17-unit progression is arranged so that a hit at any point in the 88 spins closes the run in profit. The only real problem is missing entirely — and that costs more than ten wins bring in.
Charlotte vs. other roulette systems
Charlotte is a different kind of strategy from the colour systems. Instead of frequent smaller hits it waits for the rarer payout of one particular number.
| 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 Charlotte system
Is the Charlotte system profitable?
Not in the long run. It can have rising stretches, but it does not change the casino’s mathematical edge, and one unsuccessful run carries a high price — 523 units.
What is Charlotte bet on in roulette?
One particular number. So it is a straight-up bet paying 35:1, repeated along a fixed schedule of 2 to 17 units.
How many spins does one Charlotte run last?
The basic schedule uses 88 spins divided into 16 phases. If your number does not land within them, the run ends at a loss of 523 units.
Why is Charlotte risky if the number often lands within 88 spins?
Because an unsuccessful run is expensive. Even a relatively small probability of a full loss (≈ 8.97%) can outweigh the smaller profits of the successful runs, which come to only +18 to +89 units.
What bankroll do I need for Charlotte?
At least several full runs. One unsuccessful run costs 523 units — so $5,230 at a $10 unit, and $52,300 at $100. A bankroll that cannot absorb even one full loss means you are not really playing the system at all.
Does it matter which number I choose?
No. Every number on the wheel has the same probability of 1/37 (or 1/38 on American roulette). Choosing one is a purely aesthetic matter.
Does Charlotte work on American roulette?
It works the same way, but with worse mathematics. The hit chance falls to 1/38 and the probability of an unsuccessful run rises from ≈ 8.97% to ≈ 9.57%. If you are going to test Charlotte, always do it on a European wheel.
What if the number only lands at the end of a run?
A late hit still closes the run in profit — the schedule is arranged so the result ranges from +18 units (a hit on spin 27) to +89 units (a hit on the last spin). Only the scenario with no hit at all makes a loss.
Can Charlotte be improved by changing the run length?
Not reliably, according to the original test. The shortened variants had less variance but still drifted below zero. The extended ones, and raising the unit after an unsuccessful run, could produce a rising trend — but at the price of larger swings and more risk.
Is Charlotte better than Martingale?
It is a different risk profile, not better mathematics. Martingale loses rarely and catastrophically because of its exponential bets; Charlotte loses rarely and expensively because of a long run without a hit. Neither changes roulette’s house edge.
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First understand the principle, then work out the risk — and test longer scenarios over thousands of spins.