Strategy For Playing Roulette
When you think of roulette, strategy or a betting system may not be the first factor that comes to mind. Yes, roulette is a game that’s almost entirely based on luck - you can’t do anything to control the ball or the wheel, and you can’t change the payouts or odds of hitting a winning number.
But despite this, there are a few steps you can take to help minimize the advantage that the house holds during a roulette game. We’ve outlined some of the best roulette strategies below.
Finding the Right Roulette Game
One of the most important roulette strategies is choosing the best roulette game available to you. Generally, most roulette games can be divided into two categories: American and European roulette.
American roulette games usually feature two zeroes on the wheel, and have the highest house edge of any roulette game. Most bets on the American roulette table have a house edge of 5.26%.
Some American roulette wheels (particularly in high-stakes brick-and-mortar casinos) also have only a single zero; while these are sometimes referred to as “European” wheels, they do not use the other rules that truly make a game a European roulette game. However, they do have a much lower house edge than double-zero games at 2.70%.
True European roulette games offer the best odds of all. By combining the single-zero wheel with favorable en prison rules (which we’ll talk more about below), these games include bets with house edges that are as low as 1.35%.
One word about online roulette strategy here. Some online casinos offer other special forms of roulette with unique rules and different wheels. While the odds and house edge will vary from game to game, it’s usually true that these games carry bigger advantages for the casino than European roulette.
House Edge
5.26%
American Roulette
Double-zero roulette. Highest house edge in the guide.
House Edge
2.70%
Single-Zero Wheel
Lower house edge than double-zero games.
House Edge
1.35%
European / En Prison
Best odds when favorable rules apply to even-money bets.
Making the Right Bets
Another critical component in roulette strategy is making the bets with the best odds for the player. One of the most interesting aspects to roulette is that almost all of the bets at the roulette table feature the same exactly house edge; essentially, all bets pay fairly for a wheel with 36 spaces, and the zero (or zeroes) provide the house edge.
But there are a few bets that do offered different odds. For instance, in American roulette, you’ll want to avoid the “top line” or “first five” bet - the one that covers the numbers 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 as a group. This bet has a higher house edge of 7.89%.
In better news for players, the en prison rule means that some bets at European roulette tables offer better odds than others. The en prison rule is applies to even money bets, and allows players to recoup some of their losses if the ball lands on zero.
When this occurs, one of a number of different results can occur. In some games, the player simply automatically gets back half of their bet. In other cases, the bet may be held over for the next spin; if the player wins on the next spin, then they will have their bet returned to them. These bets have the best odds of any roulette wager.
Roulette Systems
Another form of roulette strategy is the usage of roulette systems. A roulette system is a method of structuring your bets that attempts to show a profit by taking advantage of patterns or streaks.
Roulette systems can’t change the house edge or make you a long-term winner at roulette, but they can affect the size and frequency of your wins and losses. For instance, some roulette systems are designed to give you many small wins in exchange for the occasional very large loss. Others use complex math to avoid exposure to heavy losses.
For more information on roulette systems, check out our pages on specific roulette systems like the Martingale and the d’Alembert.
How to Beat Roulette
The Internet is filled with articles and books that claim to teach you how to win at roulette. Most of these sources will try to convince you that simply by adjusting your bets based on your wins and losses, you’ll manage to come out on top.
However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t possibly win by playing roulette; you just have to find other ways to find an advantage over the casino. In fact, there are at least two different ways in which you can beat roulette - one that’s been used at brick-and-mortar casinos for well over a century, and another that takes advantage of the many promotional deals that are available through online casinos.
Biased Wheels and Mechanical Help
In live casinos, players have been finding ways to beat roulette ever since the game was first invented. In early casinos, roulette wheels were not always finely balanced. Through the tracking of thousands of spins, players could sometimes find wheels that were biased towards certain parts of the wheel - which was enough to give them a significant edge over the casino.
In more modern times, more care has gone into the crafting and maintenance of roulette wheels, so biased wheels are very rare. However, players have tried to use small handheld computers to predict where a ball will land before the croupier cuts off all betting.
This method (unlike tracking biased wheels) is a form of cheating, as computerized devices aren’t to be used to aid play in most casinos. Other forms of cheating tried by players include getting a friendly croupier to attempt to land the ball on a certain part of the wheel - though many dispute whether this is possible even for a skilled croupier.
Winning at Roulette with Bonuses and Promotions
In online roulette, you can pretty much count on the wheel being unbiased, so trying to gain the advantage through betting on the right numbers won’t get you anywhere. However, the huge bonuses and other deals offered by Internet casinos can often be enough to allow you to make significant profits while playing roulette.
One of the best ways to do this is by taking advantage of the first deposit bonuses that are offered by most casinos. These bonuses are generally the largest offered by online casinos, which means they’ll give you the best opportunity to make profits.
When looking at these bonuses, you’ll want to find ones that offer a large matching percentage, as well as a relatively low play through requirement - in other words, bonuses that give you a lot of money without asking you to play too much in order to clear that bonus.
If the bonus is a cashable bonus - that is, one that allows you to keep your bonus money after you’ve cleared the bonus then you can just play as normal. Make normal bets and once your bonus period is over, you’ll likely have some of your bonus money left over, allowing you to claim a nice profit.
These days, however, the sticky bonus is much more commonly offered to players. In this bonus, you do not get to keep your bonus money - only winnings you make off of that bonus. These bonuses reward players who use aggressive strategies and large bets in order to make the most of the bonus funds you are given to play with. Of course, your risk tolerance will ultimately decide just how aggressively you’ll play.
Finally, remember to check the terms and conditions at your casino before attempting to clear a bonus by playing roulette. While most online casinos have no problem allowing you to play roulette, some may restrict you from playing European roulette. The terms may also prevent you from playing “opposites” bets, like betting on both black and red.
Basic Roulette Strategy
Before we talk about specific roulette systems like the Oscar's Grind Roulette Strategy, it’s important to discuss the basics of roulette strategies. The best way to make any roulette system more effective is to make sure you’re first using the best betting strategy to minimize the house edge.
One of the fundamental things you can do to improve your results in roulette is to seek out European roulette tables. These tables feature only a single-zero on the roulette wheel rather than the two zeroes on an American roulette wheel.
Many European Roulette games also feature the “en prison” rule, which gives the player back half of their wager if they make an even money bet (like red/black) and the ball lands on zero. This makes these bets even more favorable to the player.
For the most part, it doesn’t matter over the long run which bets you make on a roulette wheel, as most of the bets have exactly the same house edge (unless the en prison rule is being used). This means that you usually won’t have to worry about making the “right” bets, which makes roulette a great game for new casino gamblers.
How Roulette Systems Work
Roulette systems are designed to take a good basic roulette strategy and then mix and match bets in a way that will give you a structured gameplan without the risk of making bets based on emotions. In the short-run, a roulette system can be a good way to approach the roulette wheel.
Most roulette systems are actually based on logical fallacies, which we’ll talk more about in the strategy guides about those systems. But just because these systems can’t make you a millionaire, it doesn’t mean that they are completely without merit. Different systems produce different results, and picking the right system can help you get the kinds of results you want.
Best Roulette Systems
The following roulette systems are some of the most popular systems in the world. Each has a unique set of benefits and drawbacks, and some are riskier than others. Below, you’ll find short descriptions of each system; for more information on an individual system, click through to read the full article.
Martingale System
The classic example of a roulette strategy, the Martingale is based on the idea that long losing streaks on even money bets (like red/black or odd/even) are very unlikely. Using the Martingale usually leads to small wins, but occasionally results in big losses.
Labouchere System
This system requires players to make a list of numbers, crossing off numbers as they win and adding new numbers if they lose. This system often results in a win for players who use it to completion, but can quickly get very expensive.
D’Alembert System
The d’Alembert system is essentially a slower, more deliberate version of the Martingale. It’s based on the same idea - that long streaks of wins or losses are unlikely. However, this system has no “end point,” meaning you can stop playing any time you like.
Fibonacci System
Yet another progressive betting system, the Fibonacci is based on the famed Fibonacci sequence. While this system grows the size of your bets more slowly than the Martingale, it is also less likely to result in a profit.
Paroli System
The Paroli is essentially a Martingale in reverse, where you’ll be trying to string together consecutive wins instead of avoiding strings of losses. The results tend to be the opposite of the Martingale as well: some big wins mixed in with a lot of small losses.
Roulette Strategy Information
Roulette was invented as far back as in the 18th century in France. the word “roulette” is actually French for “little wheel”. This classic casino game has inspired players all over the world because of its thrilling nature and good player odds, giving players the opportunity to go on long winning streaks, especially if a proper roulette system is used.
Today, you can play online roulette which is the exact same game as the ones offered in casinos, and the best part is that you don’t even have to leave your own home to enjoy it. Online roulette can be played in all its different forms. You can play European roulette, American roulette, French roulette and even live roulette! live roulette online is actually the best of both worlds; The excitement of a real casino and the convenience and technological advantage of the internet.
Live online roulette works just like playing roulette in a casino, you have a real life dealer on your screen and you simply place your bets via the internet and once all bets are completed, the dealer will spin the roulette wheel.
Thank you for visiting the roulette strategy hub. Feel free to continue to browse our website, check out our recommended guides for roulette and take advantage of our free roulette systems that each have their unique guide explaining how to use the betting system.
After learning the betting systems you can test them in the roulette simulator for free and see if any of the strategies fit your playingstyle.
