Roulette is the ultimate game of chance. Despite forms of the game dating back centuries, the first form of the game we know and love today dates back to the 1700s, when French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal accidentally created the Roulette wheel. Naturally, Pascal’s attempt to defy physics and create a perpetual motion machine failed, but instead gave us the Roulette wheel.
In 1842, French brothers Francois and Louis Blanc found a way to make the already popular game spin into the hearts of many Europeans. They did this by lowering the house edge and removing the double zero pocket – leaving us with just the single zero pocket – and establishing what’s known today as European Roulette.
Over the years people have naturally attempted to sway the wheel in their favour, creating mathematical systems in an attempt to give them the edge. And, whether you prefer to play Roulette online or at a land-based casino, the question remains: do Roulette betting strategies really work?
Read on to find out.
The Martingale system
Whilst the Martingale system is rather risky, and requires you to place bigger bets in order to win small, it’s one of the most commonly known strategies out there.
To use this strategy most effectively, you’ll want to focus on the outside bets. These include 1-18/19-36 (high/low), red/black, even/odd. Whilst these have the highest chance of winning, at just under 50%, they also offer the lowest payout – 1:1.
You should start with a small amount, preferably the table minimum, and keep betting the same until you lose. When you do, double the size of your bet on the next spin. By doing this, if you win, you’ll recover the money you lost on the previous round and win something extra. You should double your bet every time you lose, and when you win, start again with the smallest amount for the next spin.
In theory, you could go on like this forever, however there are many factors that could make you lose a lot of money.
The Fibonacci system
You may have heard of the famous Fibonacci sequence that’s been adopted by Roulette players in an attempt to boost their winning chances. This method is a mathematical system where you start with one and add the two previous numbers together, to give you the next number in the sequence. An example of this is:
1 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 8 – 13 – 21 – 34 – 55 – 89 – 144 – 233 – 377 – 610
This system is best used on the outside bets, much like the Martingale system. You start from a lower number – it doesn’t always have to be one – and work your way up the Fibonacci sequence until you win. Remember that the further through the sequence you get, the more you lose.
Again, there are many factors that could mess this up, and it does require lots of patience and precision, but can also have many benefits.
Do they really work?
Whilst betting systems offer a sense of control in a game that relies massively on luck, many betting strategies are composed of mathematical calculations that are designed to boost your winning chances when playing Roulette. Despite this, using betting systems won’t give you immunity to a losing streak, and could potentially lead you to suffer some bigger losses.
Whilst we’ve only explored two of the most commonly known betting strategies, they both require you to place your wager on the outside bets. This alone gives you almost a 50% chance of bagging a win, so this part of the system really does offer good advice, but you should never bet any more than you are willing to lose.
And remember; Roulette is still a game of chance, so no matter how precisely you place your bets, there really is no telling where the wheel will stop.
