Oscar’s Grind Roulette System – The Complete Guide

If you’re somewhat familiar with roulette strategies, Oscar’s Grind can be explained as a combination between the Martingale and Paroli betting system. It has the proven concept of Martingale as in theory Oscar’s Grind work flawlessly to guarantee a profit. In reality the vast majority of your roulette sessions will also end on a positive note.

The similarities with Paroli include a low risk, a positive progression where your stake is increased whenever you win, as well as a reliability of winning game rounds happening in a row. Furthermore, Martingale and Oscar’s Grind share the resemblance of always aiming for a net profit of one unit.

Being fairly easy to use, the strategy might seem like a perfect one and while it certainly is a favorite among many, it does have its flaws. Continue with us in this guide and we’ll tell you all about these and how Oscar’s Grind is executed, as well as what you can expect from using the strategy.

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Preparations for using Oscar’s Grind

Before explaining how Oscar’s Grind is executed, let’s have a look at a few things that are good to keep in mind when using this particular system.

• A bankroll of 100 times your initial bet can get you a long way
  The strategy is not very dependent on a huge bankroll. Not initially. However, if things go south your stakes will increase at a slow pace so the bigger the bankroll the better. You don’t have to think too much about this though.

• Always place a single bet on red, black, high, low, even or odd
  This is a requirement for Oscar’s Grind to work. You have to bet on an alternative that pays double the stake.

• Keep an eye on your bankroll and take notes
  Oscar’s Grind is a strategy played in sequences and is all about reaching a net profit of your initial stake. Thus, you have to take note of your bankroll so that you know when you have reached this net profit.

• Never bet more than what is required to reach a net profit
  This is a key feature of Oscar’s Grind and what makes keeping track of your bankroll so important. To keep stakes down you should never bet more than what is required to reach a net profit of your initial stake.

How to execute Oscar’s Grind

Using Oscar’s Grind you play in sequences where you aim to reach a net profit of one unit in each of them. Whenever this is done the sequence is finished and you being a new one – either with a new stake or by choosing the same. That’s totally up to you.

A unit is equal to the amount that you start betting with

The strategy begins by picking a stake and placing a bet on any roulette alternative that pays 1:1. A first sequence is now initiated. If you win your first game round the sequence will immediately end as you will get paid double your stake and therefore reach a net profit of one unit.

A sequence is finished whenever a net profit is reached

An initiated sequence will only continue if you lose at first. Whenever you have a losing game round you should always bet the same amount as you did the round before. When you win, however, the stake is to be increased by one unit more than it previously was. 

Lose = leave the stake unchanged | Win = increase the stake by one unit

This pattern continues until you have reached a net profit of one unit and completed the sequence. Do, however, remember to never bet more than what is required to finish a sequence. For instance, if you chose an initial stake of £1 and just won with a stake of £4 you should not increase your stake to £5 if it only takes £2 to reach a net profit of one unit. In such a case you only bet £2.

Never bet more than you have to, to finish a sequence

To illustrate how the strategy is used in a more friendly way, check out the below table that shows you how the stakes are changed in a sequence of 15 game rounds.

Betting on red with an initial stake of £1
Round	Stake	Red	Black	Result	Action	Net result
1	£1		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £1
2	£1		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £2
3	£1		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £3
4	£1	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £2
5	£2		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £4
6	£2		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £6
7	£2		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £8
8	£2		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £10
9	£2	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £8
10	£3		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £11
11	£3		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £14
12	£3	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £11
13	£4	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £7
14	£5	X		Win	Stake is set to £3 (don’t need more)	- £2
15	£3	X		Win	Net profit achieved (sequence done)	+ £1
Once a net profit is achieved the stake is reset and a new sequence begins

As you can see in the table above, the stakes are always left unchanged whenever a loss happens. They are also increased by one unit whenever a win occurs – with one exception. On the 14^th game round we bet £5 and won. So we should bet £6 on the next game round, right?

No. In this case our net profit is – £2, which means that we only have to win £3 to reach a net profit of our initial stake (£1). Therefore we don’t bet more than this. On the 15^th game round we win, thus the sequence is completed. We can now start over with a new sequence using the same initial stake of £1 or choose a new one.

You may have noticed that we only won 6 out of the 15 game rounds that were played. This is below average and yet we managed to make a profit. This shows you how easily a loss can be recovered and turned into a profit using Oscar’s Grind.

The outcome will not always be like this though as it depends on how the game rounds occur. However, as we will show you with the next topic the strategy is quite a safe one.

The low risk of Oscar’s Grind

If you play European Roulette your chances of winning on an alternative that pays 1:1 is 48.6%. That is 48 game rounds out of 100, which is very close to every other game round being a win on average. So what happens when Oscar’s Grind is used and winnings and losses take turns occurring? Let’s have a look by showcasing 15 game rounds in the below table. 

Betting on red with an initial stake of £1
Round	Stake	Red	Black	Result	Action	Net result
1	£1		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £1
2	£1		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £2
3	£1	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £1
4	£2		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £3
5	£2	X		Win	Stake is set to £2 (don’t need more)	- £1
6	£2		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £3
7	£2	X		Win	Stake is set to £2 (don’t need more)	- £1
8	£2		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £3
9	£2	X		Win	Stake is set to £2 (don’t need more)	- £1
10	£2		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £3
11	£2	X		Win	Stake is set to £2 (don’t need more)	- £1
12	£2		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £3
13	£2	X		Win	Stake is set to £2 (don’t need more)	- £1
14	£2		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £3
15	£2	X		Win	Stake is set to £2 (don’t need more)	- £1

As you can see, nothing really happens. Because the stake is never increased to more than what is required to reach a net profit it never gets high in a scenario like this. If the Paroli strategy was used we would be down £8 or so, but here we are only down £1. And all it takes is for our win to be followed by another win on round 16 and we would be in profit land.

So what’s the weakness of Oscar’s Grind? How could you possible lose using this strategy? Let’s have a look!

The weakness of Oscar’s Grind

Oscar’s Grind seems like a bulletproof strategy and under the right circumstances it is. However, if we end up with a pattern where wins and losses take turns, but losses are slightly overrepresented it eventually fails. Check out the below 30 game rounds which are similar to the ones above, with the minor difference of losses happening twice in a row every now and then.

Betting on red with an initial stake of £1
Round	Stake	Red	Black	Result	Action	Net result
1	£1		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £1
2	£1		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £2
3	£1	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £1
4	£2		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £3
5	£2		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £5
6	£2	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £3
7	£3		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £6
8	£3	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £3
9	£4		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £7
10	£4		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £11
11	£4	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £7
12	£5		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £12
13	£5	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £7
14	£6		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £13
15	£6	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £7
16	£7		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £14
17	£7	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £7
18	£8		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £15
19	£8		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £23
20	£8	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £15
21	£9		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £24
22	£9	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £15
23	£10		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £25
24	£10	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £15
25	£11		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £26
26	£11	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £15
27	£12		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £27
28	£12	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £15
29	£13		X	Loss	Stake stays the same	- £28
30	£13	X		Win	Stake is increased by one unit	- £15

As you can see, we’re never far away from reaching a net profit and completing the sequence. However, we never get there. Instead the stakes are slowly but steadily increasing. With a decent bankroll this is not a problem at first, but what happens if the tides never turn and this pattern keeps on happening? Let’s have a look. 

Round	Stake	Net result
90	£39	- £45
180	£78	- £90
360	£156	- £180
720	£312	- £360
1,440	£624	- £720
2,880	£1,248	-£1,440

It doesn’t happen quickly, but after a few hundred rounds like this it gets really expensive and after a few thousand it’s very likely that we’re way past your budget. We’re now betting a thousand quid just to reach that net profit of £1. Now imagine if you got on a losing streak with a stake like this. It would be quite devastating.  

Now this is what happens if the tides never turn. The good news is that they eventually will. In our example we’re at win rate of 43.3% which is lower than the expected 48.6%. Whenever we reach the 48.6% which we will at some point, a net profit will indeed be reached. This is why the strategy is said to guarantee a profit in theory. Yes, in theory.

In reality we got a serious problem. There’s no telling when the 48.6% win rate will occur. It could happen after 100 game rounds or after 50,000. The last one is problematic as even if your bankroll were big enough to handle the stakes at that point, the casinos would not allow you to bet that much. All roulette tables have limits and this is where the strategy, like many others, miserably fails. 

Oscar’s Grind is, however, a strategy with a very low risk as if you have a big budget it is very unlikely to lose it, thus the majority of your sessions will be profitable. However, at some point it is in fact inevitable that it all goes to hell and when it does the devil is taking your entire bankroll with him.

Pros and cons of Oscar’s Grind

Pros	Cons
+ Fairly easy strategy to use	- Winning game rounds must happen in a row
+ Net profits can be easily achieved	- Minor calculations have to be done
+ In theory the strategy is bulletproof	- Profits are small
+ Low risk as stakes only increase slowly
+ Works well with a small bankroll

Oscar’s Grind is a fantastic roulette strategy for experienced players and beginners alike. It’s definitely not the most interesting system out there, but it comes with many pros that make it worth using. The risk is very low as even if things go bad the stakes increase very slowly. Therefore it doesn’t require a big bankroll to work most of the time. You’re likely to turn losses into profits, ending the vast majority of your roulette sessions with a smile on your face.

The profits will, however, not be any big ones. You’ll often find yourself recovering from losses and when you win by completing a sequence it’s only a profit of one unit. Everything counts though.

Using the strategy to its full extent you must be prepared to lose your entire bankroll. Even if the system is bulletproof in theory it doesn’t work in reality so when things go wrong the stakes will eventually increase to a point where they devourer your entire bankroll.

Some players will find minor calculations to be a small downside of Oscar’s Grind. As you should never bet more than what is required to reach a net profit, you must keep track of what sum your bankroll needs to reach and how much you should bet to reach that particular amount.

Did you know this about Oscar’s Grind?

• The strategy is also known as Hoyle’s Press and Pluscoup Progression. It relies on winnings and losses happening in a row.
• Unlike the vast majority of roulette systems that are very old, Oscar’s Grind was invented in the 1950’s by a casino enthusiast known as Oscar. This man kept track of all of his game rounds by writing them down.
• The strategy was not made public until 1965. This is when a guy known as Allan Wilson mentioned the system in his book “The Casino Gambler’s Guide”. Allan had found Oscar’s statistics and in these he noticed a special betting pattern which he referred to as “Oscar’s Grind”.
• In theory the strategy is proven to work. Allan himself used a computer to simulate 280,000 game rounds with it and these game rounds resulted in a net profit. However, what made the system work in the computer was an unlimited budget and unlimited table stakes.

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