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Last updated April 1, 2021

Roulette Strategy Guide - How To Play Better Roulette

Roulette is a game that’s become synonymous with casinos ever since it was first created in the 18th century. The name means “little wheel” in French, and everything that happens in the game depends on the spin of the wheel. Now, with online casinos growing in popularity, Roulette is reaching a new global audience. As more players take up the famous game, a lot of them often ask us the question: Is it possible to increase your odds when playing online Roulette?

Roulette Strategies

The truth is that Roulette is based on luck, and there isn’t anything you can directly do to make the ball land where you want it. However, there are definitely ways you can improve your odds and give yourself a better chance of winning. At SlotsBang, we’re big fans of playing Roulette online, and we’re always trying out new strategies and tips to help us improve our wins.

In this guide, we’re going to be letting you in on the secret of how to make more while playing Roulette. These tips will help you get the most out of your experience while playing Roulette online and have more fun. If you’re totally new to the game, you can also read our full Roulette player’s guide which explains the rules and different types of Roulette.

Read on to discover our favorite ways to play Roulette and how you can improve your chances of winning at online Roulette.

Choosing the best site to play roulette

As with any online casino game, picking the right casino to play goes a long way in helping to give you an enjoyable experience. There are hundreds of different online casinos out there, and they can vary a lot in the features they offer and the quality of games that are available.

Picking the best site for you can be hard, but at SlotsBang, we like to make it easier for you. If you want to find the very best online casinos that offer Roulette, take a look at our best casinos page. We only feature the best and most reputable sites that have a great selection of games. We also review all the casinos that we feature here on our site, so you can read our comprehensive reviews to get an idea of whether a casino is right for you.

Once you’ve picked out the perfect site, you can sign up and get playing. Choosing a site that has the features and games you want is a big part of having fun and winning when playing any casino game. For games like Roulette that are largely based on luck, it’s one of the best ways to improve your playing experience.

Making the most of your bonus

Almost every online casino offers a welcome bonus to new players. These are one of the best things about online casinos and can allow players to start off with big cash reserves to play and win more. Getting more out of your online casino bonus is a great way of improving how you play Roulette and hopefully winning a lot more.

First off, you’ll want to choose a casino that has a bonus that suits you. Be sure to read through all the terms and conditions as you may find that not all casino bonuses can be used to play table games like Roulette.

If you want to discover the best casino bonuses, take a look at our latest casino bonus page. We’re always looking for new and exciting offers and list our favorites on our site. We also explain any of the restrictive terms and conditions if present, to help you make an informed decision over which is best for you.

Lots of casinos offer regular promotions for their current players as well. If you sign up to a site, make sure you check the box to receive promotional offers in this way, you’ll have them sent directly to your email inbox.

Choosing the right game type to play

Lots of people who have never played Roulette before assume that there’s only one type of game and one set of rules. While the rules are pretty similar between them, there are plenty of different variations of Roulette out there.

The main three types you’re likely to come across online are American Roulette, European Roulette, and French Roulette. The main difference between American Roulette and the other two types is that it has both a 0 and 00 place on the wheel. The addition of the 00 increases the house edge of American Roulette, meaning that any player has a greater disadvantage when playing this game.

Ideally, you’ll want to always avoid American Roulette where possible. Some online casinos may only offer American Roulette, in which we suggest avoiding those sites entirely. There’s no reason to play American Roulette as it gives a lower chance of winning and doesn’t give any higher payouts.

When it comes to choosing between European and French Roulette, French comes out on top as it has a lower house edge. The reason for this is the two special rules of French Roulette. These are known as la partage and en prison. These two rules help to give an extra advantage to the player when the ball lands on 0. If you want to learn more about them, have a look at our Roulette Player’s guide where we explain them in detail.

Picking a game type where the casino has a lower advantage is important if you want to maximize your chances of winning. Because of this, we always recommend playing French Roulette if it’s available. You should also double-check the RTP (return to player) rate of the game before you play. American Roulette has an RTP rate of around 94%, Europe has around 97%, and the French can have more than 98%.

Choosing your bets

When you play Roulette, you’ll have a lot of different options to bet on. One of the reasons why the game is so popular is that there are loads of betting options and some have big payouts if you’re lucky enough to win them.

There are two main groups of bets. These are the inside bets and the outside bets, so named because of their position on the Roulette table.

Outside bets are generally the safer options and as a result, pay out less than the inside bets. These include options such as betting on red or black and betting on odds or evens. Both of these payout even money (1/1). This means a bet of $10 would give you $10 in profit if it wins. Despite it being even money, however, there’s not a 50/50 chance of winning. If you bet on red or black, there’s always a small chance that the ball lands on the green 0 or 00. Your odds or evens bet will also lose if the ball lands on 0 or 00. This is where the house edge comes from, and is why American Roulette has a higher house edge.

Outside bets also include high or low numbers, columns, and dozens.

  • High or low numbers split the numbers from one to thirty-six in half. Betting on 1-18 or 19-36 will both payout at even odds. Again, you’ll lose your bet if the ball lands on either 0 or 00.
  • Columns lets you bet on specific columns of numbers shown on the Roulette table. There are three columns that each contain twelve numbers, if the ball lands on any of the twelve numbers, you’ll win. Odds for this bet are set at 2 to 1 for most games, meaning a $10 will make $20 in profit.
  • Dozens also give you twelve numbers to bet on, only this time they will be consecutive numbers.

Inside bets are the higher risk and higher reward options. Specific numbers and small groups of numbers are all known as inside bets and these bets can pay out big if you’re lucky enough. The most obvious choice for the inside bets is the straight number bet. This allows you to bet on one specific number, perfect if you have a lucky number. Payouts for straight numbers bets are 35 to 1 for all of the numbers. A $10 bet will give you $350 in profit if the ball lands on your number.

As well as straight number bets, other inside bets include split bets, street bets, corner bets, line bets, and the five number bet. Some game types may offer some or all of these betting options so check before you start playing.

  • Split bets allow you to place a bet on two numbers that sit next to each other on the table. If the ball lands on either number, your bet will win and the casino usually pays out 17 to 1. A $10 bet would win $170.
  • Street bets are a group of three adjacent numbers on a row. If the ball lands on any of those three numbers on the row, you’ll win. This pays out at odds of 11 to 1. A $10 would give you $110 in profit.
  • Corner bets allow you to place a bet on any four numbers which form a square on the Roulette table. This bet pays out at odds of 8 to 1 at most casinos. So a $10 bet would give you $80.
  • Line bets allow you to pick two rows of numbers next to each other on the Roulette table. That equals six numbers in total and gives you odds of 5 to 1. A $10 bet would payout $50.
  • The five number bet is a bet on the first five numbers of the table. This has the highest house edge of any Roulette bet at nearly 8%. It pays out at odds of 6 to 1, a $10 bet would win you $60.

Roulette betting systems

A betting system is a way of structuring your bets and trying to get the most out of your bankroll. They can be used for any kind of betting but are frequently used by Roulette players. The idea behind a betting system is to increase the odds of winning. Before we get into explaining different betting systems, we should point out that they don’t help to boost your odds.

There isn’t a single betting system out there that can influence the outcome of Roulette or any other kind of casino game and give you a higher chance of winning. However, that doesn’t mean there’s no value in using a betting system. Using a betting system can help you to structure how much you’re betting and keep you from using your bankroll up to quickly. It can also help to maximize your wins and minimize your losses in some cases.

There are two main types of betting systems out there, the progressive and non-progressive or flat betting systems. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with each if you intend to use a betting system. Progressive strategies can be either positive or negative, meaning that you increase or decrease your bets depending on the outcome. A flat betting system will stay the same throughout and is generally how most people bet.

We’ve gone over some of the most popular betting systems below and included details of each one. If you’re interested in trying out a betting system, we recommend giving them all a go and seeing which one you prefer.

Martingale System – The Martingale system is probably the most famous betting system and is strongly associated with Roulette. This is a positive progressive system were losing a bet will mean the player increases their stake on the next spin. The Martingale method is best used on the outside, even money bets.

Players will place their initial bet and then double their stake if they lose or return to the original stake if they win. The idea behind the method is that it helps to maximize wins and minimize losses. It can be very costly, however. You’ll need to have a bankroll to avoid losing a lot of money when losing streaks happen.

Paroli System – The Paroli system is often known as the reverse Martingale because it essentially follows the same pattern but in reverse. This method is an example of a negative progressive system. Here players will double their bet with each win. After three successive wins, the player returns to their original stake.

If the player loses, their bet returns to their original stake. This way, players can make the most of hot streaks and avoid going on long and expensive losing streaks. The Paroli system is much gentler on your bankroll than the Martingale system and is ideal if you’re just starting out.

D’Alembert Strategy – The D’Alembert system is similar to the Martingale method but is generally a lot safer to use. As with the Martingale method, players will increase their bet each time they lose and return to their original bet when they win.

Unlike the Martingale system, however, the D’Alembert system requires the player to increase their bet by one unit. A unit is a portion of your bankroll which is decided before you start playing. So for example, if you and $1000 to bet, one unit might be $10. As with the Martingale method, this is best done of even money bets though it’s a lot safer to use.

Labouchère Strategy – This system is also often known as the cancellation strategy or the split Martingale. It requires a little bit of maths and planning to set up so it can be complicated for beginners, but it is really simple.

Before you start playing, you’ll need to work out how much you’d like to win in profit. Then they’ll split that amount into parts that make up the sum. For example, if you wanted to win $50, you could split it into $10, $20, $10 and $10. Each time the player bets, they add the first and last numbers together to make their stake. If the bet wins, those numbers are removed from the list. If the bet loses, the amount is added to the end of the list.

Players continue until they’ve either run out of money or reached their goal. This is a fairly simple strategy that allows you to stay on top of how much you’re winning and losing. It’s a great way for beginners to practice and learn more about effective bankroll management. Of course, it does carry a risk that a long losing streak could potentially use up your whole bankroll.

Oscar’s Grind – In this method, you’ll again be breaking your bankroll into single units. When you start playing, you’ll bet one unit and continue to increase your bet by one unit each time you win. Upon losing, you’ll go back down to one unit per stake again. Players can continue increasing their bets as long as they keep winning or until one unit of profit has been made.

For example, let’s say one unit is $10. Your first bet will be $10, but if you win, your next bet will be $20. If this bet wins, you’ll have made $10 in profit so can go back down to $10 bets. If you lose, you’ll also go back down to a $10 stake.

Fibonacci System – You might already be familiar with the Fibonacci sequence, which is a string of sequentially increasing numbers found in nature. The sequence goes along the numbers 1-1-2-3-5-8-13-21-34-55-89-144-233-377-610-987.

As you play, you’ll increase your bet, following the Fibonacci sequence. So your first three bets will be $1, $1, and $2. When you win, you move backward two places on the sequence. Ideally, this will help to make the most out of your wins, but as you can see, bets can become very large further down the chain.

Author
Arthur is a staff writer at SlotsBang. He contributes to all things casino, from our ‘how to play’ guides to tips on finding the best sites for your favourite casino games.