Roulette Basic Strategy

Roulette is a casino game based purely on chance. The only two variables in roulette are the ball and the wheel, and no strategy can affect either one of these. Rather, roulette strategy focuses on reducing the house edge as much as possible to give yourself the best chance of winning.

Since you can never beat the casino or overcome the roulette odds, the game can never truly be beat. The ball and wheel are uncontrollable elements of the game, and any roulette strategy guarantying a win is simply a hoax. Stay away from these false strategies and stick with finding the best roulette games, placing the right bets, and taking advantage of any beneficial rules offered by the casino.

Play European Roulette

Roulette comes in two varieties: European and American (also knows as Single Zero and Double Zero). The two games are identical except for an additional slot on the American roulette wheel. Both wheels have 36 numbered black or red slots plus one green "0" slot, but the American wheel also has a green "00" slot.

Even-money bets are lost each time the ball lands on a green slot. The extra slot has a large impact on the game odds and actually doubles the house advantage. European roulette carries a house edge of only 2.7% while American roulette wheels give the house an advantage of 5.26%. Stick with European roulette; it is best to avoid the American version of the game whenever possible.

Place the Right Bets

There are plenty of bets in roulette and your odds of winning are dependent on choosing the right ones. Even-money bets, or those that pay out 1:1, offer the best odds of winning. Even-money bets include even/odd, high/low and red/black. We recommend these bets over any others. Players can also get relatively good odds with either column bets or dozen bets, in which players bet one third of the numbers.

Roulette is a unique casino game in that most of the bets carry the same house edge. As your odds of winning decrease, the payout increases proportionately. The one exception is the Top Line bet, which has a 7.9% house edge. This is the worst bet in roulette and is a five number bet that includes 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3. It goes without saying that players should avoid Top Line bets, which should be easy if you have been following the correct roulette strategy since this bet is only available in American roulette.

Use En Prison and La Partage

The en prison rule in roulette is available at some casinos and online gambling sites, but not all. This rule applies when placing an even-money bet (even/odd, high/low, or red/black) and the ball lands on zero. The casino will either return half of your bet immediately or allow you to leave the bet for another roulette spin (the bet is then said to be "in prison"). If the bet is left, and the following spin lands zero again, the entire bet is lost.

The la partage rule is similar to the en prison rule, except roulette players do not have the option of leaving their bet. If the spin lands zero on an even-money bet, the player takes back half of the bet. Both the la partage roulette rule and the en prison rule but the house advantage in half and should be used whenever they are available. Casinos and gambling sites may use either rule, or neither rule, depending on their roulette rules.

Avoid Betting Systems

Betting systems are used in many forms of gambling, but roulette is especially notorious for these. Common systems include the Martingale System, the Fibonacci System and the Paroli System, just to name a few. These roulette betting systems consist of betting sequences that supposedly cancel out your losses and ensure a profit in the long run.

Betting strategies simply do not work - why would they? The way you bet is independent of the game itself and has no influence on the outcome of the roulette spin. The odds are always stacked against you and the casino always has an advantage. Your best bet is to follow the advice in this article to help minimize that advantage as much as possible.

Avoid "hot" and "cold" numbers, as well. Every roulette spin is an independent action and the outcome of one spin is not influenced by the results of previous spins. The chance of the ball landing on red is the same whether the previous spins were all red, all black, or a combination of the two.

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