Strategies For Playing Roulette
Dec 16, 2014 There are three main types of Roulette game available, and each one has its differences from the others. So it makes sense to say that people will adopt different strategies for each type of game. But what is the best Roulette strategy for each game, and what is the best way to tweak and optimize your strategy? Now that we’ve gone over some tips that can help you improve your roulette game, let’s go ahead and discuss some different American roulette systems that can improve your game even more. In fact, there are more systems out there that try to help people win more in roulette than any other casino game.
Winning at roulette doesn’t take a magic formula or a secret system. It’s purely a game of luck. So if you’re looking for a secret strategy or surefire way to win, you’ll probably be disappointed by the information on this page. On the other hand, if you’re interested in learning the real odds of winning and what you need to do in order to be a winner, you’ll be thrilled by the info on this page.
The Odds of Winning at Roulette
An America roulette wheel has 38 numbers on it—the numbers 1-36 (inclusive), a 0, and a 00. Calculating the odds of winning a bet on any single number is simplicity itself—you have one way to win out of 38 possible outcomes, which makes the odds of winning 37 to 1. This bet pays out at 35 to 1 odds.
Of course, the single number bet isn’t the only way to win at the roulette table. A plethora of betting options await the roulette player, in fact. These betting options have different odds of winning, but they also offer different payouts.
Another easy example of roulette odds are the even money bets. 18 of the numbers on the roulette wheel are red. 18 of them are black, and two of them, the 0 and the 00, are green. So if you bet on black (or red), then you have 18 ways to win and 20 ways to lose. Your odds of winning are slightly less than 50%. 18/38 is 47.36%. This bet pays out at even odds.
If you’re paying attention, you’ll notice that in both of these scenarios, your odds of winning are less than the payout odds. This is what gives the house an edge over the player. In the short run, anyone can walk away from the roulette table a winner. But in the long run, the house is always going to come out ahead.
So how do you become a winner at roulette?
The Maximum Boldness Strategy
Let’s assume that your goal is to just double your money. How do you maximize your chances of doing that?
The correct mathematical strategy is to make one bet of your entire bankroll, cross your fingers, and hope you get lucky. If you lose, you’re out of money, but if you win, then you’ve succeeded in your goal.
The maximum boldness strategy entails placing a single even money bet and hoping to get lucky. You’ll have a 47.36% chance of doubling your money.
Suppose, on the other hand, that you’re going to place two bets with half your bankroll. You’ll have to win both bets in order to double your money. What’s the likelihood of that happening?
That isn’t hard to calculate either. When you’re calculating the probability of two events happening, you multiple the probability of each event happening. So you would simply multiply 47.36% by 47.36%.
The result?
22.42%
Your chances of doubling your bankroll drop dramatically in that case, don’t they?
Playing Roulette Odds
Suppose you divided your bankroll into four separate bets. Your chances of doubling your money would drop even further.
47.36% X 47.36% X 47.36% X 47.36% = 5.03%
So if your goal is to double your money, the best strategy is to place a single bet. The more bets you place on any negative expectation wager, the more likely the house edge is to catch up with you.
You might still walk away a winner in this situation, but it will be a smaller win. And you’ll be less likely to double your money.
Playing Roulette Tips
What about Systems?
Roulette systems don’t work. Most of them involve increasing or decreasing your bet based on the outcome of your previous bet. The idea is that the odds of losing several bets in a row is smaller than the odds of losing a single bet, and vice versa.
The problem with this line of thinking is that you’re not placing a single wager on a series of bets. You’re placing multiple wagers on multiple events, and the odds of each event are independent of each other.
The house’s edge over the player doesn’t change based on the previous spin of the wheel. If you bet on black and lose, then the odds of black hitting on the next spin are still 47.36%. The probability doesn’t change because of what happened previously.
The most common of these bogus systems is the Martingale system, which requires you to double your bet every time you lose. The idea is that you’ll eventually win back your previous losses plus a single unit.
Roulette Strategy 10 Simple Tips
Here’s an example. Suppose you bet $5 on black and lose. On your next bet, you wager $10 on black. You lose again, so your next bet is $20. This time you win, so you’ve won back the $15 you lose on the first two bets, plus $5.
At first glance, this seems like a pretty good system. But it has two problems.
The first is that you’ll eventually hit a losing streak where your next bet will be too high for your bankroll. It only takes eight losing bets in a row to get to the point where you’ll need $1280 to place your next bet. (The progression looks like this: $5, $10, $20, $40, $80, $160, $320, $640, $1280.) And remember—you don’t just need $1280 for the last bet. You’ve already lost $1275 by this point in your betting progression.
If you do win this $1280 bet, you’ll only be up $5, which means you’re making a large wager for a very small return.
The other problem is that even if you do have a sufficient bankroll to cover this kind of progression, all casinos have maximum bets. If you’re playing at a $5 roulette table, the maximum bet is probably $500 or $1000. So you’ll be unable to continue your progression.
You might be thinking, how often will I have a losing streak of eight in a row, though?
That answer is not often, but it will happen often enough to make sure that you’re not a long term winner at roulette.
So How Do You Win at Roulette?
In the short run, the only way to win at roulette is to get lucky and walk away. In the long run, the only way to win at roulette is to get even luckier and quit while you’re ahead. The more you play a negative expectation gambling game, the more likely you are to become a net loser.
Does this mean you shouldn’t play roulette?
That’s not our point at all. If you enjoy roulette, then play. Just don’t think you can make a living at it by using some mathematically bogus system or strategy. Earmark your roulette money as an entertainment expense. Then play as much as your bankroll allows until you’re no longer having fun.
Remember to stay realistic about the long odds on this popular game of chance. Approach roulette with the sober realization that, with a house advantage of 5.26 percent on the American wheel, roulette is among the worst bets in a casino. Despite the odds, you can still use some simple strategies to stretch your roulette bankroll and enjoy the thrill of the spin. This article contains a few tips that can help you improve your chances of winning.
Roulette is a drain on your wallet simply because the game doesn’t pay what the bets are worth. With 38 numbers (1 to 36, plus 0 and 00), the true odds of hitting a single number on a straight-up bet are 37 to 1, but the house pays only 35 to 1 if you win! Ditto the payouts on the combination bets. This discrepancy is where the house gets its huge edge in roulette.
Starting with the basics
Strategy is critical if you want to increase your odds of winning. The first time you play roulette, the players sprinkling the layout with chips may look as if they’re heaping pepperoni slices on a pizza. You can make many different bets as long as you stay within the table’s maximum limits. Consequently, few players make just one bet at a time.
Of course, the more bets you make, the more complicated and challenging it is to follow all the action. Here are two possible plans of attack to simplify matters:
- Stick to the table minimum and play only the outside bets. For example, bet on either red or black for each spin. This type of outside bet pays 1 to 1 and covers 18 of the 38 possible combinations.
Playing Roulette Online
- Place two bets of equal amounts on two outside bets: one bet on an even-money play and the other on a column or dozen that pays 2 to 1. For example, place one bet on black and one bet on Column Three, which has eight red numbers. That way, you have 26 numbers to hit, 4 of which you cover twice. You can also make a bet on red and pair it with a bet on Column Two, which has eight black numbers. Again, you cover 26 numbers, and 4 of them have two ways to win. Pairing a bet on either red or black with Column One (or on one of the three dozens) covers 24 numbers, and 6 numbers have two ways of winning. Spreading bets like this won’t make you rich, but it does keep things interesting at the table.
Playing a European wheel
If you happen to find a single-zero European wheel, you greatly improve your odds: The house edge is half that of roulette with the American wheel — only 2.63 percent. You may see a European wheel at one of the posh Vegas casinos, such as Bellagio, Mirage, or Caesars Palace. If you can’t find one on the floor, it’s probably tucked away in the high-limit area along with the baccarat tables, so you may need to ask. You can also find the single-zero wheel at some other upscale casinos around the country.
Because casinos set aside the European wheel for high rollers, you’re likely to find a higher table minimum, say $25. But because the house edge is half that of a double-zero wheel, the European wheel is the better roulette game to play for bigger bettors.
Your chances of winning get even better if the casino offers an advantageous rule called en prison. Sometimes available on the European wheel, the en prison rule lowers the house edge even further to a reasonable 1.35 percent. The rule applies to even-money bets. For example, say you have a $10 bet riding on black. If the ball lands on zero, your even-money bet doesn’t win or lose but remains locked up for one more spin. If the ball lands on black on the next spin, the house returns your original bet of $10, but you don’t win anything. If the ball lands on red, you lose. And if the ball repeats the zero number again, your bet stays imprisoned for another round.