As a game, Roulette has been around for a couple of centuries and a lot of people have tried to find a way to win through it. Hundreds of strategies have been devised but only a small number of them actually work. Every roulette strategy has been studied to the smallest atom and retaught through the years because people are eager to learn how to win.
Truth is, there is no strategy that can guarantee wins. However, with a bit of luck, players can definitely increase their chances of leaving a roulette table with some money in their pocket. Below, we will share some words about the most popular roulette strategies. We will talk about their origin, all the details that surround a particular strategy and how to take advantage of them. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know on the topic of “the best Roulette Strategy”.
Types of Roulette Betting
Before we explain some of the most popular roulette strategies out there, we need to talk about the different types of betting. Every roulette strategy falls into one of two betting types. These types are known as progressive betting or non-progressive betting. Since there are about a dozen popular strategies out there, it’s important to categorize them. This is why we will put every roulette strategy into the category of progressive betting or non-progressive betting. The first category is obviously larger which is why we will start there.
Progressive Betting
Before explaining what roulette strategy is part of the progressive betting systems, we need to explain this type of betting. The basic concept of progressive betting is very simple. The player needs to adjust the size of his stake, depending on the outcome of the previous round. Usually, a win leads to a lower stake while a loss doubles the stake. However, that’s not always the case. Progressive betting systems are typically used by people playing casino games. The most popular game where strategies are involved is probably roulette. This is especially true for live casino roulette because the house edge is lower in those games. Below, we will explain the most popular progressive roulette strategies.
Martingale Roulette Strategy
We will begin with the most popular casino roulette strategy. We know it as the Martingale system and it’s used by most casino players out there. Some of them don’t even realize they are using this system – that’s how simple it is. The main idea of this system is to cover all previous losses while making a profit. For example, you wager only on one colour. You double your stake every time you lose until you get a win. When that happens, you will recover your losses, no matter the amount. However, doubling on all losing bets is a must. The player mustn’t give up mid-way because that’s how losses can’t be recovered.
How to Play Roulette? – Martingale Strategy
To use the Martingale system at the roulette table, a large bankroll is pretty much a must. The reason for this is simple, most roulette casino games have a maximum bet. This is where basic math skills come into play. You can’t keep doubling your bet indefinitely since there is a table limit. For that reason, the player needs to pick a casino roulette game with a large maximum bet. In combination with a large bankroll, this is the perfect way to use the martingale casino strategy. The martingale system is used when making even money bets. For instance, red/black, odd/even, etc. Basically, the best way to take advantage of it is by making outside bets. You can learn more about these types of bets in our roulette guide article. This is how it works:
Begin with the table minimum. Let’s say that minimum is $5 for the purposes of this example. If you win a bet at any time during the system you’ll always return to the initial stake of $5. However, when you lose a bet, you have to double the wager during the next round, before the roulette wheel starts spinning. For instance, let’s say you lose the initial bet of $5. In that case, your next bet has to be $10. Lose that bet and you’ll move up to the $20 level, and so on. Remember though, that if you win at any time your next bet is back to the initial bet of $5 again.
Disadvantage
As you can see, the only downside to this live casino roulette strategy is the mechanics behind the game. In reality, no one has an infinite bankroll and there is no roulette version where the betting stakes are unlimited. So, in a situation where you lose for 20/30 rounds, it would be impossible to double your next wager. In that case, you will no longer be able to make a profit.
Reverse Martingale – Paroli System
The Anti-Martingale system does everything in reverse to the one above, which is how it got the name. Instead of battling losses by doubling wagers, the Anti-Martingale approach doubles wagers after a win. The only time you lower the wager is when you lose. The idea here is that during winning streaks, raising the wager would lead to huge wins. With an increased bankroll it will be much harder to run out of money once a losing streak begins. Keep in mind that you halve your wager every time you lose a round. If you get on a bad run of results, eventually your wager will be so small, the loss won’t matter.
However, for years scientists have argued that an individual gaming outcome (like the spin of a roulette ball) cannot have specific streaks. Nevertheless, players are aware that while streaks can’t be predicted, they do happen during a live roulette game. Based on that, if you bet more during a hot streak, you will make more money than with any other betting plan. That’s why the Paroli roulette strategy is popular with experienced players who often play with a large bankroll.
Contrary to the regular Martingale system, the risk is lower here. You reduce your bet when you lose, so even if you catch a really bad streak, your losses will be minimal. On the other hand, if the player hits a great winning streak, his winnings can be quite huge. Let’s imagine you start with $10 and get six wins in a row. That $10 bet would turn into a $640 win.
Grand Martingale
Last but not least, we have the last roulette strategy that’s connected with the Martingale system. For players who want a simple strategy but also want to win more, the Grand Martingale is perfect. It comes with much greater risk but the wins are also larger. To play, a wager of one unit is made. After the first loss, the wager is doubled (which will produce a win of one unit when successful). After each subsequent loss, the wager is doubled and an additional unit is added. The idea is to start at $10 and keep going for 7 rounds. This won’t be possible with some online roulette games who often have a table betting limit of $1000. However, going up to 6 rounds is not that bad as well.
For instance, a player would end up wagering 10, 30, 70, 150, 310, 630 before reaching the table limit of 1000. In such an example the streak can only be 6, instead of the 7 allowed with the standard Martingale. However, streaks of six happen more frequently than those of seven!
D’Alembert Roulette Strategy
The d’Alembert roulette strategy got its name from a famous French mathematician who lived in the 18th century. His name wasJean-Baptiste le Rond d’Alembert and he studied patterns and streaks. If you look at this strategy from a different angle, you will notice that’s its very similar to the Martingale system. However, it’s a strategy that’s less risky and not as extreme as the Martingale system. As such it still requires players to increase their bets on a loss and reduce them on a win. While this betting system is based on an incorrect argument about coin flipping that d’Alembert made during his lifetime, it can still be a fun and useful roulette guide for casino players.
How to Bet on Roulette with the d’Alembert Strategy?
To use the d’Alembert system, the player needs to decide on a betting amount that won’t hinder his bankroll too much. It’s a smart move to go with the table minimum and work from there. Let’s say that amount is $10 for our example. Players should remember not to start too high because it’s important to be able to follow the system all the way through. In our example, we will refer to the betting amount with the word “unit”. Just like with the Martingale system, this roulette strategy works best with outside bets (odd/even, red/black, etc.). Additionally, keep in mind that you will be making even money bets.
Once you pick the bet you want to chase, place one unit on it and wait for the roulette wheel to spin. If you win, then you can simply place another bet of one unit on your next spin. However, if you lose, the idea is to increase the bet by another unit. Based on our example above, you place $10 and if you lose, the next bet is $20, and the next one is $30. Instead of doubling like with the Martingale, you increase the bet by just one unit. Conversely, you do the same when you win but you just reduce the bet by one unit. Let’s say you win with the $30 bet, the next round, you would bet just $20. However, you mustn’t go below one unit even if you are on a long winning streak.
Disadvantage
Nevertheless, just like with any other roulette strategy, this one has a bad side as well. The whole premise is based on the idea that you will hit a streak of good results. But, just like a coin, the roulette wheel doesn’t remember what happened in the previous round, which means your expectations don’t matter. In a long run, the number of red and black outcomes will be close to 50/50 but that doesn’t affect the streaks in any way in the short run. You could get red 10 rounds in a row, or it could go red, black, red, black for several rounds. In such a case, you won’t get any meaningful winnings with the d’Alembert system.
Fibonacci Roulette Strategy
The last progressive betting strategy we will explain is known as the Fibonacci strategy. It was named after Fibonacci who was a very famous mathematician from Italy. He studied and wrote papers about patterns back in the 13th century. Several centuries later, in the 19th century, one of his sequences became known as the “Fibonacci Sequence”. This is how the sequence looks like: every number after the first two is essentially the sum of the two preceding numbers. For example, 1-1-2-3-5-8-13-21-34-55-89, etc. How to use the Fibonacci Strategy:
Place a small inside bet as a win is easier to trigger with those bets. If you lose, increase your bet according to the above-mentioned roulette strategy. (If you started with $1 and lost, bet $1 again. In case you lose again, then the next bet should be $2, and the one after that should be $3.) When you win, go back two numbers in the sequence. Stop playing as soon as you are profitable.
Non-Progressive Betting
In this category, the betting and the strategies are not as rigid as the progressive ones. Instead of doubling equally or increasing one unit at a time, the idea with non-progressive bets is to keep the bet the same during the whole gameplay or to change it however the player sees fit. Because of this, non-progressive bets have a smaller chance for a win but if they work to your advantage, the wins can be bigger. Also, they don’t require massive bankrolls like the progressive systems which means any type of player can use them. Unlike progressive betting strategies where you pretty much have to bet on outside bets, non-progressive strategies allow you to play the whole table (inside & outside bets) There are fewer options compared to progressive betting but they are definitely more fun. Below, we will explain the most popular non-progressive systems used for live roulette.
Neighboring Numbers Roulette Strategy
This is a roulette strategy that pretty much specifically caters to French/European Roulette. The idea is to pick a number, place a wager on it but then also place wagers on the numbers that surround the number that you chose. This way, you increase your chances of winning in case the roulette wheel doesn’t land on the pocket that you have chosen. Based on that, it’s quite clear why European roulette is preferred for this strategy. Having just one zero on the roulette table means there are fewer slots on the table thus increasing the chances of winnings when betting on neighbouring numbers. This is how the system works:
Place a bet on a number and also on five neighbouring numbers around the one you chose. For instance, you place a bet on number 4 and then you also cover numbers 1, 2, 5, 8, and 7. So, you don’t cover a huge part of the table but you control half a row. This way, with a bit of luck, wins are guaranteed over a dozen rounds.
James Bond Strategy
Lastly, we have to talk about one of the most popular strategies in the world. Even though it doesn’t help you win a lot, it’s popular because it’s a roulette strategy used by MI6’s best agent. You are right, we are talking about the infamous 007 – James Bond. Ian Fleming is the person who gave the world the story of James Bond and sometime later, people created a roulette strategy to honour him. Most of us know James Bond and his well-known code number 007 from the quite numerous Movies made over the years. One particular kind of place, where the character of James Bond meets people, “does business”, and faces off his opponents, is a casino.
This strategy is best played when you don’t plan on playing roulette for an extended period of time. Each round, you will need to play by multiples of $200. Within this strategy, players will only need to remember three bets. First, place a bet for $140 on a number from 19-36. Then, $50 on a number from 13-18. Finally, put $10 on the single zero. This strategy works well because it guarantees a win almost ⅔ of the time. The ⅓ losing chance can exceed maximum table bets quickly, though. This is why the James Bond betting strategy is best for someone not planning on spending a long period of time at a roulette table. Basically, to win with the James Bond system, a player needs to win fast and leave the table as soon as possible.
Conclusion
At the end of this article, we have to mention that there are dozens of strategies out there and that we only covered the most popular ones. We also have to say that none of the above-mentioned strategies guarantees a win 100% of the time. However, they definitely help with the success rate when playing any type of roulette, whether that’s online roulette or live casino roulette. There are many successful roulette strategies that, if applied in the correct way, can help you maximize the chances of winning and reducing the losses. But we always suggest you play responsibly, by giving yourself a budget and not exceeding your bets.
The best way to go about it is to study each roulette strategy properly and then test it at a casino. That way each player can find the best strategy that fits his betting needs. By doing that, you will surely increase your winnings and minimize losses when luck is simply not on your side. Sometimes the best strategy is to leave the table when things are not going great and return later with a fresh set of eyes.