If you pay closer attention to the gaming suites of land-based and virtual casinos, you will notice that roulette games can be found in almost all of them. In spite of the inherent entertainment value of the game, what cripples most players is that they struggle to remain in control of their roulette betting session and quite often end up with a depleted bankroll.
Many people share the common misconception that one cannot generate substantial profits playing roulette because the game relies heavily on chance. Yet, being a successful roulette player does not go without getting a good grasp of the game, which is not as challenging as it might be with some other casino games.
In fact, getting a decent profit is attainable, given that casino enthusiasts manage to remain disciplined during the time they will spend at the roulette table. There are several aspects of exercising discipline while betting on roulette as this involves adequate bankroll management, planning in advance, and adhering to your win goals and loss limits.
Of course, there is no guarantee you will win a life-changing amount of money at the roulette table even if you are exceptionally disciplined. However, discipline can substantially increase your chances of turning a profit and help you reduce your losses to a minimum.
Why Do Players Need Discipline?
Being disciplined is among the key traits of any successful roulette player because it is precisely discipline that enables gamblers to manage their funds when they take a seat at the table. While playing roulette, losing streaks can sometimes be rather long-lasting, but it is not out of the question that sustained winning streaks might take place as well. While there is no telling when a streak is going to end, it is crucial to remember that it will not go on forever.
It is not uncommon for roulette players to experience several losing bets in a row. In such cases, those who lack discipline tend to get emotional, which clouds their better judgement. It is typical for such players to recklessly increase their stakes in hopes of winning back what they have already lost with a single lucky bet. Often, they end up leaving the table with empty pockets.
Discipline has to do with self-control and knowing when to quit the game, regardless of whether you are on a hot run or have entered a lengthy losing streak. Roulette novices, who lack self-control, usually get beyond exhilarated when they turn a substantial profit after a winning streak. This causes them to become greedy and remain at the table until they end up giving back what they have already won. The result is again the same – they quit the game empty-handed.
From this, it follows that discipline allows players to be rational while at the table and prevents them from making rash decisions and chasing their losses. Therefore, discipline enables players to minimise their losses and hopefully, generate a greater profit at the end of their betting session.
Distinction between Discipline and Willpower
As it seems, many gambling enthusiasts fail to make a distinction between discipline and their willpower and often refer to these two terms as they are interchangeable. Although they are intervened when gambling is concerned, they do not refer to one and the same thing.
When discipline is concerned, this term is utilised so as to describe the long-term commitment of people to do something, and in most cases, what they aspire for is an improvement.
Another important thing that is worth mentioning about discipline is that so as to maintain it, casino enthusiasts will need to come up with some kind of plan, be it a vague or strict one, and stay the course. This comes to explain why discipline is much more related to players’ long-term mindset.
This is exactly where the most obvious difference between discipline and willpower lies as the latter is all about the impetus or determination to do something.
It goes without saying that willpower has a significant influence on gamblers and the decisions they make. Most importantly, proper bankroll management does not go without willpower, which is the reason why most of the time, gambling enthusiasts who are not that wilful have a hard time handling their budgets properly.
It is an often occurrence that such roulette players end up risking too much of their funds on their stakes, which ultimately results in a depleted bankroll. As is often the case, such gamblers are also inclined to bet on roulette using funds that were meant for other purposes.
Unsurprisingly, such roulette fans get the urge to lay long-shot stakes, which is the case with bets laid on individual numbers that incur high risk. The results such an approach produces are rarely positive for the simple reason that oftentimes, roulette fans end up with no more funds to continue with their betting session. By contrast with them, roulette lovers who are rather strong-willed are prone to make wiser decisions in terms of the wagers they will place and often opt for such that give them a much stronger chance of scoring a win.
Another thing headstrong roulette players and gambling enthusiasts, in general, are identified for is that they will take their time so as to add to their knowledge on the game in order to enhance their chances of getting the wins they are after. Occasionally, this is not the case with players who are not that wilful as they will save themselves the hassle of reading up on the rules of the game or on the ways in which they can improve their results.
All these come to explain why discipline occupies a higher position than willpower.
Discipline and Money Management
Discipline and proper money management go hand in hand not only when roulette is concerned, but when it comes to gambling in general. Gamblers are expected to decide on the size of their bankroll and determine a base betting unit prior to joining the roulette table. It is up to players to decide how big their bankroll will be. Yet, it is recommended to set aside a specific sum of money you are comfortable with spending per month. This sum is then divided by the number of betting sessions per month. So, if you are comfortable with spending £400 on playing roulette each month and are planning four betting sessions, your bankroll for each will be £100.
It is of crucial importance to keep the funds you have allocated for playing roulette separate from the money you use for bills, rent, food, and so on. What makes disciplined roulette players recognisable is that they never attempt to play above the allowances of their allocated bankroll.
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Deciding what your base betting unit will be is also crucial. It depends on the size of your overall bankroll. Experienced roulette players recommend that the size of the betting unit should range between 2% and 5% of the overall sum you have set aside for the betting session. A disciplined player will stick to their initial base betting unit and will never raise their stakes in foolish attempts to recoup the losses they have sustained on a bad run.
In order to stretch their bankroll over a longer period of time, roulette fans need to make sure that the distance between their monthly bankroll and the base bet unit they have settled on is not that large.
In addition to this, some experienced players prefer to take advantage of one of the roulette betting systems available out there. If you are keen on the idea to give roulette betting systems a shot, you need to know that you will be presented with a broad range of options to select from.
Yet, keep in mind that using a whatever betting system while betting on roulette will by no means reduce the house edge or affect the outcome of the spins, but sticking to one might aid players’ money management, enable them to take advantage of winning streaks, help them reduce their losses and sometimes, even generate consistent profits. In comparison, those who lack self-control are tempted to deviate from their betting strategy because they have a “hunch” a given bet will help them win big. Unfortunately, more often than not, they are wrong.
In fact, many roulette lovers are prone to give betting systems a shot due to the fact that they are often considered a fool-proof way of winning. Yet, the bulk of the knowledgeable roulette players will attempt to talk you out of implementing a betting system while betting on roulette as they do not provide the means needed in order to overcome the edge the casino constantly has and have a zero impact on the chances of winning but can have an exceptionally detrimental effect on your bankroll.
One more thing roulette lovers can do so as to ensure that they will manage their funds properly is to make use of spreads. What this means is that gambling enthusiasts should come to a decision about the ranges within which their wagers will be or in other words, they will simply have several bet sizes to select from.
Naturally, while choosing these amounts, casino enthusiasts should be guided by the goals they have set, their bankroll, experience, and above all, their style of play.
In the event that you want to avoid risks, you should consider going for a spread that ranges between 1 and 40 betting units. Yet, if you are a more daring roulette player, you might be more comfortable with a spread of units that ranges between 10 and 400.
So as to ensure that experiencing a loss or even placing several losing stakes will not cause you to lose sleep, it will be best to go for a smaller spread of units. Still, roulette lovers should not turn a blind eye to the risk applying this approach carries.
Discipline when Winning
As was mentioned previously, discipline is required not only when you experience a bad run, but when you are on a winning streak as well. Being disciplined on lucky days will help you fully leverage your winning streaks. At the same time, it will protect you against the possibility of giving back what you have already won.
All disciplined roulette players set win goals for themselves because knowing when to stop, even when you are winning, is beyond important. Seasoned roulette players recommend that one’s win goal should be around 10% of the overall bankroll for the betting session. Thus, if you join the game with £200, you have to be prepared to leave as soon as you have accumulated a net profit of £20. That would be a realistic figure. Besides, learning to accept small returns is part of being disciplined. Once you get better acquainted with the ins and outs of the game of roulette, you should consider raising your win goal to 20%, 25% or even 30% of your starting bankroll for the session.
After you have achieved your pre-determined goal, you are expected to divide your winnings in half. Set aside half of the winnings as a guarantee and continue playing with the excess or the remaining half. By cutting the sum in half, you are guaranteed to turn a profit for this betting session. This will also prevent you from giving back everything you have won so far.
Some experienced roulette players recommend to apply the “Up and Pull” approach when you reach your win goal. This is how it works. Imagine you have won £8 with a given bet. You pull back the profit of £8 and reduce the size of your next bet to £5. You win on the next spin, so you increase your next bet to £7 and pull back a profit of £3. Then, you bet another £7 and win again. You increase your next bet to £10 and pull back a profit of £4.
Of course, this was just an example, but applying this strategy will help you improve your winning streak. You are increasing the wagers, but you always pull back some of your winnings, which will allow you to turn a profit for this betting cycle even if you lose on the next spin.
Discipline when Losing
Quitting the game when you are winning is often easier. Many players tend to lose control whenever they experience a lengthy losing streak. The consequences can be devastating as often, such players part with their entire bankrolls without generating any profits whatsoever.
That is why setting up a loss limit is equally important as determining a winning goal. In other words, once you have lost a certain amount of money, you are required to stop playing. There is the option to set smaller loss limits of 20%, 30%, or 40% of your starting bankroll for the betting session, but your losses should by no means exceed 50% of the initial sum you have joined the game with.
Also, it is advisable to end a betting session if you experience consecutive losses on the first four or five spins. More risk-averse players typically depart from the table after the first three losing spins. The toughest part of playing roulette is learning how to leave when you are losing.
Yet, it is important to quit when it hits you that things do not pan out in the way you wanted because there is no guarantee that your luck will turn if you continue playing. That is why you should leave as soon as you have reached your loss limit because this will prevent you from depleting your entire bankroll.
On that note, it is also important to mention that you should never play down to the last couple of chips you are left with. Stick to the loss limit you have set for yourself and quit the game as soon as you reach it. There is no guarantee you will enter a winning streak with your last chips, and instead, you will be more likely to end with a drained bankroll.
Are Casino Comps Worthwhile
Gambling enthusiasts who are particularly interested in betting on roulette and are on the lookout for a way to spend more time playing the game might find casino comp points the way to go. What is vital to remember is that more often than not, you will be required to spend four hours at a minimum at the casino premises so as to benefit from these perks. Of course, players are given the freedom to spend as much time as they prefer in casinos, but what they should be mindful of is that the longer their betting session is, the more likely they will become to deplete their bankroll.
This rings true, especially when roulette is concerned due to the fact that it ranks among the negative-expectation casino games. What this means is that losing in the long run is unavoidable, no matter how vast your experience is.
What players often forget is that there is no casino game that does not favour the house, and roulette is not an exception from this rule. As you might already know, the expected value of the casino games coincides with the value of the house edge, and the only difference, however, is that it is expressed using a negative sign.
In other words, with single-zero roulette variants, the expected value is -2.70%, while with variants that follow the American rules, it is -5.26%. When the La Partage or En Prison rules are put in place, the expected value of roulette becomes -1.35%.
Most of the time, roulette mavens will be offered 30% of the amount they have gambled away in the form of comp points. Still, some casino operators are a bit more generous and have introduced a refund of 50%. Yet, receiving these perks can turn out to be rather costly.
The elements that are taken into consideration while estimating the number of comp points players will receive include the number of hours players have spent at the roulette table, the casino advantage, the number of stakes made per hour, and the average amount of the stakes, among others.
What roulette fans should remember is that no matter how alluring such special deals might seem, they will not receive all money they have gambled away back. Yet, comp points can help players curtail their losses at least to some extent.
Conclusion
Forcing yourself to adhere to the above-listed rules will surely be tough at first, but if you do, you will be on your way to becoming a successful roulette player. Discipline is difficult to acquire and just as difficult to maintain. But it is precisely discipline that translates into better results at the roulette table as it optimises your money management, reduces your losses, and sometimes even helps you generate consistent profits.