As Roulette is a game of chance in which the player can not affect
the outcome of a spin, understanding the odds for or against a
particular result and adjusting play accordingly gives you your
best chance of success. On this page you will find the real and
paid odds for the various bets you can make and advice on possible
ways to maximise your chances. The table below shows the true
odds and what the casino pays out for both American (2 zeros)
and European (single zero) wagers.
Bet |
American |
European |
Payout |
Single number |
37 : 1 |
36 : 1 |
35 : 1 |
Pair of numbers |
18 : 1 |
17.5 : 1 |
17 : 1 |
Three number Street |
11.67 : 1 |
11.33 : 1 |
11 : 1 |
Square of 4 numbers |
8.5 : 1 |
8.25 : 1 |
8 : 1 |
Five numbers |
6.6 : 1 |
not available |
6 : 1 |
Six number line |
5.33 : 1 |
5.17 : 1 |
5 : 1 |
Column |
2.17 : 1 |
2.08 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
Dozen |
2.17 : 1 |
2.08 : 1 |
2 : 1 |
Even |
1.05 : 1 |
1.01 : 1 |
1 : 1 |
Odd |
1.05 : 1 |
1.01 : 1 |
1 : 1 |
Manque (1-18) |
1.05 : 1 |
1.01 : 1 |
1 : 1 |
Passe (19-36) |
1.05 : 1 |
1.01 : 1 |
1 : 1 |
Red |
1.05 : 1 |
1.01 : 1 |
1 : 1 |
Black |
1.05 : 1 |
1.01 : 1 |
1 : 1 |
As can be seen from the table above the American game favours
the casino more than the European one the actual house percentage
being 5.26% for American and 2.70% for European and the five number
bet which is exclusive to American Roulette has an even bigger
house advantage of over 7%.
If you are not sure what the various bets mean visit our Roulette
Rules page for explanations.
So you know the bets you understand the odds how do you go about
winning, well there are numerious Roulette Systems that claim
to garentee you win however if you look at the odds in the long
run the house should win so how do these systems work.
Most are based on some form of progression system such as the
Martindale or D’Alembert or “Pyramid" system,
the Martindale is a classic negative progression system and quite
simple to understand. Every time you loose you double the previous
bet so that when you win you get back all your money plus the
original bet so you can't loose, you then go back to your original
bet and start again. There's got to be a catch I hear you say,
well yes there is and its a big one, if you start with $1 betting
on even return and have a run of 10 losses you will have bet $2047
just for the chance of winning $1 and if the house maximum is
reached before your luck changes, tough, so maybe thats not such
a good idea after all. Ok I hear you say whats the odds on 10
straight losses well actually statistically its 613 to 1, and
it may not happen to you but there are a lot of roulette wheels
out there. The D’Alembert system involves increasing your
bet by a smaller amount when you loose and decreasing it by the
same amount when you win, this reduces the rate the value of your
bet rises its now linear instead of exponential but is still not
infalable. Many other systems are variations on one of these maybe
increasing your bid by a varying amount or in some cases decreasing
it (positive progression), but despite what they say garenteeing
winning is a very strong claim to make indeed. The best most systems
will do for you is ensure that when you are winning you may win
more but when you are loosing you loose it faster.
So whats the best way, well from the odds its obvious the European
wheel gives you the best chance so start there, most online casinos
offer this option, though finding a land based casino in North
America with it may be difficult.
Look for casinos with the "Surrender", " La Partage"or
"En Prison" rules for explanations of these rules visit
our Roulette
Rules page, they all help reduce your losses if zero
comes up on certain bets.
Betting on even money options is the safest way and if you have
to go for that lucky number fine but don't put your shirt on it.
Develop a money management strategy, decide how much you can
afford to loose and at what amount if you are winning you will
either stop or at least put either a portion of your winning or
what you started with aside and stick to it.
It is possible to win large amounts, remember the song "The
man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo" he really existed,
Charles deVille Wells (1841-1926) over a period of about 12 hours
in July 1891 he broke the roulette table (taking all their supply
of chips) about twelve times. In total he won about three million
French Francs at that visit and repeated the feat a few months
later. Unfortuneatly he returned a year later with an "improved"
system and lost a simular amount, but hey you could be the one
who does it next and knows when to stop Good Luck!