Oscar’s Grind Betting Strategy

In online roulette, players are bound to experience winning and losing streaks. It goes without saying that it's the former that gamblers aim for and on which betting systems aim to capitalise. One of these systems, although not as popular as Martingale or D'Alembert, is known as the Oscar Grind betting strategy. This roulette betting system is relatively easy to follow.

It relies on roulette bets with even-money payouts such as high/low (1-18 and 19-36), red/black, and odd/even. The main objective of the Oscar Grind strategy is to make one unit of profit within a betting cycle. You start with one betting unit: If you win, the cycle ends. If you lose, you increase your next bet by one unit. This review covers how you can use the betting system in your real money roulette gameplay, plus its pros and cons.

About Oscar Grind roulette strategy

You’ll find various pages on the web referring to this betting system as Oscar’s System, Oscar Grind, or Oscar’s Grind Strategy. They all refer to the same betting strategy. However, the system is also known as Hoyle’s Press and often referred to as Pluscoup Progression in French and German. The origin of the betting technique goes as far back as 1965 when the author Allan N. Wilson first documented it in his book The Casino Gambler’s Guide.

The author brought to light this betting strategy in his book after interviewing Oscar, a dice player who used it for playing the pass line bet in craps. According to the author, Oscar was principled and disciplined in his style of play and not greedy (aiming for significant wins). This resulted in the ‘Grind’ play system, where the player grinds out a small profit, and the bets never get too high.

Although the system was initially implemented in craps, players can use the Oscar Grind betting strategy in other online casino table games like baccarat, blackjack, and roulette. The only catch is that the system works with bets with even-money payouts or bets with a 50/50 or almost 50/50 chance of success, which is why the red/black, high/low, and odd/even roulette bets are recommended when using this betting system.

Understanding the Oscar Grind betting strategy

This roulette betting system may seem sophisticated on paper, but once you understand it, you’ll notice it’s pretty simple to learn. The important thing to remember is the underlying concept of Oscar’s Grind betting system:

  • Your real-money roulette gameplay is divided into sessions/cycles, where a single session involves a series of bets (losses or wins) until one unit of profit is earned.
  • Before commencing gameplay, a player decides what constitutes a ‘unit’. This could be $1, $2, $5, $10, $100 or other amount, depending on your bankroll balance.
  • The unit you start with should be the same amount as the profit you make before ending a betting cycle.
  • The betting strategy relies on making small profits on consecutive winning streaks. Once you lose your first and second units of bet, you place the same unit (amount) in the following rounds. In case you win, you increase your units of bets in the following rounds.

Once you grasp the above principles, you can easily use the Oscar Grind roulette strategy in your gameplay. Now, let’s take a look at how this strategy works. If the player loses a bet, their next bet will be the same. If they win, their next wager will be one unit higher unless their total bet would mean that if they won, the one unit is better off over the entire sequence.

The simplest way to begin is if the player placed a $2 bet on red and won; this is considered winning one unit ($2). The player has now successfully achieved the idea of winning one unit. As such, the cycle ends here, and the player shouldn’t increase their bet amount in the next round as they’ll be commencing a new cycle/session. 

How the Oscar Grind strategy works

If the player bets $2 on red and loses, then they are $2 down. Let’s say that the player lost; then, their next bet will be of the same value. If this bet is also a loss, then they are $4 down. The third bet would be $2 again since the last wager was a loss. So, if the third bet is a win, then they are down $2 overall. Since the player won, they can add one unit to their next bet, making it $4, and if that wager wins, it’s the end of the series as they will be $2 up and have achieved their goal of gaining a profit of one unit. The summarised example below will help you understand better.

  • Round 1: Bet $2 (lose), repeat the bet with the same amount
  • Round 2: Bet $2 (lose). repeat the bet with the same amount
  • Round 3: Bet $2 (win), increase the following bet amount by one unit ($2)
  • Round 4: Bet $4 (win), the session ends since we’ve made a profit of one unit

Suppose you don’t win in round four. In that case, you will have a longer session to try and make that unit profit. Therefore, you must place the same bet amount ($4) in round five, meaning you’ll be down $6. If you lose this round, it’ll mean you’re down $10. So, you must place the same bet ($4) in round six. In case it wins, you’d be down $6.

Since the last round was a win, you must increase your next bet by one unit ($2). This means that in round seven, you must bet $6, resulting in a break-even. Considering this and the fact that the idea of the Oscar Grind betting system is to make a one-unit profit, you must adjust your next bet. Hence, you’ll not increase it but reduce it to your initial bet unit ($2) so that a win will result in a $2 profit. Here’s a simplified representation of the above:

  • Round 4: Bet $4 (lose), repeat the bet with the same amount.
  • Round 5: Bet $4 (lose), repeat the bet with the same amount.
  • Round 6: Bet $4 (win), increase bet by one unit ($2).
  • Round 7: Bet $6 (win), considering your losses and wins, you’re at $0. Now, adjust the bet unit to $2 to get the profit according to the rules.
  • Round 8: Bet $2 (win), session ends. You can start another one.

You can play the same bet or change to another roulette bet during game rounds as long as it’s an even-money bet.

Pros of using the Oscar Grind roulette strategy

This strategy is very appealing to try since losing streaks will not be very painful. If the player has a long run of losses, then they will not be losing too much, as they will only increase the wagers when they win. Other roulette betting systems require you to increase your wagers after losses, which may bring about considerable losses in cases of a long losing streak.

The conservative nature of the Oscar Grind betting strategy means that players don’t need a substantial bankroll or a long session at the table to use it. The aim is to minimise losses and rake up many small profits.

Also, the Oscar Grind strategy is easy to use once you’ve studied it. Simply remember to increase your wager after a win and remain at the same bet unit after a loss. Once you get a unit of profit, you start another cycle.

Cons of using the Oscar Grind roulette strategy

Some players may find the conservative concept of Oscar’s Grind roulette strategy off-putting due to the modest profits involved. The betting system cannot capitalise on winning streaks since once you get your unit profit, you end the cycle to start afresh.

Your betting cycle will fall apart when you reach roulette table limits in your online casino during the Oscar Grind betting strategy sequence. For instance, you cannot continue with the cycle if your next bet a win is supposed to be $600 and the table limit is $500.

Tips for the Oscar Grind betting strategy

These are a few tips you can consider when using the Oscar Grind roulette strategy for a smooth sailing experience:

  • One thing that the player should do before using this system is to make sure that they have set a stop loss, that is, the maximum wager rate per series of spins. If the player reaches this, then they should accept the loss and start a new sequence. That way, you can avoid incredible losses.
  • Also, players can set a maximum win (profit) limit in their sessions. When you reach your profit target in a day, you stop and play another day.
  • Use this betting system only when placing even-money bets. Betting on other bet types will result in undesired results, such as significant losses.
  • Additionally, we advise players to track their results when using the Oscar Grind strategy to verify the system’s long-term effectiveness.
  • Keep in mind that the Oscar Grind roulette strategy isn’t foolproof, and it cannot beat the house edge in the long haul. Therefore, play responsibly to avoid massive losses and the risk of problem gambling.
  • Moreover, to familiarise yourself with this system, you can test the Oscar Grind betting strategy for free. Our recommended top online roulette casinos on this page offer demo versions of online roulette that will allow you to test this system without using your hard-earned cash. After familiarising yourself with the strategy, you can commence real money gambling.
  • Playing French and European roulette games will give you a slightly higher probability of winning than American roulette titles due to the extra pocket. Also, you can enjoy a more rewarding experience playing FR and ER games with the La Partage or En Prison rules, which somewhat reduce the house edge in the game.

Conclusion

Oscar’s Grind is a simple, low-risk betting system that is designed to make profits by targeting small successive wins in roulette. If you have a limited gambling budget and don’t want to use a high-risk betting strategy, then this is your ideal system. It’s easy to understand and use, and in the long run, you can make good but small profits. Still, this isn’t a guarantee. You can use our handy tips on the Oscar Grind betting strategy for a better gambling experience. Remember, the roulette strategy works best with 50/50 chance bets, and once you make a unit of profit, you should end your betting sequence and start anew.