How to Win at Roulette

Roulette is one of the oldest and most popular classic casino games. It is played worldwide, and most of the game’s rules are the same. The only differences between European and American Roulette are the extra 00 in the American version of the game, which increases the house edge.

In French Roulette, which is the most favourable for the player, the La Partage and En Prison rules reduce the house edge from 2,7% to only 1,35%. American Roulette comes with a house edge of 5,26%.

When do You Win at Roulette?

You win at Roulette when you have correctly predicted in which number the ball will fall. There are many Roulette betting types, but they all fall under two categories: inside bets and outside bets.

Inside bets are bets placed on specific numbers on the table, while outside bets are red/black, even/odd, 1-18, and 19-36. Inside bets have higher payouts, but outside bets have a lower risk.

Roulette’s beauty is that you control the risk you take as a player. You can go for high payouts by taking significant risks or play it safe and try to double your money.

Use the table below to see all the different Roulette betting types, their payouts, and your chances of winning.

Bet Type	French Name	What are you betting on?	Where do you place the chip?	Number of Numbers Covered	Payout	Chance of winning European Roulette	Chance of winning American Roulette
Inside Bets
Straight (Single)	Plein	A single number	Full on the number on the table	1	35x bet	1:37 (2,7%)	1:38 (2,63%)
Split	Cheval	Two adjacent numbers	On the line between two numbers	2	17x bet	2:37 (5,4%)	2:38 (5,26%)
Street	Transversale	Three adjacent numbers	On the line of a number on the outside of the table	3	11x bet	3:37 (8,1%)	3:38 (7,9%)
Corner (Square)	Carré	Four adjacent numbers	At an intersection of four numbers	4	8x bet	4:37 (10,8%)	4:38 (10,5%)
Four Number (First Four)		The numbers 0, 1, 2, and 3 (only at European Roulette)	On the corner of the table on 0, 1, and 1st 12	4	8x bet	4:37 (10,8%)	N/A
Five Bet (Basket)		The numbers 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3 (only at American Roulette)	On the corner of the table on 0, 1, and 1st 12	5	6x bet	N/A	5:38 (13,2%)
Six Line	Transversale simple	Six adjacent numbers	At a t-junction on the outside of the table	6	5x bet	6:37 (16,2%)	6:38 (15,8%)
Outside Bets
Column	Colonne	The 12 numbers in a column on the table	On one of the ‘2-1’ boxes	12	2x bet	12:37 (32,4%)	12:38 (31,6%)
Dozen		The numbers 1-12, 13-24, or 25-36	On the box “1st 12”, “2nd 12”, or “3rd 12”	12	2x bet	12:37 (32,4%)	12:38 (31,6%)
Red/Black	Rouge/noir	All red or black numbers	On the box “Red” or “Black”	18	1x bet	18:37 (48,6%)	18:38 (47,4%)
Odd/Even	Pair/impair	All even or odd numbers	On the “Even” or “Odd” box	18	1x bet	18:37 (48,6%)	18:38 (47,4%)
High/Low	Passe/Manque	All high or low numbers	On the box ‘1-18′ or ’19-36’	18	1x bet	18:37 (48,6%)	18:38 (47,4%)

Roulette Strategies

The most crucial strategy for Roulette is carefully selecting the table type you will be playing at. If you have a choice between American Roulette and European Roulette, you should always go for the latter. If French Roulette is offered, that’s even better. Avoid the No Zero Roulette and Triple Zero Roulette tables, as they have a higher house edge.

Most bets on the traditional Roulette tables give you the same odds of winning. Whether you choose black or red (payout 1 times your stake) or a specific number (payout 35 times your stake), your chances of winning are the same. Because the casino has a house edge, the odds of winning at Roulette are unfavourable in both cases.

The exception is a bet on the Five Bet, also known as ‘Basket,’ in American Roulette. If you place a chip on the bottom left corner (making the chip touch 0, 1, and 1st 12), you are effectively betting on the numbers 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3. You will be paid 6:1 on this, making the house edge 7,9%. If you had chosen those numbers with loose chips, the house edge would have been the traditional 5,26%. Playing the Basket is, therefore, the worst possible option in Roulette.

Many Roulette players play at the casino according to a specific system, an existing known strategy, or a self-devised system. Methods range from very easy to understand to complete in-depth mathematical models. Below we will explain the best-known Roulette strategies, but be aware that in the long term, the casino always wins.

So it always remains a gamble, although players worldwide swear by a particular Roulette strategy. And while one scores big with it, the other loses tons of money. In all cases, you must determine in advance how far your maximum budget extends.

Martingale Roulette Strategy

This is a straightforward Roulette strategy, which novice players often use for a bet with a single chance of winning, such as red/black, even/odd, or 1-18/9-36.

The Martingale Roulette strategy means you double your bet after a losing round. To do this, you first choose a starting amount, such as $2. If you lose, your next bet will be $4. It is essential to set a limit for yourself because your bet can quickly increase with this system if you keep losing.

Based on the bet of $2, you use the following series: $2, $4, $8, $16, $32, $64, $128, $256, $512, $1,024, $2,048, and so on. If you win in between, your possible next bet will be $2 again, and the doubling will start all over.

This is not an endless series of numbers because the maximum bet binds you to the casino uses for that table, also called the table limit. The idea behind this strategy is that you eventually win.

At least if you have an unlimited budget and the table has no limit. As unlikely as it sounds that the ball lands on the same colour ten times in a row, this may likely happen. The ball itself has no memory and will randomly come to a stop on the Roulette wheel.

Fibonacci Roulette Strategy

For this Roulette strategy, you use the number series described by Fibonacci, namely 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, etc. It is not a complicated system, but you have to be good at math to apply it.

Here, the following number in the betting sequence is the sum of the two before it, a tactic that is mainly played on a single bet option, such as red/black or even/odd.

If you want to play with a starting bet of $5, the series will look like this: (0), 5, 5, 10, 15, 25, 40, 65, etc. This means the next bet will again be $5 after a loss. If the next round is again unsuccessful, the new bet will be $15, $25, $40, and so on.

If you win a round in between, for example, with a bet of $40, then your new bet amount is $15. So after every win, you jump two steps back in the series. If you win again after this, the next bet is only $5. If you lose this round, you bet $10 again. You are supposed to stop as soon as you get back to the first number in the sequence.

If you often lose in a row, your bet will increase considerably. You will also get further and further away from your starting bet. The more losses, the more rounds it takes to get back to 5 finally, and therefore the longer you have to play.

FAQs About Winning Roulette

We receive many questions regarding winning at Roulette. For the completeness’ sake of this guide, we shall answer the most frequently asked questions about winning Roulette below.