Roulette is one of the most exciting games in the casino because it's a game people can play (and win!) together. No system works all the time, but knowing a few basic strategies can help minimize losses and maximize gains.
While no one will ever win at Roulette all the time, there are ways to beat the game and take control of your fate. Below is a list of the top 5 roulette books that you should read. John Patrick's Roulette: A Pros Guide to Managing Your Money and Beating the Wheel. This book is by renowned gambler, John Patrick. It is not necessarily a guide. In Sands roulette a third green slot, 'S', has been added to the wheel. The green slots are there for one reason: They make the game's statistical probabilities uneven. This is because of the way roulette bets are paid off. You can win anywhere from 35-to-1 (for betting on a single number) down to 1-to-1 (for betting on 18 slots at a time). Roulette is a casino game played at a table that features 38 numbers, 2 colors, and a roulette wheel that has all of the same numbers and colors on it. At the beginning of the game, players place bets on the different spaces on the table. But when it all comes down to it, roulette is a game which is entirely random. To win, the only thing you can do is go into the game with courage, bet bravely and cross all your fingers and toes!
Roulette is a pure game of luck. There is absolutely no 100% successful strategy for winning at roulette, despite numerous advertisements to the contrary in some newspapers and on the internet. Even Albert Einstein weighed in on the subject, reputedly saying 'You cannot beat a roulette table unless you steal money from it.' Since stealing money off a roulette table is a very bad idea in the modern casino, I decided to look at some popular strategies that have developed since the game began back in the late 18th century. Allegedly derived from efforts by Blaise Pascal to create a perpetual motion machine in the 17th century, the French novel La Roulette, ou le Jour by Jaques Lablee describes a modern roulette wheel being played in 1796 inside the Palais Royal in Paris.
People have been devising strategies on how to win ever since. Slot machine strategy max bet.
Roulette has a relatively high house advantage, especially on the double zero tables that populate most Vegas casinos. It's a fun game to play, but it's a RNG (Random Number Generator) game where the odds stay exactly the same on every spin. In other words, if Red numbers have hit five times in a row, the chance of a Red number hitting on the next spin remains 47.37%, the exact same chance that a Black number will hit. Roulette is not an even money game because the 0 and 00 each have a 2.63% chance of hitting, thus reducing all the 'even money' bets (red/black, odd/even, high/low) to 47.37%. Platinum player casino.
Since the odds remain exactly the same on every spin, most popular strategies for winning at roulette focus on manipulating the amount of units you wager. I've experimented with several of the following systems and can say that the one thing they all do (if you adhere to them) is limit your losses. There's something to be said for following your gut feeling when you walk passed a roulette table. Either keep on walking or look at the results board and try to double your money with one bet.
Tip #1 – Roulette is a Short-Term Game. Set a limit for your losses and set a goal for your winnings before you start to play.
Tip #2 – Avoid the Martingale System. This is the system very popular with people who have had too much to drink. Like the game of roulette itself, the Martingale System began in France in the 18th century. The strategy requires that the gambler double his even money bet after every loss so that the first win recovers all previous bets plus a profit equal to the first amount wagered. The problems with the system are threefold. First, it requires an unlimited bankroll. Second, most casinos have table maximum limits to curtail this system. Third, a $10 initial bet turns into a $160 bet if you lose just four times in a row. Mathematicians sometimes like to tweak the Martingale System and use the Fibonocci sequence (1,1,2,3,5,8,13…) where the sum of the two previous bets equals the next bet. Elegant, yes, but it's just a slower road to ruin with less winnings on a hot streak.
Tip #3 – If you're good with numbers, try the Labouchère system. This may require a piece of paper and a pen, two things the pit boss might not allow you to use. It's an involved mathematical progression, but you might be able to keep track of by using your chip stack. Basically you decide how much you want to win and then write down a list of numbers that equal that amount. A player stakes an amount equal to the sum of the first and last numbers on the list with every bet. If the bet is successful, the two amounts are removed from the list. If the bet is unsuccessful, the amount lost is appended to the end of the list and the player stakes an amount equal to the sum of the first and (new) last number on the list. As with any system, a bad losing streak can bust you. But, even a moderate hot streak can help you hit your target win amount.
Tip #4 – Start Small and Wait for an Overdue 2-1 Bet. Sit down with your loss limit and target win clearly in mind. Place small even money bets (red/black. odd/even, high/low) bets until you get a feel for the table. Watch for trends, either recurring ones or overdue, in the '1st 12', '2nd 12' and '3rd 12' groupings. When you feel ready, make you move. Double your average units wagered and pick a group (either 1-12, 13-24, or 25-36). Unlike regular outside bets, these groups of a dozen pay 2-1. This is a variant of the 'Double Dozens' strategy. Play it until it hits or you bust. If it hits, take some of your winnings and cover some of the overdue numbers in that group. For example, I like to wait until there's been a dry spell in high numbers, then bet the '3rd 12' group until it hits and then when it does hit use some of my 2-1 win to cover the inside numbers 30-36, letting the rest ride on '3rd 12'. A lucky back-to-back win can be very profitable when upping your bet with the house's money!
Although there's the same probability (2.63%) of any single number hitting on any single spin, trends do occur in roulette and waiting for them is part of the fun and excitement, as well as part of playing to win (or at least limit losses).
Next week I'll look at some legendary roulette wins, along with some other Vegas myths and legends.
Roulette is probably the simplest game to understand in the internet casino but it also has one of the worst odds in casino gaming. If you are looking for a game that is easy to understand, but you are willing to sacrifice on the house edge, then roulette might be your game. Let's start with a short explanation of what the game Roulette really is.
What is Roulette
Roulette is a casino and gambling game named after the French word meaning 'small wheel'. In the game, a croupier spins a wheel in one direction, then spins a ball in the opposite direction around a tilted circular surface running around the circumference of the wheel. The ball eventually falls onto the wheel and into one of 37 (in European Roulette) or 38 (in American Roulette) coloured and numbered pockets on the wheel.
The Roulette Wheel
The main pockets are numbered from 1 to 36 alternating between red and black, but the pockets are not in numerical order around the wheel, and there are instances of consecutive numbers being the same colour. There is a green pocket numbered 0, and in American Roulette, there is also a second green pocket marked 00.
Roulette Table Layout
Players can place a variety of ‘inside' bets (selecting the number of the pocket the ball will land in, or range of pockets based on their position), and ‘outside' bets (including bets on various positional groupings of pockets, pocket colours, or whether it is odd or even).
The payout odds for each type of bet are based on its probability. There are usually posted rules for table minimum and maximum bets, and these rules usually apply separately for all of a player's ‘inside' and ‘outside' bets for each spin.
Progression of the Game
In Roulette, the first thing that has to be done is a bet has to be placed, that is, the amount of money that you are going to wager, and where you want to place the bet, i.e., which number or combination of numbers.
The dealer will spin the wheel, which will spin multiple times until the ball finally chooses a slot to drop into, which will become the winning number.
Players can bet on an individual number, any combinations of numbers, red or black and odd or even numbers. If a player bets on an individual number and the number is where the ball drops, then the payoff is 35 to 1.
Players can also choose to bet a combination of numbers if they wish as well. For instance, a player may want to bet on four numbers and can't decide which one so he may place the bet in the corner of all four numbers. Caesars casino registration bonus code. For example, 10-11-13-14 corner and if one of the numbers is the winning number on the spin, then the wager will pay off at an 8 to 1 payoff.
The Roulette wheel's bets payoff anywhere from 2 to 1 all the way up to 35 to 1.
Most online tables will indicate what the table minimum is as well as reinstate the rules of the game through the help function.
Roulette Betting Types
Inside Bets
- Straight Bet: a single number. The chip is placed entirely on the middle of a number square.
- Split Bet: a bet on two adjoining numbers, either on the vertical or horizontal (as in 14-17 or 8-9). The chip is placed on the line between these numbers.
- Street Bet: a bet on three numbers on a single horizontal line. The chip is placed on the edge of a line of a number at the end of the line (either the left or the right, depending on the layout).
- Corner Bet (or square): a bet on four numbers in a square layout (as in 11-12-14-15). The chip is placed at the horizontal and vertical intersection of the lines around the numbers.
- Sixline Bet (or ‘sixaine'): a bet on two adjoining streets, with the chip placed at the corresponding intersection, as if in between where two street bets would be placed.
How to win big on slot machines at the casino.
Outside Bets
- Even Money Bets: a bet on 18 numbers. This is placed in the box representing the attribute (black/red/low/high/even/odd) that you wish to bet on.
- Group Bets: a bet on the first, second, or third group of twelve numbers.
- Column: a bet on all 12 numbers on any of the three vertical lines (such as 1-4-7-10 on down to 34). The chip is placed in the space below the final number in this string.
Advanced Betting Options
Once you have mastered the basics of the roulette wheel, why not take a look at some of the more advanced betting options available to you.
Many casinos have an Advanced Betting section that allows you to place 1 bet which will place chips of an equal value on numbers relevant to that type of bet.
This is best in French roulette, which has 1 zero as opposed to American roulette which has 2. The odds are, therefore, better. We would always advise steering away from American roulette when you have the option.
A lot of players who enjoy roulette feel that the advanced bets available in French roulette, and often on European roulette online too, enhance the chances of winning as you cover a particular area of the wheel as opposed to random numbers. They feel that in a land-based casino if the dealer spins the ball in the same direction and at the same speed each time, it will finish an equal number of slots away as the previous spin, and by covering this area they maximize their chances of getting a win. This doesn't apply to a casino website which uses a random number generator to provide results, but many players follow this type of bet online too.
Some players also feel that rules, known as En Prison and La Partage in French Roulette, give an enhanced payout as well. Many people attribute the introduction of these to the increasing interest in Roulette both online and offline as more and more players decide to try the game.
The bets mentioned above are Call Bets but are often referred to by players as Special Bets. They back a set amount of Straight numbers as opposed to Even Chance Bets or Corner Bets, so the payouts are reasonably high despite the number of bets used.
Voisins du Zero, Tiers du Cylindre, Orphelins in Plein and Orphelins en Cheval are the 4 most common Special bets found in casinos both online and offline. Shoot the duck games. These are all French terms although English speaking players are better off using the relevant translations in order to better understand how these Special Bets work.
Voisins du Zero
This means essentially ‘Neighbours of zero'. This is a bet which covers all the numbers adjacent to zero on the wheel.
When we mention a Neighbours bet, we are referring to all the number either side of the relevant number, including the number itself, as you will see from the image above.
See the above table layout for detailed instructions on how to play. Normally, of course, you will just select this bet from the expert menu if you are playing online roulette, or you will just call it out to the croupier.
The Voisins Du Zero is a 9 chip bet that covers 16 numbers on either side of the zero. Including 0 itself, it covers 17 numbers. The further away you get from Zero, the fewer chips are bet.
Starting from 22 on a wheel, it covers 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26, the number zero, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2 and 25.
9 chips are on split bets, the trio, and a corner bet. (or multiples of 9, if you were to bet 18, for example, it would double the amounts bet on the below example)
On the above example, we have bet
10 chips on the 0,2,3 trio
5 on the 4/7 split
5 on 12/15 split
5 on 18/21 split
5 on 19/22 split
10 on 25/26/28/29 corner
5 on 32/35.
Although it looks complicated and time-consuming when viewed as above, especially as there is often little time between spins, it should be noted that there is normally an Advanced option when playing online which will automatically allow you to bet the above with one click. Similarly, if you ask a croupier to place a Voisins Du Zero bet in a land-based casino, they will be able to do so in double-quick time.
Tiers Du Cylindre
This is a similar kind of bet to the Voisins Du Zero bet but covers 12 numbers on the opposite side of the wheel.
Starting at the number 33, it covers all numbers round to 27.
The range is 33, 16, 24, 5, 10, 23, 8, 30, 11, 36, 13 and 27.
These are all Split bets of equal amounts. The total bet is 6 units and returns 18 units, including your stake if any of the numbers come in.
This is the 2nd most popular Special Bet behind the Voisins Du Zero and comes in 32% of the time.
Orphelins
You may have noticed that the Voisins du Zero and Tiers du Cylindre bets cover a lot of numbers between the remaining numbers, 8 in total, are covered by another bet, the Orphelins. This literally translates to the Orphans bet.
It covers 2 sections on the wheel, from 17 round to 6 (17, 34 and 6) and on the other side, 9 round to 1 (9, 31, 14, 20 and 1).
There are 2 different types of Orphelins bet which differs in terms of the chips and types of bet, although the numbers are the same in both.
The most common is the Orphelins en Cheval bet. It covers 8 numbers with 5 chips using a combination of Split and Straight Up bets.
The only Straight Up bet covers the number 1 with 4 Split bets covering 6 & 9, 14 & 17, 17 & 20 and 31 & 34.
Orphelins en Cheval bet layout
The main difference between this and the other Orphelins bet, the Orphelins en Plein bet, is that this one uses only Straight Up bets. It does cost more but the rewards are greater on all except the 1 (which is covered as a Straight bet in Orphelins en Cheval) and the 17 (this is covered twice as a Split bet in Orphelins en Cheval).
Computerized slot machines.
Orphelins en Pleit layout
As with the other Special bets, there will be a section in the Advanced Options when playing online to place either of these with one click, or in a land-based casino, the croupier will be happy to help place the bet/s quickly for you.
The next strategies are much easier to learn and we recommend them to our beginner players.
Roulette is a game that is easy to understand, but most of the time the easier the game is to understand the greater the house edge and with roulette, this is no different. Ever since the roulette wheel was invented in the 17th-century people have been trying to beat the house edge with their betting systems. While betting systems can increase the fun level of gambling and might give you an edge, do not expect to get rich on them. You can win in the short term but it has been proven the casino usually wins in the end. With our roulette strategy we will show you:
- Two strategies that work
- How to use every edge to increase your odds
- A good short-term Roulette strategy
Roulette Rules
As you can see, roulette is not all about picking a number or a section, giving your chips to the dealer and just standing there watching what will happen. There are some rules that you need to follow which will be explained below:
Rule #1 – How to get chips?
The roulette chips in most casinos differ from the chips used for other table games. In fact, roulette chips are in several colours and can be of any denomination you want. You need to sit at the roulette table and show the dealer the money you want to play with. Tell the dealer how much you want the chips to be worth. The dealer will correspondingly give you your chips with the same value you wanted.
Rule #2 – How to determine the value of the chips?
The common denominations of chips for other table games are $1 (white chips), $5 (red chips), $25 (green chips) and $100 (black chips).
Now, roulette chips are the coloured chips which can have the denomination you want. The thing is, each player at the table can have a different denomination for, say, the red chip. This may get confusing at times, especially for the dealer who needs to keep track of every player's chip colours and values all the time. One idea is to mentally label them going from your less favourite to your most favourite colour. Make the less favourite colour $1, say, then continue to your favourite colour which will be $100. Whichever strategy you choose to memorize them, make sure you remember the denominations and not get confused, since the dealer will only know the amount of bet you want to place from the colours of the chips you're selecting.
Rule #3 – When to bet?
You cashed in and now you are waiting for the betting time to begin. A small object on the table called a 'puck' or a 'buck' indicates the last number that was hit. When the dealer removes it from the object, you may start betting. If you cannot reach the section or number you intend to bet on, the dealer will help you out.
Rule #4 – How to bet that bet or those bets?
You need to know where to put your chip depending on the section or number you want to bet on. If you're betting on a number or numbers, you put your chips straight on the number(s). However, if you're betting on propositions outside the layout, such as high/low, odd/even, red/black, you place the chips right on the proposition. You place your chips exactly on the proposition if you're betting on the first, second or third column or dozen. When betting on two numbers next to each other, you put your chip on the line between them. You place your chip on the outside border of the three numbers if you're betting on a Street. If betting on Corner or four numbers that form a square, you need to place the chip at the intersection. Pch casino games. To place a Sixline Bet, you put your chips on the outside border on the intersection where the two streets meet.
Rule #5 – When you must stop betting?
When the wheel is spun, and there are still people placing chips, the dealer will wave with the hand over the layout and say 'No more bets' and that will be your cue to stop betting. If you don't, the dealer will disqualify your bet.
Rule #6 – How to handle other players at your table?
Sometimes, some players on the table can get over-excited to place their bets or are just impatient, so they shove or push other players to get their bets down. If you bump into such a player, gently ask them to please place their bets less aggressively, or ask the dealer to do so. If nothing works, leave the table and find another one to join, with less annoying players.
How To Play Roulette
Rule #7 – What happens if you win?
When the number hits, the dealer will call it out, put the 'puck' or 'buck' on the number, and remove the losing bets from the table. Then, the dealer will pay the winning bets.
Rule #8 – What happens if you lose?
If you lose, you still wait for the dealer to remove the losing bets, yours included, and pay the winning ones. You need to wait for the next betting round if you wish to proceed, or you can leave the table if you wish to stop playing.
Rule #9 – When to start betting all over again?
Only when the dealer has removed the 'puck' or 'buck' from the winning number you may resume your betting.
How To Win Roulette Game
Most strategies involved in Roulette are related to which bets to place. We will discuss this next in Part II.
How To Win In Roulette
Part II – Roulette Strategy & Tips
Part III – Roulette Payouts & Odds