Best Way to Play and Win in Roulette – Top Tips for You
7 minutes
Last Updated: October 11, 2022
Roulette is one of the most popular casino games. Its dynamic gameplay, combined with the social experience, gives players an adrenaline rush that is one of a kind.
But while roulette might be exciting, it is also one of the many casino games in which the house has an edge, making it almost impossible to beat over the long run.
However, this does not mean that there isn’t the best way to play roulette which will put you in a position to achieve higher odds than most players. Below we break down the top tips on how to play roulette and win.
Important Things to Note About Roulette
While roulette is a fun game that can bring a lot of excitement, there are also some things that you need to be aware of before you start risking your hard-earned money.
First, roulette is a game based purely on luck in which the house has an edge. While there are strategies that you can implement to lower this edge as much as possible, it is impossible to reduce it to zero.
Secondly, no roulette strategy can guarantee you profit over the long run.
The only thing that these roulette tips can help you with is to put you in the best possible position to win – this in practice means helping you avoid some of the most common mistakes players make.
Thirdly, you should not look at roulette as a way of making money, because it is impossible to do. Instead, look at these tips as a way in which you can get as much entertainment as possible for as little money as possible.
How to Prepare the Best Way to Play Roulette (and Win)
Even before you start playing roulette, there are a few things that you can do to prepare yourself for the journey:
- Learning about the different types of roulette that are available
- Playing demo versions of the game
Different Types of Roulette
The main reason why you should get familiar with different types of roulette is because of the odds they have.
Most online casinos offer one or more versions of roulette with the three most popular versions being:
- American roulette
- European roulette
- French roulette
The American version of the game has 38 pockets, including pockets 1 to 36, a zero, and a double zero.
It is the lowest paying of the three with an RTP of 94.76%. If you have the opportunity to choose, you should avoid playing this version.
The European roulette version features 37 pockets, including a single zero, and has an RTP of 97.30%, which makes it a much better choice than the American roulette.
Finally, the French version of the game is the rarest. The wheel on this version has 37 pocket including a single zero.
Based on the number of divisions, the French roulette would have the same RTP as the European version if not for the La Partage or “in prison” rule.
If the ball lands on zero, this rule allows players to stay “in prison” for another spin after which their bet will be settled. Thanks to this rule, the RTP for the French version of roulette is 98.65%.
As you can see, you are best off playing the French version, while the worst version of roulette from the aspect of return is the American roulette.
Practicing on Demo Versions of Roulette
The best way to get familiar with any game or activity in life is to experience it for yourself, and playing roulette is no different.
Thanks to the expansions of online casinos, players nowadays have the luxury to experience different casino games without the financial risk, and you should take full advantage of this.
Practicing roulette on demo versions can help you get first-hand experience with the different features the game offers as well as give you insights into the game dynamics.
This way of preparing yourself will make your transition to real money roulette games much easier.
Tips on How to Beat Roulette
In this section, we will be talking about some of the approaches that will make you a smarter roulette player, such as:
- Manage your expectations
- Understand the odds
- Avoid progressive staking
- Nothing is ever due to hit on a roulette wheel
Manage Your Expectations When Playing Roulette
One of the best tips anyone can give you when it comes to the best way to play roulette is to be realistic with your expectations.
A lot of casino players make a mistake thinking that they can make money in the long run by playing roulette, but unless you get extremely lucky this is not realistic.
You see, casinos offer two main types of games, games of skill and games of luck, and roulette is a game of luck.
This means that as a player you have no control over the outcome of the game.
Because of this, there is no such thing as a professional roulette player, or in other words, there is no such thing as a player that makes a living playing roulette.
If you want to make a living playing casino games, then you should focus on skill games such as poker.
Understand the Roulette Odds
Another important thing to understand if you are looking to spend some money playing roulette is that it is not a 50:50 game.
Many casino players that are new to roulette often think that they have a 50% chance of winning if they bet on the red or the black.
However, they fail to realize that the roulette wheel has additional pockets in the form of a zero or a double zero.
It is these pockets that swing the odds in the favor of the casino. The more zeros on the wheel there are, the bigger the casino’s edge will be.
This is why we advised you at the beginning of the article to play the roulette versions with the least green divisions (zero or double zero fields).
Don’t Use Progressive Staking Systems
One of the main roulette strategies that you will find online is the progressive staking system, more specifically the Martingale system.
The Martingale system advises players to double their bet after each loss, so that when they eventually win, they can recuperate all the money they lost and then win some.
For example, if you place a $10 bet on red and lose, you should double your next bet and stake $20. If you lose again, you should increase your stake to $40.
While in theory this system looks bulletproof, there are two main issues that you will encounter in practice.
The first thing that the promoters of the Martingale system forget to mention is that roulette tables have betting limits. If you lose too many bets in a row, you won’t be able to stake enough money to win back your losses.
The second thing issue with this approach is that players don’t have infinite bankrolls, which means if you lose enough bets in a row, you will run out of money to place the next wager.
Remember, casinos are there to make money, and they have rules that prevent players from beating them with systems such as this one.
Nothing Is Ever Due to Hit on a Roulette Wheel
Gamblers often like to use the term “due to hit” when talking about possible roulette streaks, however, this has no basis in practice.
In the world of gambling, this approach is known as “the gambler’s fallacy” – a belief that an event in a betting game is due to happen because it has not happened in a while.
While this approach is quite famous, it is not true for roulette. Each spin of the roulette wheel is independent, which means that past results have absolutely no impact on the next spin.
For example, take a flip of the coin. There is a 50:50 chance that it will land on either heads or tails.
If you flip a coin 10 times in a row and each time it falls on heads, does that mean that the odds will change for the 11th flip? The answer is no, the odds for the next flip will still be 50:50. The same goes for roulette.
Fun fact: The longest recorded streak of consecutive numbers occurred in 1943 when red showed up 32 times in a row in a US land-based casino.
Final Thoughts on the Best Way to Play Roulette
The most important thing to understand before you try your luck on roulette is that you should treat it as a way to have fun, and not a way to make money.
If you manage your expectations in this way, it will be much easier for you to accept the fact that by playing this game, you will probably lose money in the long run.
With this said, the only way you can beat the roulette is if you get lucky in the beginning and never play again. The more you play, the bigger the chances that you will lose money!