There are few games in the whole universe that are as synonymous with the world of casinos than the game of roulette. As timeless as the view of the night sky, roulette charms you with its simplicity. You make a choice: either on a colour or a number. The ball spins like a planet, night and day, again and again until finally, it lands on a conclusive figure. If your prediction is correct, you win. If your prediction is wrong, you lose.
Unlike the mysteries of the universe, it doesn’t take a lifetime to understand this game. Indeed, it’s so simple that many people imagine a roulette betting strategy to not be possible. However, this cosmos is full of secrets, and even something so simple as a spin of the wheel can have intricacies you never imagined. Intrigued? Then join us on an interstellar journey to the heart of the casino’s most enduring mistress.
Before we begin, just as is the case with any kind of betting strategy, it’s important for us to make clear to you that there is no magic formula. In other words, we’re not going to unveil some magician’s trick from a sleeve full of stars that will grant you an infinite supply of roulette riches. Not only can we not promise you that, but no one can promise you that.
There are, however, some options when it comes to a betting strategy for roulette that are more likely, based on the roulette odds, to be successful. There are also ones that people consider to be the best roulette betting strategy – although that is, to an extent, a matter of discussion. In other words, there’s such a thing as smarter ways of understanding and adapting to roulette odds and how the game works, but there are no guarantees for victory.
Ahead of jetting off on any kind of casino adventure, you need to know how far your ship can take you. So, before we get to the betting strategy for roulette, we wanted to make clear the limits of our trajectory. Always remember the importance of sticking to a budget and keep a level head: no betting strategy can promise you the moon on a stick, after all.
With all our safety checks in place, we suppose it’s time for us to show you five of the most common and popular roulette betting strategy options out there. Do keep in mind that there are almost as many strategies as there are stars in the sky, but this should give you a really great starting point to understand this game on a deeper level.
For many people, this will always be considered the best betting strategy for roulette. Part of the reason for the popularity of this roulette betting strategy is how incredibly simple it is. First off, it’s recommended that due to the smaller house edge, you play this with European or French Roulette wheels which use the La Partage rule.
You bet small on red or black – so even roulette odds – until you lose a spin. When this happens, the strategy switches so you double your bet to cover your losses. If you lose again, you double it once more for as long as is necessary.
The logic here is simple. At evens odds, you must eventually win your bet, unless you completely run out of funds. When you do, you will have won back your money, as well as any small profit you made at the beginning of the run. The worst-case scenario here is, as we mentioned, that you run out of funds entirely.
That is why it’s so important to bet small in the beginning so that you can cover doubling the bets. Unlucky runs do happen, and if they get so out of hand you cannot continue with this strategy, you could potentially lose a lot of money. The only way it can work is if the amounts stay low and manageable. This means that no one is likely to get rich with the Martingale system, however, it’s one of the most grounded, sensible and consistently successful options out there.
We’re happy to say there’s not much to learn here in terms of strategy. As the name would suggest, there’s not much of a difference between this and the standard Martingale approach. But a single atom can have a lot of power, even if it doesn’t look significant in the grand scheme of things. That atom in this roulette betting strategy is the staking.
Essentially, when you’re losing, you don’t just double your bet, you also add an extra amount equal to that original stake. This means your eventual winnings should be higher, but of course, the possible risks increase as well. It also means that paying attention to the limits of your bankroll becomes even more important. Getting stuck in a losing streak is the big danger here, and you’ll find yourself lost in space if you get to a point where you can’t cover it. Once again, keeping your original stake small enough to handle is vital here.
Some people wouldn’t consider this a strategy, but we actually disagree. We’ll explain why in a moment. All-in is exactly what it sounds like. You put all of the money you plan to bet on a single roll of the wheel. It can be a roulette single number bet strategy, or a bet on even vs odds or black vs red. Either way, this means that you win or you lose, all in one turn.
Now, where’s the roulette betting strategy in this? Well, we’d say it comes down to two things. One is knowing what amount of money you’re willing to lose. Going into a bet with more money than you can comfortably lose is like going into space without your helmet on – it’s downright dangerous. Accept that there is a chance you may lose, and that you shouldn’t chase losses in this instance. All-in means exactly that: the money you walk to the table with is the maximum you’re willing to lose.
The second part of this strategy also related to walking away from the table, but this time when you are winning. If you bet everything until you lose, you must eventually lose everything. That is why you should decide in advance at what point you will walk away, and stick to it.
Like meteors and the night sky, James Bond and casinos just go together. It should come as little surprise then that there’s a roulette betting strategy named after the world’s most famous spy. The typical amount for the James Bond strategy begins with £200 which is split into three different bets – although, f course, there’s nothing stopping you using a different amount. We will use this amount as our example though, so you can understand how it could be adapted.
Using £200, you would bet £140 on high numbers – generally above 19. You would then place £50 on the sixth line (13-18) and £10 on the number zero. This spread covers more than simple red or black bets. If you lose, it follows the Martingale system, doubling until your bet is returned. The same risks as discussed in Martingale naturally apply, but with a shifting of the roulette odds a little in your favour.
In a twist in the Martingale system, the Paroli system instead sees you double your bet following a win until you win three in a row or lose. This is essentially a systemised version of knowing when to walk away, as we discussed earlier. When you lose, you go back to your original stake meaning that there’s a good chance of a slow progressive profit, and you protect your winnings – and potential losses – by responding to a failed spin with a drop in stake.
The downsides of Paroli here are twofold. One is simply if your initial bet continues to be unsuccessful. You really need an initial bit of luck for this to work, although we suppose that could be said, to an extent, of any betting strategy. The other issue is that your profits are limited to 4x your original stake. No one ever said it would be a spacewalk. However, the loss risk is also limited by the slow nature of the system.
I think many of you will be surprised by how technical and well thought-out the strategies are that surround the roulette wheel like the rings of Saturn. The game is so simple, but people have pulled apart every element of the mathematical logic of the game to craft incredible strategies you probably never thought possible. But just like the moon landing, the human endeavour can achieve some rather remarkable things.
The other thing that really stands out here is how the majority of these examples utilise a few key concepts, such as knowing when to walk away and when to double your money. Another thing of vital importance is utilising the whole board, which is probably why there isn’t much in the way of roulette single number betting strategy examples. Regardless of which strategy you go with, we hope that we’ve helped you appreciate just how deep a spin of the wheel can be.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
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