How to Win at Roulette
Whether you are a novice or a grizzled expert, each type of player wants the same thing: to win. However, casinos wouldn’t still be in business if they made that easy for you. As any expert will tell you, when are on a winning streak, the feeling is powerful and obliterates the memory and financial damage of past failures. In the back of their minds, players know that there must be a way or a system they can use to claim back the edge the house have over them. While no one agrees on the best way to do this, there are several guidelines that people who play roulette for a regular profit follow. So, read on and discover how you can also win at roulette.
Be Prepared Before You Play
Reading this guide is a good start, the more you know about the game the better. Always do your research, and get your advice from multiple websites so that you know the information you are getting isn’t wrong or biased. Experienced players and experts can skip this step if desired, however if you are an absolute beginner, do the following before moving onto the next step:
- Learn how to play roulette, if you don’t know already.
- Read message boards about roulette and strike up a conversation or post a thread asking for advice on the game and the best places to play it.
- Research the different variations of roulette, and decide what the best version to play is.
- Learn about the different types of bets.
If you’re going to be a winner, you need to get serious. Taking your education into your own hands is an important first step.
European vs. American
If you have completed the first step you already know the victor of the battle in the subtitle. The European board is vastly superior to the American board thanks to its decreased house odds – 2.63% vs. 5.26%. If you want to win at roulette you need to choose European roulette wherever possible to increase your chances of beating the house!
Decide Where You Want to Play
Find a casino that allows you to play the European version of roulette. If you can’t find any brick and mortar casinos to accommodate this need, then there are plenty of online casinos that will give you the better edge. Alongside this, online casinos often reward players with generous welcome bonuses simply for registering with them. Once you have made your first deposit, a percentage (usually 200%) of that deposit will also be awarded to your account. This doesn’t happen in brick and mortar casinos, unless you are prepared to lay down a huge amount of cash. The benefit of all these welcome bonuses is that you have far more chances to win.
Choose Wisely and Stay Safe
If you do choose an online casino, make sure that you choose one that is trustworthy and reputable. You cannot win on a fraudulent site. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell which casinos are dishonest and which are reputable. Stay on the safe side and use sites recommended by trusted third parties, friends or other roulette users you trust. Check out our list of sites that our players love to use and that you can trust. Only use sites that use a random number generator (RNG) as these ensure fairness and don’t impinge on your ability to win.
You should also get into the habit of practicing online safety. Remember that these are your bank details you are giving out – another reason to be extra careful when choosing which casino to use. If you are sure you are using a trustworthy site, then be aware when you are transferring cash that you should do so in a secure, password protected Wi-Fi zone: preferably on your own home network. This will keep your bank details safe from outside force, and is essential for protecting your winnings when they come.
Practice Makes Perfect
It’s not enough to just read about roulette, you need to go and get some experience with it. Play one of the free play games we have listed and get used to the controls, the bets and the over all lay out of the game. Master the basics before moving onto the advanced section coming up.
Learn About Strategies
Strategies can increase your odds of winning significantly. Martingale is the most common strategy used, because it’s so simple to master. Make an outside bet and stick with it. However, each time you use double the amount of the previous bet. Eventually you will win, resulting in a huge profit. The downside is, you may go bust or hit the table limit before you win – so be careful.
- Consult a comprehensive strategy guide and practise the methods you learn there on the free play to see them in action.
Once you feel confident with this step, it’s time to make the final preparation before entering a casino.
Set Yourself a Bankroll Limit
This step is more geared towards damage limitation, rather than winning. It’s an essential step any expert makes before entering the casino. The chances are, some days you are going to lose it all. You need to decide how much is an acceptable amount to lose. Perhaps, think of how much you would usually spend on alcohol and taxi on a night out and limit it to that. Or how much you would usually spend on a nice dinner for you and your SO (though make sure that you still have enough left to do this once in a while!). Either way, make it an amount that you consider disposable, take it from part of your budget that goes towards entertainment. The best part is… you may still have enough at the end of the night to go on that dinner date as well! Bonus.
Moving On Up
Now it’s time to take it to the next level. If you are going to a brick and mortar casino approach the board and study the wheel it for a few spins to detect any biases. Play close attention to the croupier. He may be accustomed to spinning the wheel a certain way, and despite his best efforts may have a slight predisposition towards falling across a certain spread. It’s also good to observe the board to give yourself a sense of familiarity and confidence that will keep you relaxed and clear headed while playing.
Avoid Alcohol and Stimulants
See that sloppy guy over there, bow tie askew and a champagne flute in his hand? Yeah, he looks like he’s having a great time now, but watch his expression change when he checks his bank account tomorrow. There are two types of gamblers – people who go to have a good time and blow some disposable cash, and people who take it more seriously and play to win, even to make a career out of it. If you want to win, you should avoid alcohol and stimulants, as these will cause you to lose your good judgement. A lot of casinos offer free alcohol to players to keep them spending money carelessly. Roulette is just as fun, if not more, when you are sober! If you can’t avoid the temptation of free alcohol, then maybe it’s better to place your bets from the safety of your own home by trying your luck with the online casinos.
Place Your Bets!
Hopefully you learned about the different types of bets earlier on in this section. Now we are going to learn about what bets to place in order to be more successful. “Inside bets”, placing your bets on numbers within the board, are generally higher risk, but offer a higher payout. By placing only outside bets, you are more likely to win, though the payout is much lower. If you want to win at roulette, then, the best way is to wager on the “outside”. Place relatively low wagers on “all red” or “even”, or a combination of both, and you will soon see your profits begin to stack up.
Playing with Profits
When you begin to win, the temptation is to place it all back in on the next bet. However, can you see why this is foolish? If you lose, you will be back to square one. Keep the bets low and put away 50-75% of your profits when you make them. This will help you walk away from the game with your head held high and money still in your pockets!
Walk Away
It’s all too easy to get carried away with your big winning streak, but if you want to stay a winner, you need to walk away. It will feel wrong, but trust me, you’ll never regret having money in your pockets, but you might regret that “one last spin”. The wheel will still be there tomorrow!