How to Play Roulette - Strategy Guide for Beginners

• While choosing the online roulette strategy that works for you, you should factor in the types of bets you should bet on and how much.
• Inside bets are riskier, on one or more numbers, with higher pay-outs, while outside bets are wider groups with lower pay-outs - but the safest roulette strategy.
• We can split the simple roulette strategy types into two: progressive and non-progressive - and there are various strategies for each.
• The most popular strategies include the Martingale, Fibonacci, Labouchere, James Bond and D’Alembert. However, each one is suited for different player intentions.
• There are a few extra choices that exist for French Roulette and American Roulette, like En Prison and Basket bets.
• Some strategies seem to be more profitable and successful than others, however there’s no sure-fire way to win at roulette every time.
• You can learn how to play roulette strategy tips and the different betting that goes into it in this article.

The beauty of this casino game is that having an online roulette strategy that works gives you a chance of increasing your winnings long-term. The roulette wheel seems to go back as far as the 17th century when Frenchman Blaise Pascal invented and popularised it in Paris. As the low-house-edge game found its way in casinos all over the world, players gradually developed a basic roulette strategy.

French Roulette, also known as the traditional roulette, has just one zero on the wheel and offers players better odds. However, as the game made its way to America, it was met by casinos trying to shift the odds further in their favour. Hence, the addition of a second zero on the wheel and a few differences in rules.

In this article, you can make sure you have a solid grasp of the rules and get a few roulette tips to give you an edge in any online casino. Based on your preference of play and bankroll size, you can choose a roulette table strategy that’s more aggressive and riskier with bigger potential wins. Or the safest roulette strategy that can give you better winning odds, but smaller potential winnings overall. So, to find out more, let’s dig in.

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The goal is maximizing winnings using an effective roulette strategy for different bets which have varying payouts. This is the skill since where the ball lands are the luck portion of the game. You place bets on any number, group or betting areas before the ball stops spinning. And get paid accordingly if you correctly predict and bet on the outcome.

We can split roulette bets into two main categories. Outside bets, which have solid odds and low return - certainly the safest roulette strategy. And inside bets, which are riskier but pay better.

Outside Bets

Outside bets include the Red/Black wager, Even/Odd bet and High/Low (1-18 or 19-36 range). Meanwhile, with a Dozen or Columns bet, you bet on a set of 12 numbers with 2:1 odds and a one in three chance of winning.

Red / Black

• Numbers Amount: 18
• Winning Odds: 47-49%
• Pay-out: 1:1

Even / Odd

• Numbers Amount: 18
• Winning Odds: 47-49%
• Pay-out: 1:1

 Low / High

• Numbers Amount: 18
• Winning Odds: 47-49%
• Pay-out: 1:1

 Dozen

• Numbers Amount: 12
• Winning Odds: 31-32%
• Pay-out: 2:1

 Column

• Numbers Amount: 12
• Winning Odds: 31-32%
• Pay-out: 2:1

Inside Bets

One of the best tips of playing roulette is not to play inside bets if you’re risk-averse. You have lower odds, but boosted potential profits, so you can reach your goal in a shorter session.

 You can get an attractive 35:1 on a winning single/straight bet. There’s a Street/Trio bet on three consecutive numbers and a Split on two vertical/horizontal numbers. A corner/square is on a crossroad of four numbers, while a Six/Line is consecutive numbers on two horizontal lines, example 31-36. All these inside bets have odds 2.7-5%.

Straight Up/Single

• Pay-out: 35:1

Street/Trio

• Pay-out: 11:1

Split

• Pay-out: 17:1

Corner/Square

• Pay-out: 8:1

Six/Line

• Pay-out: 5:1

There’s no sure-fire way to win at roulette, however, there are a few roulette tips and simple roulette strategy tips that help improve your game. You may have heard of the Martingale/Reverse Martingale, Fibonacci, Labouchere, James Bond and D’Alembert. Some of these are progressive roulette strategy types and some are not. Here’s the difference.

Progressive Strategies

The main idea is to increase the size of your bet based on the outcome of each round. The Martingale is known as being a progressive strategy and is one of the most popular because it’s so easy. Essentially, using this method means you double your bet after each loss as a counterbalance of sorts.

In reality, it’s quite risky, and the more experience you get in roulette, the less you’re likely to use it. Inversely, The Reverse Martingale (Parole) says you should double your bet after every win, which makes it more positive value, especially with winning streaks.

Both these steep progressive strategies work better with outside bets which have a near 50/50 chance of winning. Therefore, a good chance to actually compensate for your losses. But take these roulette tips with caution because you may empty your bankroll before you manage to compensate.

Meanwhile, a flatter progression system like D’Alembert is best known for low risk. Hence, perhaps better for inside bets since you win less often. With this, you add one unit to your stake after a loss and decrease one after a win. Alternatively, you can use the Fibonacci sequence as one of the safest roulette strategy options, better suited for bigger bankrolls and betting ranges.

Bet Progression

Martingale:

1 – 2- 4 – 8- 16 – 32 – 64 – 128 – 256 – 512 – 1024 - 2048

Fibonacci:

1 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 8 – 13 – 21 – 34 – 55 – 89 - 144

Non-Progressive Betting

Instead of progressive bets, these strategies keep the same bet amount throughout or change it randomly. One of the more fun ones is the James Bond - basically a flat betting system that covers more than half the table in bets. That way you increase your odds of winning, short-term at least.

Another interesting strategy is wagering on neighbouring numbers. So, you would split your bet between one number and the four surrounding it on the wheel. Logically, this means you will be tipping the odds towards you in case the ball misses your specific pocket. This bet is only available in French roulette, however.

There’s an extra bet available in American Roulette only - the Five/Basket bet, where you bet on 0-00-1-2-3. While the return on investment is potentially 6:1, the house edge ranges between 5 and 7.9%. If there are any roulette tips you take away from this article, let it be to avoid this kind of bet. The odds are far better on a Double Street/Six/Line bet, for example, because you bet on six numbers with a 5:1 pay-out.

If you have the option, playing French Roulette opens two special rules - or insurance policies - which are worthwhile. The first, “En Prison” is for when the ball lands on zero - you won’t lose your bet and instead get a second chance. The second, “La Partage” helps if you’re using even money bets to recover half your investment since you get half your bet refunded if the ball lands on zero.

There’s no one size fits all for roulette strategy, so the best way is to practice and find the roulette strategy that works. Spin the wheel in the live casino and test strategies based on the odds and pay-outs. Just remember, that you can never win 100% of the time in any game that involves even the smallest element of chance. However, safe strategies and even-money bets are ways you can minimize risk and prolong gameplay.

• Even-money bets provide the safest roulette strategy since they have higher chances of winning despite their lower return on investment.
• The opposite is true for riskier inside bets, which offer high pay-outs and slim chances of winning.
• You can choose a roulette strategy that is progressive or non-progressive, related to how you bet. This is the only part you control besides “insurance” bets in French Roulette - “En Prison” and “La Partage”.
• The Martingale strategy is a popular, steep progressive one where you double your bet on every loss. Meanwhile, the Reverse Martingale doubles bets with every win and is a bit more positive. As is the James Bond - a flatter betting system covering half the betting board.
• The worst bet you can make is the Five/Basket available in American roulette since it has the highest house edge of them all with a pay-out of just 6:1 - not worth the risk.

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