Roulette is one of the most popular games at both land-based and online casinos. The “little wheel” that has been a favorite of royalty and high society at French Riviera casinos for hundreds of years is now accessible to everyone at any time and from any location. Roulette is known as a game of luck but savvy betting strategies can help you significantly boost your winnings.
If you’re willing to invest some time and effort to boost your roulette performance, read on for the Sloto Cash review of How to Win at Roulette .
Roulette
A French inventor, mathematician and physicist, Blaise Pascal, is credited with having invented the roulette wheel. Pascal wasn’t looking to create a game – he had simply wanted to invent a perpetual motion machine but it turned out that his machine was more suited to a betting game than to anything else and he moved forward with refining it to meet the needs of gamblers at Europe’s first casino – the Ridotto of Venice.
The roulette wheel continued to function as Pascal had designed it until 1842 when, at the request of King Charles III of Monaco, Lois and Francois Blanc added a zero that secured the house edge for the table owner or the casino. When roulette migrated to the Americas, a second zero pocket was added and that was the one that has became known as the “American roulette wheel” while the one-zero-pocket wheel was referred to as the “European roulette wheel”. The European roulette wheel has 37 pockets including its zero pocket and the American roulette wheel has 38 pockets including one zero pocket and one double-zero pocket.
Anti-gambling activists have referred to roulette as the “Devil’s Game” due to its addictive nature and the fact that the numbers on the roulette wheel add up to the infamous 666. Few land-based casinos offer the single-zero gaming option but online casinos generally give online gamers the choice of playing European roulette or American roulette.
Learning About Roulette
Players should recognize that mathematically, there’s a house edge for both European and American roulette. Knowledgeable players will choose European roulette every time to even the odds out a bit. Other than that, the rules and basic strategies of both American and European roulette are basically the same – the only difference is that the extra zero in American roulette makes it easier for the house to dominate.
Whichever type of roulette you play, you should remember that, if you’re OK with leaving the results to lady luck, you can just make your bet and spin the wheel. If, however, you want to maximize your chances of succeeding, you need to focus on the rules and basic strategies including learning about the differences between “inside” and “outside” bets, the importance of spreading bets out on the table and placing bets on different numbers, remembering where each number appears on the wheel and when to place a high bet and when to leave the bet low.
Roulette basic strategy also includes finding an advantage, knowing your limits, using your wagers wisely, and understanding the odds. It’s also helpful to learn about various betting techniques because, even though they’re not advised, you may find yourself being pulled into one of these seemingly-sound betting strategies – though if you know what to watch out for, you’re less likely to be tricked.
Roulette Basics
The roulette table layout is comprised of numbers and bets. There is an oval-shaped betting area in the center of the table and that’s where bettors place their wagers. When you look at this layout you’ll see:
- the outside line where outside bets are placed on any number
- the inside lines where inside bets are placed. The bet covers multiple spaces and is placed between 2 separate 18s
- the corners where corner bets are placed
- splits which cover 2 numbers in the same area in which the first half covers 18-19 and the second covers 19-20 – a combination of inside and outside bets
- lines consisting of six adjacent numbers where you place six-line bets (line bets) – similar to corner bets but they cover more space on the table layout and deliver higher payouts
- 12 different single spaces for dozens bets
Player Skill
Up to this point there’s no real skill involved in the game – everyone tosses the dice into a spinning wheel and waits to see where the ball will land for a determination of the payout. The skill is in understanding the betting table layout and knowing when and how to place bets to maximize possibilities for wins.
Seasoned roulette players follow a few simple rules to gain an advantage in this game of chance. Some roulette pros’ tips include the advice to:
- On scale, focus on inside bets because those are the ones that deliver the highest payouts. If you’re going to bet on the outside lines, do so with smaller bets so you’ll lose less money over time.
- When the house number is chosen bet on high odds because you’ll lose less money on losing wagers
- Keep your bets low until you are comfortable moving on to bigger risks
- Keep the odds of the various bets in mind when you’re betting. Single number bets, red/black, and even/odd wagers have the lowest odds (lowest chances of winning) but deliver the highest payouts. Odds/even, red/black, and high/low have the highest chances of winning but payout at the lowest rate. Determine your tolerance for risk-taking before you decide how to place your bet.
- Stay away from strategies like the Martingale system, the D’Alembert system, and the Fibonacci system. When it comes down to it, these systems have you chasing losses with further bets based on nothing but hope for good luck. There’s nothing strategic about it.
