When people think of casinos, there are a couple of games that they picture and roulette is one of them – the iconic red and black, numbered wheel is one of the mainstays of casino gaming. One of the things that makes roulette so appealing is its simplicity, although the hypnotic whir and clack of the wheel spinning is also a draw as evidenced by the many roulette games with realistic sound effects available on 777Casino.
On the face of it, roulette is simply a game of chance designed for those that want to play but don’t want to get embroiled in any of the more intense games like poker and baccarat. But the wheel is only one part of it, and players that think you can only bet on red or black, or one of the numbers may be missing some of the beautiful intricacies of the game.
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The Layout
While the roulette wheel is the most recognisable element of the game, all the most important stuff actually happens on the layout. This is usually found next to the roulette wheel and shows a table featuring all the betting options available.
When playing online roulette, all the same options are available, so you can implement winning roulette strategies in traditional and digital games. In European roulette, there is a green zero that gives the casino the house edge: if you bet on it, you can win at odds of 37/1 but any other bet will lose if the zero does come up.
French roulette tables might offer ‘la partage’, which gives players who placed 50/50 bets half their bets back if the green comes up, or the ‘en prison’ rule which locks all chips played in place for another spin. There are also roulette tables with a triple zero segment that reduces the odds of winning still further, so it’s important to know which type of roulette you are playing to understand the odds you’re betting on.
The Martingale Strategy
Widely regarded as the best roulette strategy, the Martingale Strategy may be counterintuitive to anyone who has listened to the sage advice Kenny Rogers offered in ‘The Gambler’. Far from knowing when to hold and when to fold, the Martingale strategy relies on the player raising their bet every time they lose.
The theory is simple – every time you lose, you increase your bet so that when you win you get back whatever you lost and then you can go back to betting your chosen amount again. While the logic of this strategy is sound, it can only work if you have a reasonably large pot to draw on if you hit a losing streak and it’s certainly not a good choice for the faint-hearted.
The Fibonacci Strategy
For those who are a little more risk-averse, the Fibonacci system is similar to the Martingale but feels a lot more manageable. For those that remember their mathematical history, Fibonacci defined a sequence in which each number is the sum of the two that went before.
The Fibonacci strategy in roulette dictates that after a loss, the player should bet the sum of their previous two bets. The sequence restarts every time a player wins and continues until the player reaches their limit.
The D’Alembert
This strategy is also similar to the Martingale, in that players bet cumulatively more when they lose to offset losses with the next win. However, when a player wins, the D’Alembert strategy dictates that instead of restarting at the original bet, a player drops down to the interval above their initial bet.
Players using this strategy will only increase their bet by one when they lose as well, which does make it feel a little less risky than the Martingale. It can work well for a newcomer to the game as it is a little less intense than the Martingale or the Fibonacci, but it still requires a relatively large pot to fund and an iron will to succeed.
The Constant Bet
This is a good strategy for newcomers to roulette, whether that’s online, live streamed, or in-person in a land-based casino. While learning how the layout works and establishing a degree of familiarity with the betting and gameplay, many players choose a bet and simply stick with it.
In roulette, this usually means wagering the same amount on each round, regardless of whether you win or lose. This strategy is simple enough for those who have never played before, but still offers a tantalising piece of the action with no additional effort or mental energy required.
When choosing a roulette strategy, it’s important to set limits and have firm boundaries to maximise the chances of winning. Strategists will always factor in the risk and use maths and logic to skew the odds in their favour.