14 July 2010
While roulette is a game that is almost entirely comprised of luck, there are a few strategies that you can use in order to increase your chance of winning. Like most casino games, Roulette is very easy to understand, but that also means the house has a large edge over you, up to 5% in some cases. It is to be noted that when you buy in, you receive chips that don't have denominations on them. These chips are used for betting, and the denomination chips you receive back are if you win a game.
Rules
Before we start discussing strategy, we need to know exactly what the rules are that pertain to roulette. While it is a very simple game, there are a few rules that must be followed when placing your bet to ensure that your bet is valid. First of all, a roulette table consists of a wheel with 38 numbers on it. After you have placed your bet, you just wait to see what the wheel lands on. If you have one, the dealer will announce it and award your prize in “real” chips. If you haven't one, you get ready to place your bet again for the next spin.
Number Placement
An important part of your roulette strategy is realizing that the number positions on the table actually mean something. To most people, the numbers on the table appear to be placed in completely random positions, with the only pattern being red – black – red – black. This however isn't true. For any two numbers that are next to each other, their sum will be equal to any other two numbers that are next to each other, which is usually about 37-39. For any of those that are superstitious, if you add up every number on a roulette wheel, it would be 666.
Wheel Tracking
Wheel tracking is the notion that roulette wheels are heavier on a certain side (the side with the bigger numbers) and will therefore land on that side more often. While this may have been true 100 years ago when casinos didn't test their equipment properly, today casinos test each roulette wheel thousands of times before it is placed on the floor, to ensure that it meets proper standards and isn't biased to one side or another. Having your strategy based on wheel bias will only make you lose more money because the entire notion is false.
Precision Spinning
Despite rumors and speculations, it would be very hard for a dealer to ensure that the wheel lands on a certain number. Many people hold this false belief and accuse the dealer of cheating and false play when the same person gets lucky a few times in a short span. Believe it or not, the dealer has very little control over where the wheel lands because they apply the same force to spin the wheel every single time.
Number Board
Many casinos but put large boards over the roulette tables that display the last 10 previous numbers. One simple rule when it comes to roulette strategy – don't pay these boards any attention! They are placed by the casino on purpose, to ensure that gullible people look at them and try to make bets based on previous rolls. In reality, this method will never work because the law of randomness says every number has an equal chance to come up on every roll. Don't bet on a number each time just because you think it is due to come up.