Disclaimer: In skill-based games like blackjack and poker, a perfect strategy can actually give you an edge and guarantee you a profit. The strategies discussed in this article will improve your odds of winning, but since roulette is essentially a luck-based game, no amount of skill or strategy can guarantee you a win.
First of all, it's important to separate the difference between tips, strategies and systems. Tips and strategies may both apply to how you play, but tips tend to offer broad advice while strategies focus on hard evidence and details. Systems on the other hand deal entirely with how you bet and give no consideration to what you bet on or how you play the game apart from betting.
Many players swear by systems like the Martingale or Labouchere when they are winning and then cry foul on the casino when they lose. It's important that you understand that systems are not strategies and therefore do NOT increase your odds of winning While some people promote systems as a form of bankroll management, often their large bets and small wins make them impractical for players on a budget.
When you first set out to “beat the wheel,” it's important that you understand that some wheels are easier to beat than others. The house edge offered by an American wheel (one with 38 slots) is nearly twice the house edge of a European wheel because of the extra green 00 space. A serious roulette player will not even bother with an American wheel. The house edge becomes even more favorable if you can find a European wheel that also offers Surrender and En Prison options. We explain the importance of these features more in-depth on our roulette strategy page.
When it comes to strategy, choosing the right wheel won't help if you're making the wrong bets on it. Casinos ensure a house edge at roulette by not paying actual odds. That means that though your odds against winning a straight-up bet on a European wheel are 36 to 1, should you be so lucky to win the casino only pays 35 to 1 (and sometimes only 34 to 1). If the wheel's results are true to the odds (and in the long run, all non-biased wheel's results are), and you win one out of 36 spins with your straight-up bet, you will still end up behind because of the house edge.
Unfortunately, there is no roulette bet that isn't plagued by the house edge. Even when you're using a strategy, in a regular roulette game luck is the only thing that will guarantee that you leave the table with some money. That said, on our advanced roulette strategy page we discuss how to recognize a bias in a live wheel. Working a bias can actually yield a profit, but biases are becoming less and less common and of course online roulette wheels don't break down.
If you're playing roulette online and are ready to accept the inevitable house edge, then the best bets you can play are those that come close to even odds. The obvious problem with outside bets like red/black, high/low and even/odd is that even if you hit a streak you're not going to make any money. If you just want to make your session last longer, then these bets are key, but if you're hoping for a profit it will never happen with these bets. So if you're optimistic about your luck and want to push for a profit, the next best set of bets are the remaining outside bets: dozens and columns.
Roulette may be a chance-based game, but you don't want to put your whole bankroll on one bet and hope for the best. Why? Well for one it's not much fun (especially since odds are you're going to lose). Second, it gives you no chance to hit a streak. Bet modestly to make your bankroll last, and you have a better chance of eventually seeing an upside to the odds.
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