Roulette Basics and Strategy

Online Roulette is one of the flashiest casino games that online gambling sites have to offer. Developed in 18th century France, Roulette has made its way to various media, including many popular gambling themed movies. Online gambling sites have taken the popular and successful casino game Roulette and allowed you to conveniently play from the comfort of home with Online Roulette.

It is not surprising that Online Roulette has become an extremely popular online casino gambling game. Although Internet Roulette is strictly mathematical, and does not allow the gambler to use strategy to increase the odds of winning, it offers very lucrative payouts. The simplicity combines with high payouts that appeal to many gamblers.

With simple rules and large payouts, Roulette is a very alluring internet gambling game. As for the betting, Roulette can allow a player to easily turn a $100 bet into $3,500 in one turn!

Roulette Rules

The rules of Roulette are easy. The game consists of a large wheel that is divided into 37 pockets, numbered 1-36 and colored red and black with a green space reserved for 0. Some roulette wheels contain an additional space reserved for 00.

Players may place a bet on a number, a group of numbers, or a color. The winning number and color is determined by the following: the roulette wheel is spun in one direction, and a ball is spun in the opposite direction. Eventually, the wheel comes to a rest and the ball lands in one of the colored and numbered pockets. At this point the winners are paid.

The risk of the roulette bet determines the amount of the payout; the riskier the bet, the higher the payout. For example, a bet on a color (red or black) will pay out 1 to 1, while a bet on a particular number will pay out 35 to 1.

Roulette Betting

Roulette is strictly mathematical and is a simple game of luck; no skill or strategy can influence the outcome. Roulette wheels are accompanied by a felt roulette layout table. Roulette players indicate their bet by placing chips on designated spots on this table.

The casino's advantage lies in the green 0 space. Payouts are made as if there were only 36 pockets on the roulette wheel, instead of the actual 37 it contains. For example, if an online roulette player bet on black, the payout would be 1 to 1. This would offer no advantage for either the player or the house if there was a 50% chance the ball landed on black. However, the green pocket makes this percentage slightly less than 50%.

Below is a chart that illustrates the payouts and the odds of all the possible roulette bets.

The information above is based on the European roulette wheels, which contain the 0 space. On the other hand, American casino roulette wheels contain this 0 space and an additional 00 space. This addition of a 00 space decreases the roulette player's odds of winning, and is not as favorable as the European models. If possible, stick to the European style roulette tables.

Online Roulette Strategy: Fact or Fiction?

Since the 1700s with the appearance of the first roulette wheel, players have attempted to "beat the game." Such strategy includes all kinds of betting systems that supposedly give players a gambling edge in the game.

Are the success stories of such roulette gambling strategies fact or fiction? The answer is simple-fiction. There is no mathematical strategy that can possibly influence the outcome of roulette, either in the casino or online roulette. Each spin occurs separately, and no spin influences another in any way. The odds of landing in any particular pocket are the exact same for each pocket and during each spin.

The important fact to remember about roulette, on the internet or in a casino, is that the 0 and 00 pockets on the roulette wheel present an unbeatable house advantage. Whether you are gambling with Online Roulette or roulette in the casino, there is no betting system that will ever overcome this advantage; it is mathematically impossible.

Existing Strategies

These are just a few of the many fictitious gambling strategies that exist in roulette. Remember, if players truly had a method to beat the casino, the casinos would lose money and be out of business. Casinos rely on odds, and these odds lie in their favor. Always remember that roulette, online or in the casino, should be merely a form of entertainment, and nothing more. Casino gambling can be an exhilarating entertainment that the gambler pays to experience. Your best bet is to stick with the best roulette sites and avoid these false strategies.

Martingale Betting Strategy

One of the more popular betting strategies is the Martingale betting strategy. This strategy involves the gambler doubling his bet after each loss. The idea behind this system is that a win would reclaim all of the gambler's losses, plus a profit equal to the original bet.

Despite its theoretical appeal, this system is inherently flawed. Although a win would indeed profit the gambler, your chances of winning remain the same as you play - they do not improve with time. Therefore, a player might experience variance as he gambles and benefit in the short run, but the house still keeps the same advantage with each spin. In the long run, a gambler will ultimately lose, and continually increasing your bet will result in a large financial loss.

Fibonacci Betting Strategy

Another system that uses a bet-altering gambling strategy is the Fibonacci betting strategy, which calculates bets using a system known as the Fibonacci sequence. This betting system shares similar flaws in Online Roulette.

Hot Numbers and Cold Numbers

A simpler, often used system consists of hot and cold numbers. This is a very basic roulette betting method. Players bet on numbers that have hit several times, exceeding the expected odds, which are also said to be "hot." Similarly, players may bet on numbers that have hit less than statistically expected, or are "cold," and thus are thought to be due to hit.

This so-called strategy, like all of the others, does not increase your odds of winning in roulette. Numbers cannot become "hot" or "cold." If a number has hit more or less often than expected, it is simply by chance and does not make that number any more or less likely to hit in the future. Each spin in roulette is equally as random as the one before it, and no one spin affects another. In addition, casinos monitor their roulette wheels and regularly adjust them to ensure they are as random as possible.

Additional Casino Games

If you like Roulette, check out some of our other online casino games. Click any of the games below to get a full description of rules and strategy.