Strategies for Playing Roulette | Roulette Strategies

No person in the world should play gambling games blindly – each game must be played to the optimum so that we can reduce the house’s edge as much as we can. Although we will never better the houses edge, we can definitely be more successful by exercising a plan of action whenever we make a bet.

We now take a look at some important strategies you can use next time you play roulette online. Remember that American roulette has the double-zero, which means that your odds will be further diminished, no matter the type of bet you choose to place. Therefore, playing European or French roulette betters your winning chances.

Roulette strategies are really all about betting – or in other words, about the step-by-step betting program you will be playing, and most importantly, keeping to. There are a variety of other external sources you can use to double-check the strategies we propose here, although many will be subjective in their manner. It is also important to understand that some of the strategies included here are also quite relevant to other table games such as Craps and Blackjack.

So, let us take a look at some important betting strategies you can employ on the Roulette table:

The Martingale System

Perhaps the best known system in gambling, the Martingale has been both a savior and the ruin of many gamblers around the world. The idea of the Martingale system is to double your bet every time you lose. This way you would have won back all your losses on top of the last winning wager. Although this strategy might sound as a sure way to win, there is one major problem which arises more often than not: the exponential growth of each bet will eventually become unbearable the more you lose. Let us take a look at an example which illustrates this:

Let us suppose that you place a bet of $2 on black or red (or odd/even for that matter) as your initial bet. Once you lose, you will have to place a bet of $4, then $8, and so forth. Take a look at what happens within 12 losing bets:

As you can see, the exponential growth of the Martingale system becomes astronomical within only a few losing wagers ($1048576 on the 20th). This, combined with specific wagering table limits, will often be a handicap for players with large bankrolls. It can be therefore deduced that the Martingale system can only be of positive value to the player if he/she is dealing with the lowest of wagers and has sternly set out a losing ceiling of sorts; for example, losing only up to the 6th or 7th wager and then starting from the lowest once again. This type of risk management will allow you to make up a relatively small loss within a negative string of roulette wheel outcomes.

The Labouchère Betting System

(aka Split Martingale System or Cancellation System)

A less extreme betting system than that of Martingale is the Labouchère system. Here the player strives to make a prearranged profit before the game begins, and continues on (as with the Martingale system) until the sought profit is materialized. It is imperative that the player sets out the system’s subjective plan before any stakes are placed at the table.

Let’s take a look at how the Labouchère system works in practice:

It follows that the first bet following the choice of sequence is based on the sum of the first and last numbers of the sequence – in this example 14 (3 + 11). Remember, in this case we are only betting on odd/even or red/black.

Therefore, your next wager will again be the sum of the first and last numbers in the sequence, i.e. 17 (3 + 14). Let us suppose that this time the outcome is a favorable one. If so, remove the first and last numbers in the sequence. Your number sequence will now look like this: 5 7 8 9 11 (this is why this system is also known as the Cancelation System).

From here it follows that your next wager/stake will be the sum of 5 and 11, which is 16.

Carry on like this until you have crossed out all the number in your sequence. Don’t forget to write down your total casino balance before you begin playing. This way you’ll know whether the system really works … and it does, barring real bad luck and string of undesirable outcomes.

The Labouchère system is regarded as a better way of planning out your gameplay than that of the Martingale, but does require a little more jotting down. To know which will work best for you, it is chief that you test out both.

The D’Alembert Betting System

Another useful roulette strategy is the D’Alembert betting system, named after the famous French physicist Jean le Rond d’Alembert. This system is also known as an ‘upwards’ and ‘downwards’ betting system and resembles a pyramid style betting strategy. You will only be betting on black and red or odd and even – this type of betting contains the smallest percentage house edge from all other possible bets on the table.

The idea of the d’Alembert is heavily based on the gambler’s fallacy, which states that a player is far more likely to win after a loss and lose after a win. The system is also based on the belief that two variables of the same probability, in the long run, will occur at the same rate, balancing each other out. In roulette terms, this would mean that the ball will land equally in red as in black pockets of the wheel.

The d’Alembert system follows by saying that stakes should be upped after a loss (as in the Martingale system) and decreased following a win. However, the only difference when comparing this system to the Martingale system is that you will not have to double your bet whenever you lose. This way you will rarely reach unbearable stakes after a progression, or should we say regression, of losses.

Let’s take an example of how one should play with the d’Alembert betting system at the online casino:

1st bet: $1 wager – WIN – bet stays constant (you will not be increasing the bet if you wager has been a successful one).

3rd bet: $3 wager – LOSE – increase bet (here you can see that you are not doubling your bets as with the Martingale system).

As you can see, the d’Alembert system is quite volatile and can be detrimental should a losing streak last for a long period of time. However, one thing that makes the d’Alembert system more favorable than the Martingale system, as said earlier, is that you will not have to double your stakes exponentially. This though makes for a longer period of time of playing at the roulette table. With the Martingale system, it only takes one win to get back to your initial amount whereas the d’Alembert system works up and down the wagers and necessitates longer gameplay until you can break even or beat the croupier.

It must be said that the d’Alembert system is definitely not the most popular amongst gamblers around the world. It must also be stated that no gambling system is full proof and that all need a tinge of good luck to diminish the house’s edge to negative, or a positive percentage for you. ,/

There is also of course the chaos gambling system, which explores the individual numbers and inside bets. This system also states that in the long run each number should appear equally as every other, but in this case gaining an equilibrium amongst all inside bets would be futile to your cause as the combinations and number frequencies at any given wager would be simply staggering. In other words, the chaos system is one which only an amateur would undertake.