Is there any game more synonymous with online casinos than roulette? With its fast pace and simple gameplay, it immediately draws new players to the table, and they tend to remain there, captivated by the exciting action every spin of the wheel generates.
It’s important to understand that roulette is a game based entirely on luck – you can’t do anything to alter where the ball lands on the wheel, regardless of what some online scammers might tell you. But you can use various roulette strategies to boost your chances of winning. And that’s precisely what we’ll look at on this page about roulette strategy.
So, if you want to learn about the best roulette strategy, you’re in the right place. But before we look at the best strategy for roulette, let’s spend some time reminding ourselves of what roulette is and how to play it.
Understanding Roulette
At its most basic, roulette is a game where you must predict where a ball will land on a wheel. This wheel has many sections, with numbers going from 0-36. American roulette also has a 00 on the wheel, boosting the house edge and making it more unattractive to players.
The wheel doesn’t just have numbers – it also has colors. 18 sections are black, 18 are red, and the 0 and 00 are green.
Then there’s the roulette board – the other major game component. This board displays all the numbers on the wheel and the various bet types you can make. The board is used to place your bets.
For example, if you want to bet $20 on the ball landing on 35, you would put $20 of chips directly over the section showing 35. If you wanted to bet on more than one number with a single bet, you’d place the chips where the numbers meet on the board.
Don’t be shy when betting – you can place as many as you want. So, it’s up to you to balance your spending with the chances of winning. Remember to check out the section on bankroll management further down the page if you don’t know how to bet sensibly.
Once you’ve placed all your bets, the wheel will spin. While it’s whirring around, a small ball (often referred to as a ‘pill’) is thrown onto the wheel, where it rattles and clatters around until coming to a stop. The number at which it stops determines which bets are winners and which are losers.
Did one or more of your bets correspond with where the ball landed? If so, you’ll win a prize, the size of which is determined by the odds of the successful bet you made. The house will take any unsuccessful bets – you’ll have to try winning those back later.
And that’s all there is to roulette. Regardless of the version you play (the three most popular are European, French, and American), you’ll find the gameplay very similar. And the game’s simplicity means even the newest online roulette players can start winning from the get-go.
Top 3 Best Roulette Bets
There’s no doubting it: the best roulette strategy is to make sure you only place the bets with the highest RTP. It’s not the most exciting roulette betting strategy, but it’s one shown to work – over time, betting on favorable options leads to more money returning to the player. It’s a mathematical fact.
But what are the bets you should be making at the roulette table? Let’s take a look at this simple roulette strategy below…
Even Money Bets
The best bets on a roulette board are the even money bets. They’re called even money bets because when they win, they pay at even money, meaning you double your money. You won’t get rich quickly by using this roulette table strategy, but it’ll give you the best chance of coming out on top in the long term.
So, what are the even-money bets? Well, there are three of them, and they are:
- Red/Black: A bet on whether the ball will land on a red or black number. The likelihood of this happening is slightly less than 50%, thanks to the presence of the green 0. American roulette also has the green 00
- High/Low: A bet on whether the ball will land on a high number (19-36) or a low number (1-18). Again, the likelihood of this hitting is just under 50% because of the zeros
- Odd/Even: You guessed it, this is a bet on whether the ball will land on an odd or even number. And again, the presence of the zeros means the likelihood of this bet being a winner is just less than 50%.
If you stick to this online roulette strategy and only place these even-money bets, the RTP will be 98.65% in French roulette, 97.30% in European roulette, and 94.74% in American roulette. The RTP drops so much for American roulette due to the two zeros. It’s higher in French roulette as it has the la partage rule. But that’s a topic for another day.
Dozen and Column Bets
Dozen and column bets follow the same principle – they’re bets on 1/3 of the numbers, not including the zero.
A column bet is a bet on one of the three columns of 12 numbers. It’s made by placing chips in the space at the end of each column. A dozen bet is a bet on one of three groups. These bets are placed by putting chips to the side of a group of 12.
Both bets pay 2:1, meaning you triple your money. So, if you bet $10 on a dozen bet and it won, you’d receive $30 back.
These bets are good ones to make as they still offer a decent RTP but also offer some reasonable prizes – tripling your money is pretty impressive, especially if you’re laying down big bets. It’s not the best mathematical roulette strategy – that’s even money bets – but it’s an excellent strategy for those looking to balance risk and reward.
Single Number (Straight-Up) Bets
Finally, we come to single-number bets, often called straight-up bets. The chances of winning when placing this bet are only 1 in 37 (European and French) or 1 in 38 (American). This means you’re unlikely to win when placing this bet.
So, why are we recommending it if you’re unlikely to win with this bet? Well, for two reasons. First, this is the best roulette strategy to win big, as there’s no bet with a bigger payout – if you win, you’ll grab a prize worth 35:1. This means a $10 bet pays back $360. Get lucky and hit a winner, and you’ll walk away with wads of cash!
Second, this roulette strategy is perfect for anyone looking to play for fun. There’s nothing more exciting than the single number bet, and isn’t excitement what roulette is all about? Try placing a single number bet when you’re next at the table to see how much fun they are!
Popular Roulette Strategies
Let’s start by saying this: there is no such thing as a winning roulette strategy. Every strategy or system out there has a serious flaw: it assumes you have an unlimited bankroll, which will not be the case.
But still, many enjoy following a roulette strategy. We’ve listed three of the more popular roulette strategies below.
Martingale Strategy
The Martingale roulette strategy is the most famous of all strategies. It’s a negative progression strategy and doesn’t have the complex calculations and brain-taxing processes some other strategies do. Instead, it’s simple and perfect for those new to playing roulette.
The basic principle is this: you double the size of your even-money bet (all bets must be even-money ones) after every losing spin. So, let’s say you bet $10 and lose. You would then bet $20 on the next spin. And if this loses? You bet $40 on the next spin. When you win, reset your bet to $10 and start again.
The principle here is that you’ll win eventually, and the winnings from that bet will cover all previous losses in the betting sequence. But here’s the flaw: imagine you have ten losses in a row. You’ll then need to place a huge bet, and many simply won’t have the funds. So, you have to walk away with significant losses.
Fibonacci Strategy
Next is the Fibonacci roulette strategy, another popular strategy with roulette players. It uses the famous Fibonacci sequence, where a number in the sequence is the same value as the sum of the two before it. Here’s the beginning of the Fibonacci sequence:
- 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144…
With each loss, the player moves to the following number in the sequence. Whenever you win, you move back two places in the sequence. As with the Martingale roulette strategy, this strategy relies on the player only ever placing even-money bets.
James Bond Strategy
Finally, we come to the roulette strategy named after the world’s favourite secret agent: the James Bond roulette strategy. It’s actually the betting pattern James Bond himself uses when playing roulette in the Casino Royale book.
Instead of using a progression of numbers, as with the previous roulette strategies, this uses a simple placement of chips on a single turn. To play the James Bond strategy, you’ll need to place the following three bets, all at the same time:
- 70% of your bet on High (19-35)
- 25% on a double street
- 5% of your bet on zero
By placing the three bets, you’re covering 25 of the 37 numbers on a European or French roulette wheel, meaning you should win approximately twice every three spins. But it’s high risk, as you’ll be betting a lot of money on each turn. We recommend starting with micro-stakes to ensure you don’t risk vast chunks of your bankroll right out the gate.
Tips for Successful Roulette Play
As you’ve seen, there are several strategies you can use. But – and this is hugely important – there is no winning roulette strategy. Every strategy we’ve shown you above boosts your chances of winning, but ultimately, the house always has an edge.
Here are five tips every roulette player should implement, which will again drive up your chances of walking away a winner.
1. Always Place Even Money Bets
We’ve already covered this, but it’s worth repeating: the best roulette strategy ever is only betting on even-money wagers. This means only betting on red/black, odd/even, and high/low. These bets have the smallest payouts but the highest chance of being winners. Over time, you’ll win back more using these bets than you will from any other bet on a roulette table.
2. Never Play American Roulette
Want to know the best American roulette strategy around? It’s simple: avoid American roulette at all costs. Adding a double-zero skews the RTP even more in favor of the house, leaving it at an unappetizing 94.74% – far lower than European and French roulette. American roulette is simply a creation of casino bosses designed to boost their bottom line. Don’t play their game – play European or French roulette instead.
3. Use a Strategy Card
You should use a roulette strategy chart. While the most basic of strategies (betting on even-money options) doesn’t require any kind of chart, you will need one if looking to expand your horizons somewhat. By using a strategy chart, you’ll know all about the odds of a bet being a winner, as well as how much you’ll win for a successful bet.
4. Avoid Side Bets
Side bets are popular with many players. They are additional bets players can make, which have no impact on the main game. For example, one popular roulette side bet is Lucky Ball, which sees the roulette wheel split into four colored sections. You then bet on which section the ball will land in.
We recognize that side bets increase excitement when playing, but if you’re simply looking to make money, here’s the deal: side bets nearly always have a lower RTP than the standard game. Therefore, it makes sense to only bet on the main game and give the side bets a wide berth.
5. Understand and Implement Bankroll Management
Our final top roulette tip is also the best strategy to play roulette: bankroll management. It’s not a very interesting subject, but it’s absolutely vital you understand it, otherwise you risk losing all your chips in one unsuccessful playing session.
Bankroll management essentially limits the amount you can lose in any playing session. Most people advise only risking a maximum of 5% of their bankroll. So, if you’ve got $400 to play with, only place $20 on the table. If you lose this $20, you need to stop playing. Doing this will ensure you’ve got money left over for tomorrow.
Conclusion
So, here’s the main takeaway from this page: there is no winning roulette strategy. The house will always have an edge, regardless of your roulette strategy.
But there are strategies you can use to up your chances of winning. For example, the most successful roulette strategy is only placing even-money bets. The prizes might only be small, but even-money bets offer the best chance of winning money in the long term.
So, how should you approach roulette when you next step into an online or land-based casino? The answer is simple: go in to have fun and treat any wins as a bonus. Because if you go in only wanting to win money, you’ll leave disappointed more often than you leave happy.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Have you got a question about roulette strategy? If so, you might see it answered in the FAQs below.
What is the most successful roulette strategy?
There is no roulette wheel strategy that will guarantee you prizes – if there were, everyone would use it, and casinos would be out of business! However, the best strategy to play roulette is simply always betting on even money wagers. Sure, the returns are lower for each successful bet, but over a prolonged period of time, you’ll win more with these bets than any other bet type.
Do roulette strategies work?
Yes and no. No roulette strategy works 100%, meaning you can’t ever guarantee yourself wins. But you can boost your chances of winning by betting on even money wagers, avoiding American roulette, and practicing good bankroll management. Ignore anyone who says they have a foolproof way to win at roulette, as they’re either lying or very misinformed.
Why avoid American roulette?
American roulette is the version of the game with the highest RTP. This means you’ll lose more over time playing this game than when playing either European or French roulette. This is because the American roulette wheel has a double zero, which reduces the chances of any bet being a winner.
Do any roulette systems work?
Roulette systems are ways of betting, such as the Martingale and the Fibonacci. They rely on a predetermined betting pattern and purport to guarantee you’ll at least break even. The thing is, there’s an issue: every system requires an unlimited bankroll. At some point, you’ll run out of money, be unable to place the next bet needed, and lose your money.
How can you win at roulette?
The short answer is: you can’t. The house edge is always skewed towards the house, so over time, the house will win. But you can boost your chances of winning by always placing even-money bets and following the other tips listed on this page.