There aren’t many strategy or “cheat” proof games out there, but roulette is supposed to be one of them. The game has been around since the 1600s, and originally cheating was rampant. Both dishonest players and casinos hid devices to control the wheel’s spin within the wheel itself, or in the table it was resting on. Casinos in the western United States and a police detective in Paris made changes to the game in the 19th century to make it more honest. And once again, it seemed that only Chance was controlling the outcome of the wheel’s spins. But patient players who fully understand this game can do quite well at it.
How The Game of Roulette Works
Today there are two main types of roulette-“American” and “French” (also known as “European”). A new version of the game involving cards called “California Roulette” was created in 2004. Which version you’re likely to encounter depends where in the world you happen to be playing this game. Because the “American” version has simpler rules, many casinos all over the world use it. However, the “French” version remains very popular in European countries, and many gambling experts feel that the chances of winning are better with this version.
The basic premise of roulette is the same in both American and French versions. A croupier spins a colored, numbered wheel (38+ numbers in American version, 37 in French/European) in one direction, and a ball on a tilted track in another. Eventually the ball slows down and lands in a “slot” corresponding to a color and number. Gamblers have the option of placing “inside” (ball will land exactly where you say it will) vs. “outside” (a little more ball landing variation is allowed) track bets. Obviously, an inside bet offers bigger payouts, but the odds of winning an outside bet are greater. In addition to the wheel, all main versions of the game have a numbered layout cloth placed before players, where chips must be placed precisely to signify specific bets.
And gamblers have further choices to make once they’ve decided on a betting track. For example, with an inside betting strategy, players can:
- bet on a single number
- bet on three horizontally consecutive numbers
- bet on two horizontal/vertical adjacent numbers
- bet on four numbers that meet at one “corner” of the layout cloth
- bet on six consecutive numbers that form two horizontal lines on the layout cloth
Other inside betting track options involve betting using 0-1-2-3 sequences, with variations here depending on whether you’re playing American roulette (wheel has double zeros) or French (single zero).
When betting on the outside track, players can:
- bet that the ball will land on a high or low number
- bet that the ball will land on a specific color and number
- bet that the ball will land on a number that is either even or odd
- bet on a number that falls with a range that forms a horizontal line
- bet on a number that falls within a “snake” pattern
Payouts And Roulette
Generally, the house maintains a house edge of about 5.26 (2.72 in European casinos) whether a gambler is placing inside track or outside track bets. As mentioned above, while outside track bet payouts are lower, the odds are considerably better of hitting these numbers, and this type of betting is recommended for new or casual roulette players. Depending on the type of bet placed, the odds of winning an inside track bet range from 37-1 to 5-1. Outside track betting odds range from 2-1 to 1-1.
Playing Roulette Successfully
Despite all of the game’s variations and betting options, roulette is one of the world’s most popular games of chance. Unlike some other casino games, the rules are fairly straightforward. And it’s a fairly slow moving game, which means that a prudent gambler is likely to lose less money while playing it. And despite this game’s seemingly random, “cheat-proof” nature, successful strategizing can be done here. Experienced players often walk into a casino and simply observe the wheel for a while before getting into a game. It doesn’t take much to throw physical casino roulette wheels off balance, caused by everything from wheel mechanism imbalances to tiny floor tilts. In theory, casinos watch this carefully, and quickly replace malfunctioning wheels. In reality, this happens more slowly than they’d like you to know. They’re gambling that players won’t notice that the ball lands on an even black number every third spin, for example. In addition to “wheel watching”, many experienced roulette players prefer to play the more difficult French/European version. Why? Because landing on zero can cause players to lose bets. The French version with its single zero lowers the chances of this happening.
In addition to placing conservative bets, observing wheel patterns, and keeping zeros to a minimum, gamblers have devised other strategies for roulette playing. These include:
The Martengale System, in which increasingly higher bets are placed after losing, and bets are generally placed for spins to land on colors.
Reverse Martengale, in which players only increase bets if they’re winning. This system seems to be most successful with color, even/odd, and certain groupings of numbers.
Fibonacchi System
Players follow same technique as the Martengale, but they stretch play out over several spins as opposed to one.
Online Roulette
The casino floors don’t tilt online, so are there any specific pointers you should know about the digital version of this game? Only play at a casino where roulette games use a random number generator (RNG). The RNG algorithm causes the digital wheel to approximate the patterns of a real one, making for more natural play. Otherwise, there should be no difference between physical and digital roulette games.
