Every system in our catalog is simulated with the bankroll its creator recommends. But you probably don't bring exactly that amount to the table. What happens to the odds when you bring less — or bet smaller units? We used the Pro tools on one system to find out.
The system: Moving Double Streets
Three six-lines (double streets), one in each dozen, $5 each — 18 numbers covered for $15. A win pays 5 to 1 on one six-line: +$15 and back to level 1. A loss doubles every bet and adds one unit: $5 → $15 → $35 → $75 → $155 → $315 per six-line. Six levels, and six losses in a row cost $1,800. The system page uses a $2,500 bankroll: 92.4% of 10,000 players reach +$100.
1. Less bankroll, fewer levels
Bring $1,500 instead and the new info line in Pro shows the problem before you even run anything: you can afford 5 of 6 levels. Five losses in a row cost $855 — 57% of your money — and level 6 needs $945, more than you would have left. The progression is cut short, and the result follows:
| Bankroll | Unit | Reach +$100 | Bust | Avg result | Bold Play ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,500 | $5 | 92.8% | 7.2% | −$71 | 95.6% |
| $1,500 | $5 | 86.0% | 14.0% | −$110 | 93.0% |
| $600 | $2 | 70.8% | 29.2% | −$100 | 84.5% |
With $600 and $2 units the system fits the money again, but +$100 is now a much bigger goal compared with the bankroll — so the win rate drops to about 71%. The ratio between bankroll, unit and goal decides everything; the dollar amounts don't.
2. A stop loss changes the shape of a night
Same $600 and $2 units, but now with a $300 stop loss and a limit of 60 spins. Fewer nights reach the goal — 60.3% — and about 4 in 10 end at the stop loss. But nobody loses more than $300, and the average result improves from −$100 to about −$9, because far less money goes through the house edge. You win less often, and lose much less when you do. That is a trade-off you can choose — as long as you choose it before you sit down.
3. How much bankroll for a 5% risk?
The Bankroll needed tool turns the question around: how much money do you need so the risk of not reaching +$100 stays at 5% or less? For Moving Double Streets the answer is about $3,250 — 32 times the goal. That is the real price of a high win rate: you put a lot at risk to win a little.
4. A month of it
Finally, A month of it: $2,500 every night, a +$50 goal, 30 nights. The typical player wins about 28.7 of 30 nights — and still ends the month behind. Only 1 in 4 players is ahead after 30 nights; the typical player is at about −$445 and the average over all players is about −$1,264. Three in four had at least one night that cost half the bankroll or more, and the worst night we saw cost the full $2,500.
That is the pattern behind almost every progression system: many small wins, one rare night that takes them all back — and more.
What to take from it
Check how many levels you can afford before you play. If the answer is "not all of them", the catalog numbers don't apply to you.
Scale the unit with the bankroll, and the goal with the unit.
Decide your stop loss in advance — it lowers your win rate and your losses at the same time.
Judge a system by the month, not by the night.
Every system page in the catalog is free. The tools in this article — your own bankroll and unit size, bankroll needed and a month of nights — are part of Pro.