You are here: Home / Roulette Strategies at Live Casinos
Roulette Strategies at Live Casinos – Introduction
Roulette Strategies – In this article we'll attempt to cover all the possible strategies you could use on live roulette. We also explain which ones might work and which ones might not and should therefore be avoided. Some of the advice is just plain good practice. On the other hand, some of the tips might make you rethink the way you see roulette. They maybe even make you a better player.
Each of these strategies has a mathematical purpose and a mathematical benefit. Which eventually sums up into a better playing style than what you might use if you haven't read this article. The benefit is real, though it won't be evident in every single playing session due to variance.
The game of roulette is firmly divided between the automated roulette and the live dealer roulette. These strategies apply to any live dealer game, including online live casino roulette, and some can also be used on automated roulette.
Roulette Strategies – Covering the basics before you read on
Roulette is a game of chance in which the house has the edge because of the zero (or two zeros). There are no proven winning roulette strategies that can beat the game.
What does exist, on the other hand, are things that make sense and things that will prevent or delay bankruptcy. Whilst at the same time increasing your chances to win. So, while roulette can't be beaten, there are strategies that can significantly increase your chances to do well. In this article we'll cover these in this article.
Every single tip we offer on this page can be debated, used as a stand-alone strategy, or combined with others. Roulette isn't an easy game to beat so we advise reading our tips carefully – it will prevent lots of losses on roulette down the line. We will start with the most obvious no-brainer tips that produce the biggest advantage. From there we go down to advanced roulette strategies.
Quit while you're ahead after using a strategy
While no one likes to hear this lame advice, it's the single most important thing that will define your roulette session. It will actually be the single most important thing every time you play, without fail.
We all know that our profits will go up and down during our playing session. We'll either get lucky with the numbers or we won't. So prepare as there are bound to be some positive and negative streaks. Sometimes we'll think we own the game, while at other times we'll feel as if we can't even hit red/black no matter how hard we try.
In every playing session there will be one high point (when our profits are the highest they'll ever be), and if we could in any way identify that moment, and walk away, we'd be winning on roulette every time.
Sadly, we can't possibly identify that moment! But it would be wise to understand that when you're on a high point and have had luck for a while. It might make sense to quit as our luck will inevitably change. Resulting in the losing streak hitting sooner or later. It makes sense to consider walking away while you're still ahead. why would you wait for the losing streak to kick in and deplete your winnings? Things to consider when playing roulette at live casinos.
Play European or French roulette when using Roulette strategies
French Roulette Wheel
Yet another advice which isn't sexy at all, but the fact is, it's imperative for a player to search for a roulette table with as low house edge as it can be. Simply too many players ignore this and just play at any table they see.
American roulette, with two zeros, has house edge of 5.40% and that's just too much. There's virtually no chance to win on a wheel that has two zeros going against you.
A wise player will never play double zero roulette. Be warned, in the USA it's difficult to find one with single zero, but it's worth searching for.
Single zero roulette, also known as European roulette, has house edge of 2.70%, half of American roulette. It gets even better if you find a table with La Partage or En Prison rules, as either of these will reduce the house edge to only 1.35%.
La Partage at Roulette
When you make an even-money bet (red/black, high/low, odd/even) and the ball lands on zero, under the La Partage rule you will only lose half of your bet, not all of it. Bear in mind this only works on even-money bets. If you pick a number and zero comes up you will lose your entire bet.
En Prison is a similar rule that also works for even-money bets only. In fact it works a bit differently than La Partage but the impact on the house edge is the same – tables with En Prison have 1.35% house edge. When you lose a bet, the stake is imprisoned for another spin. However, if you win on that spin you get your original stake back. If you lose you lose the original stake as well.
Choosing the right table will have probably the most profound impact on your playing session. This is likely the most important thing to consider. Play French roulette if you have access to it.
NATIONAL LIVE ROULETTE
PLAY NOW - CLICK HERE!US PLAYERS ACCEPTED
Playing with a strategy? Have a budget and stick with it!
It seems like these tips are no fun at all and are just putting various boundaries on your game. But that's absolutely necessary if you want to achieve our double goal; prevent or delay bankruptcy while at the same time increasing the chances of winning money.
The budget is here to serve as a fail-safe that will protect you if everything else goes wrong. Even if you hit a long losing streak or if you go bankrupt on the day. At least it will not be a life-threatening loss. If you set your budget and stick to it, you can only lose the budget, not the house, wife and kids.
Gambling is only good when people are using their disposable income in an attempt to win some more money. It's really bad when people are using the money that they need for other things such as rent and utility bills. Roulette is a particularly bad choice for having an intent to win money, as it's a pure game of chance. With roulette your desire to win doesn't make the slightest difference. Roulette should only be played within reasonable boundaries.
Play when you feel good
Haven't we all been there? You hit an annoying losing streak and lose your faith in the game and your chances to win anything, but you keep playing for hours. That's torture!
Roulette is meant to be played for fun, with hope of winning money, but it should never pull you in so much that you're sleep-deprived and irritated but are still playing. Every single roulette playing session will end up at this point if you let it to.
The trick is to take breaks, and to understand that you don't need to have continuum on the same table. You can walk away – the odds of hitting that bet on black are identical on this table and on the next one 10 minutes from now. Clearing your head is always a good choice, especially as roulette can lure you in and have you playing for hours.
Don't examine streaks
This is just a continuation of the above tip. Some people choose to play at one table only and then they attempt to master its streaks to make a profit. They see a long streak of odd numbers and then they start thinking that an even number must be due.
That doesn't work, for the simple reason that all spins of the wheel are absolutely independent of one another, and streaks as such don't exist. Even if we are writing down the outcomes of previous spins. You could compare this to blackjack but if the deck was shuffled before every deal, rendering the previous deal not part of the same streak as everything's reset. In roulette everything is reset with every spin.
Besides, who can possibly say what the best bet would be? Some players choose to bet that the streak will be broken – which represents the majority of players – while the others choose to bet on the continuation of the streak. Both are equally right and equally wrong as streaks don't exist, and both have a roughly 50-50 chance to win their even-money bet.
Don't play outside bets strategies only
Now we're getting to the actual strategies of playing the game of roulette and doing your best with the bets that are offered to you.
The reason why outside bets (red/black, odd/even, low/high, dozen bet, column bet) are so popular is that they have the highest chance of winning. But don't forget they have payouts of 1:1 or 2:1. Most people even consider the 3:1 bets too risky and they stick to the even-money bets only.
This makes sense if and only if you're playing French roulette with La Partage or En Prison rules as you'll benefit from those rules when you're placing even-money bets.
In all other cases, it makes no sense to stick with these low-value bets that will never have you win a significant amount of money. If you're using a betting strategy you will inevitably be drowning deeper and deeper because of the house edge and because of how roulette works with streaks and all.
Almost all betting strategies revolve around even-money bets and attempt to exploit roulette here, but the game is more profitable and more fun when other options are explored.
Play inside bets (like James Bond) too at the table
Roulette has a chance to give you a 35:1 payout and therefore make you a lot of money. Yet everyone seems to ignore this and they stubbornly play the even-money bets. Fact is, if you place a bet of 100 on a roulette number, you can win 3600.
Since most people don't like these odds too much, there are ways to increase the odds while settling for a smaller payout. If you place a split bet, which covers two numbers at the same time, the payout will be 17:1. Corner bet is placed on four numbers at the same time and the payout is 8:1.
A player can place multiple inside bets, even covering most of the wheel, and this is precisely what the popular James Bond Roulette Strategy is. You cover more than half of the table with your bets and thereby you're attempting to increase the chances to win over 50%, which is supposed to give you an edge.
Of course it doesn't, because nothing can give you an edge over the house. However it's still a fun strategy that works more often than not because your chances are over 50%. Don't forget it's moving you away from even-money bets and that's always a good thing.
Play racetrack bets when possible
Not all roulette tables offer racetrack bets, but it would make sense to find one that does, as these are probably the fairest bets of all, and also offer good odds and good payouts.
The racetrack at Roulette
The general idea with racetrack bets is that, as opposed to betting on specific numbers, you will choose to cover an entire section of the wheel. And now the job is seemingly easier, as you don't have to hit the exact number. You only have to guess on which section of the wheel will the ball land.
Racetrack bets explained
Voisins du Zero is a bet on 17 numbers that are close to the zero, including zero itself. This bet actually only covers 45.95% of the wheel. Regardless it is incredibly popular as players feel it's easier to win this bet than the standard even-money bet. The payout is slightly improved too. You stand to win 36 units for a 17 unit investment, which is a payout of 1.12:1, and not 1:1 as is the case with even-money bets.
Tiers du Cylindre is the name for a bet that involves a third of the wheel; 12 numbers opposite to zero. Placing bets manually would split bets over two numbers and there are six such pairs. Total bet would be 6 units, and in case of a win, we'd have 18 units.
Orphelins is a bet that covers eight numbers that are “orphans” on the roulette wheel. These numbers don't belong to either Voisins du Zero or to Tiers du Cylindre. There are five numbers on one side and three numbers on the other side. This bet covers 21.62% of the wheel and has payout of 3.5:1. Some people use Orphelins to supplement one of the two major racetrack bets, Voisins du Zero or Tiers du Cylindre, in an effort to cover a larger portion of the wheel.
Jeu Zero is a bet that only covers the zero and the six adjacent numbers to it, four on the left and two on the right. This strategy is mostly used as an attempt to mitigate the bad influence of the zero. Rarely do people play Jeu Zero alone, it is mostly added to some other bet.
Racetrack bets, inside bets and outside bets can combine nicely to cover the desired portion of the wheel. They also give more fun than with a simple even-money bet on red or black that will only give rise to frustration.
Only play at trustworthy live casinos
Your winnings are no good if you've played at a live casino that will cause problems when it's time to pay out. Check out the online casino reviews and take them seriously. Try to find clues if the live casino you're about to visit is trustworthy or not. Most are, but it's still good practice to check before you begin playing.
Don't forget, some land-based casinos can't be trusted as much as online live casinos. There's always a chance the wheel is imperfect, even rigged, which is the greatest fear of all roulette players. For all practical purposes, online casinos are safer than land-based ones, and if you want to enjoy live roulette it's better to do so online.
Use the bonuses if they're available
Most live casinos online won't let you use the deposit bonus to play roulette. Even when they do they'll make the rollover contribution so small – 10% or so – that the expected value of your deposit bonus plummets into negative. Still, if you can find a good live casino deposit bonus that can also be used on roulette, or live roulette only, the offer could be worth claiming.
An alternative approach is to choose an live dealer casino that has a good loyalty program. You can use this to your advantages by playing roulette and can get access to various prizes. That way, you can get a cash bonus or some other perks simply by being a regular player.
Don't use the Martingale system
The Martingale system for Roulette is a recipe for disaster. Consider this: you are playing on even-money bets such as red/black and you always stand to win only 1 unit while you have to progressively pay more and more in an attempt to win that one unit.
The strategy of doubling your bet size every time you lose sounds foolproof. Unfortunately it isn't. A long losing streak will creep in sooner or later and lead you towards the inability to place another bet. Simply because you don't have enough money. With a starting bet of 1 unit it takes a losing streak of only 12 spins, not unheard of in roulette. But you'll find yourself in position to bet 2048 units in an attempt to win 1 unit. If you lose, which is a more or less 50-50 chance, you'll have to bet 4096 units.
Replace Martingale with the Fibonacci system
Another popular system among roulette strategies is the Fibonacci system. This system makes use of the supposedly magical sequence of numbers that explain the world and are therefore supposed to work in roulette though no one knows why.
Fibonacci sequence is important and has its place in science. However as a roulette strategy it's no better nor worse than some arbitrary sequence of numbers. Basically that would be similar to Fibonacci values. In essence, Fibonacci system is Martingale, but not as radical. You increase your bet more slowly and it will therefore take longer to recoup your losses but you won't be heading towards bankruptcy as quickly as you will in Martingale. After 12 losses, your bet will be 144 units, not 2048.
If you really have to have a progressive betting system, Fibonacci is a better choice than Martingale. And, of course, try to play this system on a French roulette table as you'll get a lower house edge.
Consider the Paroli system
Paroli, or Reverse Martingale, is a system in which you're trying to win more money using casino's money. Every time you win, you double your bet.
First you play the lowest possible stake until you win. When you do so, you double the bet in an attempt to win more. You continue doing this and continue winning until you get a significant amount, at least that's the theory. When you lose, the sequence is reset and you start with the lowest stake again.
This is one of the fun roulette strategies that can bring you a lot of money in precisely the same way Martingale can leave you homeless. With Martingale, consecutive losing spins lead you to huge losses. Yet with the Paroli system consecutive winning spins might lead you to huge wins.
Paroli versus Martingale
Consecutive wins with the Martingale system will just bring you a series of 1 unit wins. While a series of Paroli system wins can make you rich. After 12 losing spins Martingale asks you to bet 2048 units, while after 12 winning spins with Paroli system you'll be winning those 2048 units.
The trick is knowing when to stop, as if you don't stop you will inevitably break the sequence of wins sooner or later. It's probably the best to stop after 4, 5 or 6 wins. Though some people don't bet the entire winnings but they take, say, 16 units out of 32 they won and only wager the remaining 16.
After 8 or 9 wins you will probably reach the table limit. The chance of this happening is 0.40% and 0.20% respectively. So, every 500 spins you can expect to reach a sequence of 9 wins. That can be your goal. On the other hand you can play an aggressive game in which you're trying to reach 12+ consecutive wins. In this case you'll also want to take a look at table limits before you start playing.
Don't chase losses
The problem with betting strategies of all kind is that they are enablers of the behavior known as chasing losses. Everyone has already heard you should never ever chase losses, or be in that state of mind. Yet the progressive betting strategies seem to include chasing losses and they tell you it's okay. It's not and it shouldn't ever be done.
But there is an exception. When it's for pure fun it's really bad to look at the game of roulette as a streak of events. It is not a streak, though these would have a mathematical role if we'd be looking at an extraordinarily large sequence of spins. Every single spin is independent of any that preceded it or any that will follow it.
Chasing losses makes everything worse! As the desire to win back the money won't get you one step closer to actually winning it back, though one thing it will do is cloud your judgement and prevent you from making a mathematically correct decision. Chasing losses usually results with one last all-or-nothing bet of huge value.
Have fun
The purpose of winning money on roulette may be left unfulfilled, as that's how roulette plays. Nevertheless in either case it makes sense to make your playing session a fun one. Fun doesn't have to mean you're there to lose money. Using different betting strategies and covering different portions of the wheel is fun enough as the goal is always to win. Let the journey be an exciting one.
Roulette Strategies, what to conclude
Concluding, this is how roulette strategies could be used in order to maximize the chance to win a decent amount. At the same time they reduce the chance of going bankrupt and to eliminate the chance of the loss affecting your life in a negative way.
Choose a budget for your roulette session and don't go overboard – once it's over, it's over. Use roulette strategies with an open mind and have fun. Try not to stick with even-money bets only. Do explore inside bets and racetrack bets. If you want to use a betting strategy, those that increase bets when you win are a better choice than those that dig a deeper hole for you every time you lose. Play online, try to give your game an added benefit by joining a loyalty program or by claiming a deposit bonus. Play French roulette if you can. And, finally, walk away when you're in profit!
LIVE ROULETTE CASINO TOP 4
