Roulette is a game that is believed to have been invented by a mathematician from France called Blaise Pascal. This was more by luck than judgment, as he was actually trying to create a machine for perpetual motion at the time.
What is known for sure is that the French word ‘roulette’ translates as ‘wheel’ and the roulette wheel is central to the game. It has numbered pockets around its edge that are alternately red and black, plus either one or two green pockets numbered 0 and 00.
A ball is spun in the wheel and players lay wages on what pocket or color it will land in. The rules of roulette are simple and yet exciting, which is why so many love playing at land-based venues and live casinos online like Virgin Games.
It is largely a game of chance, but there are some strategies that can help improve the odds for the player. Keep reading to learn what they are!
Effective Strategies for Roulette
The importance of strategy in roulette is a matter of debate. Some insist it is purely about luck, but certain patterns of wagering have remained very popular over the years. That suggests there is at least something in them.
1. The Martingale System
This is the best known of the various roulette strategies. As with the other methods it is focused on the part that you can control as a player – namely your wages.
The idea behind the Martingale system is that every time you lose on a roulette wager, your response is to double the size of your next wage. That makes it a counterintuitive strategy, as it means increasing your level of risk in the wake of a loss.
There is some sense underlying it though. The reasoning goes that by wagering higher sums each time you lose, you will make back all of those losses once a win finally arrives.
To work the strategy effectively, you should stick to outside, even-money wages. In roulette those wages can include wagering on all even or odd numbers, on all red or black ones, on those between 1 and 18 or those between 19 and 36.
Wages of that sort give you odds of close to 50%, but low payouts of just 1:1. That will help to balance out a high-risk strategy and should ensure a win before your bankroll runs out.
2. The D’Alembert System
Whereas the Martingale system is about doubling a losing wage each time, in the D’Alembert system, you raise it by one when you lose and lower it by one if you win. That means if your first wage is £2 and you lose, the next one will be £3.
If your wage wins, the following one should be just £1. It is lower risk than the Martingale system because the wage increases are smaller and it allows you to manage your money more easily.
3. The Fibonacci System
This final progressive strategy sees wages laid based on the Fibonacci sequence. That means the last two numbers are added together to give you the number of your next wage.
So if you wage on numbers 5 and 6 the previous two times, your next roulette wage will be on number 11. A big advantage of it is that it is low risk while still having the potential to provide some victories.
Other Tips
It is not essential to use one of those strategies when playing roulette. There are some basic tips that all players should abide by though.
Learn the Rules
Roulette is not a complicated game, but having a grasp of the rules before starting to wage is still important. There are high risk wages that can bring bigger wins and low risk ones such as outside wages.
Sticking with the latter while you are mastering the game is the most sensible move.
Play European Roulette
There are not a lot of differences between American and European roulette, but there is one very significant variance. American roulette wheels come with two green 0 pockets while European wheels only have one.
That means the odds are better for the player in European roulette so you should stick to playing that.
Know When to Stop
The last of our roulette tips is to know when to walk away from a game. That is particularly true if you are on a winning streak, because those are the hardest times to quit.
Remember that roulette is a game of chance, so no winning run lasts forever. Set a budget before starting to play and resist the temptation to wage beyond that point.
You can play roulette according to a strategy or not, but the important thing is to have fun.
