Whether you are new to the game of roulette or you are an avid roulette player, you have most probably encountered at least a few articles online about roulette betting strategies. Every player would like to find a way to beat the casino and collect as many payouts as possible. That is why betting strategies are extremely popular among numerous roulette players. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that the house will always have an edge over the players.
While there are various articles online, teaching players how to utilise different betting systems to improve their winning odds, the thing that most articles will not tell you is that you will not be able to overcome the casino’s advantage even if you use a strategy. That said, you can still optimise your roulette play by implementing some betting skills.
Even though some betting experts are convinced there is no point in using a betting strategy when playing roulette, others believe your best winnings chances are when you are utilising the best betting strategy. No matter whether you will gain a huge advantage from playing with a strategy, you should be aware that there are some systems you most definitely need to avoid. To avoid any unpleasant gaming times, we recommend you check several roulette strategies to avoid.
Why Players Use Roulette Strategies
If you decide to use a certain betting strategy when you play roulette, you must keep one thing in mind. Roulette, like any other gambling game, depends on luck and you cannot manipulate the wheel to award a win every time you use a certain strategy. While a betting pattern may be useful to minimise your losses or improve your winning chances, it cannot guarantee you any wins.
What most players fail to grasp is that the house will always have an edge over the player. Whichever betting strategy you use when betting on the classic table game, you will most likely end up wagering more and playing longer to try and break even. However, at the end of the day, the casino will always win in the long run as bigger bets mean more winnings for the house.
Despite some betting strategies promising players fruitful results, they cannot guarantee them as the results in roulette always depend on luck and randomness. At least, that is true at regulated casinos that conduct fair gambling. As betting roulette strategies will often suggest players make bigger or more bets, you will often see websites warning readers about using a betting strategy as they can end up losing more than they have originally anticipated.
The issue with roulette betting systems is that they cannot help you beat the game as you cannot overcome the house edge no matter the betting pattern you utilise. As every bet on roulette has a house edge, you will ultimately lose and you cannot escape that fact. However, the longer you play, which is the suggestion of many betting systems, the more the casino will win over time.
Why Betting Strategies Cannot Help Overcome House Edge
You should know that there is a difference between the casino odds and the true odds of roulette. While the concept behind using a betting strategy is to fight chaos with chaos, the truth is that the casino will never offer true odds, always tilting the balance in its own favour. Depending on whether you play American or European roulette, a fair game would pay 37 to 1 or 36 to 1 respectively on the inside bets. However, in reality, inside bets in roulette pay 35 to 1. That instantly gives the house an edge that you cannot overcome.
On outside even-money bets in American roulette, the house wins 20 times, while the player wins 18 times. Meanwhile, the European single-zero version will have the house win 19 times, while the player wins 18 times on outside bets. That gives the American variation a house edge of 5.26%, while the house edge on European roulette is 2.70%.
Due to the house edge, the outcome of most of your decisions is predetermined to be the same in the long run, no matter what betting strategy you use:
- You split wins in half by wagering on half of the numbers, the house wins
- You choose to bet on outside propositions bets but the house wins
- You decide to split even-money bets and the house will win
- You use a betting strategy you have learned online or from a roulette expert and the house will still win
The lesson you will best memorise is that no matter what you do, the house will have an advantage over you since it reduces the true payouts of bets. Since the payouts are essentially unfair, you cannot compensate for your disadvantage in the game, no matter what betting pattern you utilise.
Our goal is not to scare you off playing roulette as you can still enjoy quite a few winning streaks, including when you utilise a betting strategy. However, we believe you must be aware that the game is designed to always bring the house the win in the long run and you cannot do anything to change that, at least not using fair tools and skills.
Worst Betting Strategies to Avoid When Playing Roulette
While you may have seen numerous articles online giving you advice on the best roulette betting strategies, we will show you some of the worst strategies you should avoid using when playing roulette. While all betting strategies cannot help you beat the casino in the long run, some may cause the exhaustion of your bankroll extremely fast. That is why we will show you which techniques you will be better off without using.
The Martingale Betting System
This is a betting system that is popular in other casino games as well, with many blackjack and poker players being very familiar with this strategy. According to the Martingale system, players should increase their bet size by 100% every time they lose. For instance, a losing bet of £5 on Even would indicate making the same bet but increasing its size to £10. You lose again, you make your following bet of £20. The goal is to continue increasing your bet until you land a win.
Even though this system may work in some cases, it is extremely risky to use when playing roulette, or any game for that matter. This strategy will have you go through your bankroll in just a few unlucky spins of the roulette wheel and you might reach the table’s betting limit in no time. Unfortunately, you might even lose all your money way before you reach the betting limit if you end up on a long losing streak.
While bankroll management may be helpful, at the end of the day, you will need a hefty gaming budget to enjoy successful roulette sessions. Unfortunately, just because you might be managing your bankroll, it is not guaranteed that you will win. While many roulette players believe that bankroll management can be very useful when they play the game, the success of this strategy mainly depends on the players’ winning and losing rates.
When you are on a losing streak, this would require a positive progression that will make you go through your bankroll much faster and bust sooner. Meanwhile, a negative progression will be more generous to your balance, helping you last a little longer in the game.
Trusting Hot and Cold Numbers
Some players cannot help themselves not following certain betting patterns when they play roulette. As roulette is a game of luck, it is possible that certain numbers may be the winning digits in several spins of the wheel. Based on such lucky events, some players believe that betting on the same “hot” number will bring them payouts in the upcoming roulette spins.
It is also possible to see some virtual and live casino roulette versions offering players a history of hot and cold numbers. This is a technique used to take advantage of superstitious players. Since they believe there are certain patterns to follow, they tend to bet more frequently on certain numbers and avoid others. However, trusting hot and cold numbers is nothing but a hoax as previous spins cannot have any effect on the results of the next spins.
Unless a roulette wheel is compromised, there is no way for the roulette ball to fall in the same position in every spin, with all numbers on the wheel having the same chance of appearing in every spin. That is why you should avoid making your bet decisions based on results from previous spins.
Bet Hedging
This type of betting strategy is quite popular in sports betting but some players also tend to use this system when playing roulette. Bet hedging can be compared to taking some sort of insurance against potential losses. With bet hedging, players tend to cover multiple possible outcomes to decrease their losses and boost their winning chances. For instance, when playing roulette, players who resort to bet hedging may place smaller and higher bets, covering several numbers.
Bet hedging is more suitable for players who are simply playing for fun and want to make their gaming time more thrilling. However, those who are playing with winning in mind, will be better without utilising this betting strategy. If a player makes the same £10 bet on red and black, whichever bet is lost, the other one will compensate for it. Meanwhile, with bet hedging one of the two options will require a higher bet so players are hoping that the winning side will be the one with the higher stake. As you can see for yourself, this roulette strategy is not very promising, which is why we recommend you avoid using it.
Things You Can Do to Better Your Roulette Playing Time
If you enjoy betting on roulette, you should definitely do the things that make you happy and continue making bets on the classic casino game. What you need to remember, however, is that the less you wager, the less you will end up losing in the long run. Unfortunately, no betting strategy can help you overcome the house edge so this rule will always apply to betting on roulette, or any casino game for that matter.
To lower your losses, you can simply consolidate your bets by cutting the total bet of £30 in half and stake those £15 on any of the three propositions. That way, you will cut down your total expected losses in half since you are also cutting your total bet in half. While the risk of making three bets may be thrilling, you can make your one bet count.
Another thing you can do to make your roulette betting more successful is to choose the right roulette variation. Due to having only a single zero on the wheel, European roulette has a lower house edge than American roulette. Naturally, if you can choose, go for the European variation as you will play against a lower casino advantage. Moreover, when you play roulette online, you can browse through different variations of the game and choose the best one. Roulette options that offer surrender or en prison on even-money bets are definitely worth your attention as these features can further cut down your expected losses in the long run.
You can also cut down your expected losses when making inside bets on roulette. For example, instead of betting on two numbers, making a bet of £10 on each, you can lower your total stake from £20 to £15 and place that wager on just one number. That way, you will lower the expected long-term loss by 25%.
Conclusion
One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding roulette, and other casino games for that matter, is that players can tilt the balance in their favour if they use certain betting strategies. What many roulette fans fail to understand is that the casino never loses as it does not offer the true payouts of the game, gaining a house edge that cannot be overcome. The only thing that players may strive to achieve is to cut down their losses.
To minimise their expected losses in the long run, players might want to carefully think through their moves before making bets. Learning how to cut down your total expenditure will help you decrease your long-term expected losses. However, most betting strategies that you may come across online will not help you with that.
If a betting strategy may lead to quicker exhaustion of your balance, you may end up going bust way too early. Moreover, you may end up betting more, ultimately increasing your potential losses. That is why, you should avoid utilising such strategies, especially if you do not wish to go through your casino budget rapidly.
