How to Save Money at Roulette

Don’t play.

Not literally, of course; if you wanted this type of advice, you’d either be attending a Gambler’s Anonymous meeting or poring over the issue with a hyper-religious relative. Instead, you are reading a publication with gambling content and the title of this article caught your eye, so I assume that you want some advice that can actually help you protect your bankroll at the roulette table.

The first thing you probably noticed is that this is about saving money at roulette, not winning. Due to the casinos’ vig—which comes from them paying off less than your expected odds—you are technically losing money each time you place a bet on the board (although the red and black wagers on a roulette table do offer one of the best player percentages at the casino). There is only one proven way to win money at roulette – get lucky on your first bet, walk away, and never come back. Unfortunately, many people would find this method unsatisfying for two reasons. For one, it is predicated on an awfully large amount of luck and therefore rather unlikely to happen. Two, gambling is oftentimes more about entertainment than it is about winning money, and a “one and done” deal would fail to satisfy this desire. With this in mind, let’s look at how you can extend your time at the roulette table without frequent trips to the ATM.

The key to my money-saving technique is “covering” your bets, which usually results in a series of small losses with a large win occasionally tossed in for good measure. You start by setting an amount for a fixed bet; this amount is the maximum you are willing to lose on one spin of the wheel. Then, half of this bet is apportioned to either red or black, another 30% goes onto a 2-1 proposition and the final 20% is spent on covering several numbers. For example, let’s say that you want to bet $10 on each spin – you would place $5 on one of the colors, $3 on one of the columns or the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd twelve boxes, and $2 on anything from individual numbers up to rows of three (I find that it often works best to divide this amount into two $1 bets). If your color comes in, you win your entire bet back; if one of the columns comes in, you only lose $1; and on the rare occasion you actually hit one of your numbers, you actually get a nice boost to your bankroll that should at least cover your losses for a while longer if it doesn’t put you ahead outright. It should also be noted that it is possible to win a combination of bets at once, which also helps you out in the win column. I find that this technique works best on the automated-betting Rapid Roulette game that can now be found in many casinos, but for those with higher bankrolls, it can work just as well on standard tables.

Roulette: Dangerous Addiction?

Most people are probably aware that gambling has the potential to become addictive at some level. Like all addictions, pathological gambling is considered a disease, but fortunately it is one that can be diagnosed and treated. Addiction to gaming can have several different causes, all of which resemble the reasons most often cited for substance abuse and addiction. In one, the gambler becomes hooked on the ‘rush’ of playing, perhaps after experiencing a large or particularly exciting win. The act of gambling then provides the player with a euphoric feeling that can only be satisfied with further playing, regardless of the financial or social consequences. In other cases, gambling can be used as an outlet to avoid dealing with a secondary problem. This type of addiction often manifests itself more on slot and video poker machines, which are considered particularly conducive to promoting gambling addictions.

Being a game of chance, and an exciting one at that, roulette certainly has the potential to promote addiction in some players. Due to its social nature and the possibility of a big win, roulette addiction would likely fall under the ‘rush of playing’ category. However, is there any proof that roulette is more addictive than other casino games, or that roulette addiction is particularly devastating? Two articles from 2005 published in the online edition of the Guardian – www.guardian.co.uk - would seem to suggest that this may be the case. In 2001, touch-screen roulette machines called fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) with payouts up £500 were introduced into betting shops. According to the first article, published in January of 2005, a charity that monitors gambling addiction known as GamCare reported that there appeared to be a connection between the popularity of the machines and calls to their helplines about gambling addiction. The later article, which came out in May of the same year, stated that about ¼ of GamCare’s first-time callers were calling with regards to the roulette FOBTs. Furthermore, the debt of these callers had risen dramatically, though it was not mentioned if the two were connected. Although this study cannot speak for the overall addiction rate of roulette compared to other casino games, it does appear that certain forms of roulette can become particularly addictive when made more easily accessible.

The Basics of Roulette

Roulette is one of the most popular forms of gambling for several reasons. First off, it is among the simpler games in the casino – simply put your money down on a square and hope that it hits. Second, there is a lot of excitement at the table, especially at high-stakes tables where there are a lot of chips moving back and forth between the players and the house. Although people at the table might not be as vocal as those playing craps, you can imagine the tension that they feel as they see the ball bounce towards their number as the wheel slowly turns to a halt. Finally, roulette’s popularity is due to the fact that it is possible to win (and lose) a lot of money in a very short amount of time – covering just one or two numbers and hoping to hit big provides the requisite rush for those who love to go “all-in” with their gambling.

Generally, a roulette table consists of just two main parts that one needs to worry about – the wheel and the betting board. The wheel consists of 38 squares that contain the numbers 1-36, each on either a red or black background, as well as two green zero spaces (in European roulette, there is only one zero, which increases the players odds on many bets). Before each spin of the wheel, there is a set time in which the player puts his/her bet down on the desired square (individual bets will be covered in another article). After about a minute or so, the croupier will wave his hand over the board and announce that all bets need to be placed and finalized. Once all of the bets are in place, the wheel is spun and a small, metal ball is put into motion in the direction opposite that of the wheel. The wheel will then spin until it stops of its own volition, at which point bets will be paid off depending on the numbered space in which the ball landed.

At this point, you should be able to sit down at a roulette table and not feel intimidated by the rules. Placing bets and individual strategies will be covered in another section.

Betting Systems in Roulette?

If you’ve already read the article entitled How to Save Money at Roulette, you should understand that there is no proven method to “beat” roulette. Albert Einstein himself said, “No one can possibly win at roulette unless he steals money from the table.” Even though the common bets of red and black have higher probability (or chance) of coming in on each spin, the house maintains its edge of a little over 5% on every bet on the table. This is because every spin of the wheel has absolutely no bearing on the spins that come after it, even though it might seem that way sometimes. Of course, this hasn’t prevented countless people from claiming that they have invented winning systems of their own, some of which are disingenuously sold to unsuspecting novices. Below, I have outlined the most common betting system practiced by roulette players and some of its variations. Although none of these methods can make you a winner, they may enhance your enjoyment of the game or allow you to dissuade a delusional gambler of his madness (as if you would ever want to).

The most frequently used roulette method is known as the Martingale betting strategy. In this system, the bettor starts by placing a minimum bet on one of the even money bets (red/black, odd/even, or 1-18/19-36). If the bet is won, the profit is placed into a pile separate from the bettor’s bankroll. If the bet is lost, a new bet of double the amount of the original bet is placed on the same area of the board. By repeatedly doubling the value of the bet, a win will cover all previous losses while providing a profit equal to the amount of the minimum bet. Although this method may sound intriguing – and certainly has given rise to numerous copycat methods – people do not realize how quickly their bankrolls can get depleted. For instance, on a $5 table, you would be betting $40 on your fourth bet, at which point you will already be in the hole an additional $35 from the first three bets ($5, $10, and $20). In order for the Martingale strategy to work in theory, you would need an unlimited bankroll, and if you had such resources, you most likely wouldn’t spend your time playing roulette (or betting the minimum on red, in any case).

Other systems are basically offshoots of the Martingale method or techniques where you “cover” your bets, such as the one outlined in How to Save Money at Roulette. For example, you could bet two different even money bets – such as the red bet and the even bet - and then apply the Martingale system to these bets individually. However, this once again requires an infinite supply of wealth for it to work, although it may allow you to play at the table longer since you have an additional 9 numbers that you can win on. Another variation of the covering strategy would be to bet the first and third columns as well as the black, covering most of the numbers on the board, although even on spins where you don’t lose outright, your wins don’t end up being enough to cover your losses. With these facts in mind, you should realize that there are numerous strategies to employ at the roulette table, but at best they will only extend your time at the table. Your best chance of winning remains getting lucky and walking away before you give the money back.

Betting at the Roulette Table

If you read our article “The Basics of Roulette”, you should now be familiar with what you are seeing when you sit down at the roulette table – the wheel, the croupier, and the betting surface. Now we will delve further into the concept of how you actually make bets on the game of roulette. We won’t get into strategy just yet; instead, we will take you through the different types of bets that appear on the roulette board and what kind of payout you can expect from each of them when you win.

The bets with the greatest probability of winning are also the ones that pay out the least – you shouldn’t go into a casino expecting to win big on any bet that comes in fairly often. This group of bets is known as ‘Outside Bets,’ and they have payouts ranging from even money, where you win the exact amount of your bet back, to 2-1, where you receive double your money on a win. Betting on either red or black, odd or even, or 1-18 and 19-36 are even money bets. These bets offer one of the best probability-to-payout ratios in the casino and are recommended for those who just want to try the game out with little risk or exhausting a bankroll quickly. It is not recommended, however, to bet on two sides of an even money bet on the same spin, as you can never hope to win money that way. Other outside bets include betting on a group of numbers or a column; both of these bets pay 2-1 on your money.

Although outside bets can be a lot of fun to play and usually give you great bang for your buck, the ‘Inside Bets’ are where you are going to see most of the high rollers placing their money. These bets all involve placing chips down on the numbers of the board in some combination and offer payouts up to 35-1 for hitting a single number, meaning that one $10 bet can turn into $350 on one lucky spin of the wheel. Bets can be placed on an individual number, including both 0 and 00, but they can also be put in between two numbers to bet both of them, along a row of three numbers, on the corner of four numbers, and even on a group of six numbers consisting of two rows. You should note that the house has the same edge on every single bet on the roulette board – around 5% - but you will win your outside bets more frequently on average.

The History of Roulette

French mathematician Blaine Pascal is thought to have invented the roulette wheel due to his work on probability and perpetual motion, although this may be a legend of convenience and grandiose rather than the truth. What is certain is that Pascal did not use the wheel for gambling purposes, as its first recorded use is in Paris in 1796, while Pascal lived in the 1600s. The name ‘roulette’ comes from French and is generally translated into ‘little wheel.’

The roulette wheel used in 1796 was virtually the same as wheels used today, having 36 colored and numbered spots as well as two spaces for the zeroes. In 1843, a pair of Frenchmen named François and Louis Blanc came up with a roulette wheel that had only one zero—which lowers the house edge—in an attempt to attract customers. This style of wheel attained worldwide popularity when gambling was outlawed in the 1860s and the Blanc brothers were forced to move their operations to Monte Carlo, where it became known as the “King of Casino Games.” Most places today still use the European wheel with a single zero space.

While the exact date of roulette’s arrival in the United States isn’t known, it was certainly established in gambling locales by the mid-to late-1800s. The original American roulette wheel contained three ‘zero’ boxes, as well as only 28 numbered squares as opposed to the 36 seen in Europe. The third ‘zero’ was often represented as an American eagle. It appears that roulette was first introduced in what would be considered the ‘Wild West’ of the United States, where both gambling and cheating were certainly widespread. Eventually, attempts to regulate the fair use of the roulette wheel led to the layout we see today, where the wheel is mounted on a table and bets are laid out on the board in front of the wheel.

Online Roulette: Places to Play

The following list is a survey of some of the more popular online roulette sites along with significant details about each of the sites. Accessibility for U.S. players is noted wherever possible.

CasinoTropez.com and EuropaCasino.com: These casinos offer some of the biggest bonuses online, though neither specializes in roulette or allows U.S. players. Casino Tropez, which can be played on your mobile phone, gives you a 200% bonus up to $300 on your first deposit; a $100 bonus for making deposits on Sunday, which can be repeated 27 times for a total of $2700; a 30% mobile deposit bonus; and a 15% deposit bonus for using certain payment methods. These bonuses can total up to US $3050. While playing on your mobile found may sound convenient (and highly dangerous to one’s bankroll), it is notable that Casino Tropez’s website is very difficult to navigate.
With Europa Casino, you receive a 100% first deposit bonus, but if you deposit $/£/€ 1000 or more, you will receive an additional $/£/€ 500. This online casino also offers weekly ‘Loyalty Bonuses’ as well as a 15% bonus for using particular deposit methods.

888.com (Casino-on-Net): Also home to Pacific Poker, this site claims to be the number one place for online roulette. Although it offers fewer bonuses than the above sites, 888.com boasts some promotions that may attract undecided players. There are two-day long Roulette Tournaments with total prize pools of $17,500 and cash prizes given to the top daily roulette players. 888.com’s roulette home page also advertises betting limits from $1-$1000 and 24-hour customer support. This casino no longer accepts U.S. players.

Ladbrokescasino.com: This online casino is mentioned because it clearly lists and describes its various roulette offerings. Of note is European Roulette Gold, which allows players to bet on a roulette wheel with only one zero (not listed on all websites) and to make several unique bets: call and neighbour bets. The call bet is described as “a group of bets placed on the Roulette table at the same time,” which frankly is a useless description. Neighbour bets are where you can place a bet on the numbers next to a selected number on the roulette wheel. This would actually be very useful on a fixed roulette wheel, but merely provides additional excitement for players to the online casino. Ladbrokes also offers an intriguing “Live Dealer Casino.” There is no obvious demarcation of whether this casino accepts U.S. players, though it would appear that it does not.

Since none of the above online casinos take U.S players, here is a quick listing from www.casinotoplists.com of sites that accept players from America: Rushmore Casino (mentioned in The Best Places to Play Online Blackjack), Golden Casino, Platinum Play Casino, Jackpot City Casino, and Riverbelle Casino. Happy playing!