Many people will try to tell you how to win at roulette. I have heard and read dozens of strategies that are “guaranteed” to pay off when you go up against the wheel. Some say forming a team of players to leverage your bets strategically to overcome the house edge works well. Other says using betting patterns will supposedly keep you ahead of the game. Even though I have read and heard of these systems, I cannot relate much of them to you, since I did not bother to listen to closely. They’re not worth listening to.
Roulette Basics
Roulette is a net loss game. Period. There are two basic types of roulette wheels, the American and the European wheels. The only real difference between them is that in Europe they play with one house number and in America with two. These house numbers create a house edge of about 2.7% for Europeans, and about 5.25% on the other side of the pond. Obviously, play on a European wheel whenever possible, since the house advantage is smaller. This house edge guarantees that eventually, no matter how “well” someone plays, the house will make a profit. This is the first rule of how to win at roulette: be prepared to lose.
Casino Psychology
Casinos are not there to make you rich; they are there to make a profit. They have to pay their electric bill, employees’ salaries, advertising and marketing, and the stockholders still hope to see a return on their investments even after all of that. As a result, casino games are structured to give you the chance of winning big, while still generating a small amount of income per play, which goes into a collective pool from many, many plays, that builds up to ultimately mean a lot of happy stockholders.
Have No Expectations
Therefore, the best advice on how to win at roulette is not to play it with an expectation to win. Someone always comes up with a strategy of how to win at roulette, and many think they are actually introducing something new. Unfortunately, it has all been tried before, and the result is that the house numbers always guarantee a profit for the house over the course of time. Therefore, play for the game’s entertainment value, with your eyes wide open and knowing you will probably not make millions at a roulette table. You play it to have a good time, with the possibility of getting lucky, and do not get overly disappointed when the odds stack up against you.
Some Strategies
With all that being said, your best strategy for how to win at roulette is to limit the variables. In addition, there are many such variables involved. 37 or 38 numbers (European or American wheels again), colors, spreads, corner bets, combination bets, even and odd, and many other possibilities combine to create a lot of variables. If you just randomly toss out chips every spin, you are adding even more variables to an already staggering list of them. So, play the same bets every spin, choose how many numbers you wish to play, pick your favorite numbers or colors, and play them consistently.
Just as the odds dictate that eventually the house will make a profit, the odds dictate that with consistent betting, your bets will eventually hit. Whether or not they hit often enough to show a noticeable profit for you is entirely up to luck.
