Roulette Strategies Debunked

Losing strategies

The roulette table with its red and black colours and promises of instant riches has been a casino favourite for centuries – ever since its invention by Blaise Pascal in 1655.

What is it that brings players in their numbers to the roulette table though? Is it the glamour of a game that been repeatedly depicted in Hollywood movies, or is it the illustrious history of the five and a half decade old game?

Perhaps it is a mixture of those two, but most likely it is the almost instant gratification that the game offers to players. In what other casino game can you multiply your cash by 36 in a matter of seconds, with no apparent need for skill?

Therein lies an important message about roulette, it is a game almost completely devoid of skill that gives complete novices and experienced players almost the exact same chance of success.

Although, the experienced players are likely to have a lot more fun while playing since they know how to avoid heavy losses and they know where they’ll find the best facilities, both online and offline. While playing online, players should expect fluent gameplay and a high-quality website which stands out from the crowd, and that is exactly what you’ll find at 777 Casino. Their whole site is modelled on the famous 1950’s Vegas era, with a retro theme and plenty of nostalgia, it is unlike anything you’ll find elsewhere online, making it a truly unique place to play online roulette.

The lack of skill required to play the game is one of the reasons that online roulette is hugely popular with new gamblers looking for a fun and laid-back way to gamble. However, it is also the reason that the majority of roulette strategies are useless. In this article we take a look at some of the most commonly used strategies for roulette and debunk them, enjoy!

The Martingale Strategy

Huxley roulette wheel with golden turret

This form of betting strategy first came to prominence in 18th century France and was based primarily on the flipping of a coin. In this scenario there is a 50/50 chance of the coin landing on heads or tails.

The strategy requires players to double their bet after every losing flip of the coin so that the first win would recover all of the previous losses. This idea has taken hold with roulette as well where players will simply bet on red or black.

The Problems with The Martingale Strategy

Unlimited Wealth: The basic premise of the Martingale Strategy is that the better has an unlimited bankroll with which they can consistently double their bets until their losses are recovered.

The problem with this strategy is that it does rely on the pure unlimited wealth of the gambler. In 50/50 scenarios the previous outcome has no bearing on future outcomes, meaning a run of 20 reds in a row is just as likely as 19 reds and 1 black. Therefore it can be a particularly ruinous strategy for ‘unlucky’ gamblers.

Roulette isn’t 50/50: One of the most common mistakes that players make on the roulette table is that thinking there is a straight 50/50 chance between hitting red, or black. However, most casino roulette table have red, black, zero and double zero.

On a ‘zeroless’ roulette table the Martingale Strategy may well come to fruition, but on the most commonly played tables, it quickly loses its viability.

The Martingale Strategy Good or Bad?

It’s definitely bad, firstly it requires you to bet way more money than you would probably ever feel comfortable with. Secondly, it is based on a 50/50 outcome which simply does not exist on most modern roulette tables. There is of course the small matter of ‘maximum bets’ which we have not mentioned, but would needless to say scupper your Martingale Strategy pretty quickly.

The Martingale System debunked

The Paroli System

This particular strategy is almost the exact opposite of the Martingale Strategy, in that players double their bets after winning rather than after losing. The basic premise of this strategy is that players believe winning follows winning.

Most will double their bet a maximum of three times after winning before reducing their stakes to the original amount.

The Problems with The Paroli System

The premise is wrong: As mentioned just above, the Paroli System relies on the axiom that ‘winning follows winning’. However, we simply know that to be not true. The outcome of a roulette spin is based on chance and probability.

A roulette table is not sentient and does not follow patterns to satisfy your betting needs, it is completely random. Your chances of winning after winning are exactly the same as your chances of losing.

It’s a losing strategy: The Martingale Strategy could be said to be defensive, as it works on the idea of doubling your bets to make up for your losses. In direct contrast the Paroli System is offensive to the point of recklessness. It is effectively the act of throwing your winnings away at the earliest possible opportunity.

The Paroli System, Good or Bad?

It is undoubtedly a bad system and even worse than the Martingale Strategy. What makes this system worse than Martingale is that it takes away from the buzz of a win by requiring players to immediately throw their haul away.

You may win big using the Paroli System, but that is purely down to chance and has nothing to do with the system itself. Ultimately, if you are to use this technique regularly you will reduce your overall winnings.

Are There Any Winning Roulette Strategies?

Group of winning roulette players

With the exception of advantage play systems, no. Besides advantage play, there are betting patterns that you can follow to limit your losses, but these will also limit your winning potential.

Ultimately most players head to the roulette table with the hope of having fun and hopes of ‘lucking out’ and winning big. This is the reason we love the game and by employing foolhardy strategies we actually take away from the love of roulette itself and replace it with an almost guaranteed way to lose cash.

Putting your money on your birthday is just as likely to win you money as betting with any ‘fool proof’ strategy is. The former is certainly more fun and relaxing so bear that in mind the next time you’re encouraged to invest your time and money into a roulette strategy.

Roulette System Scams

There is no denying most roulette systems are scams. If you told someone you could beat roulette, chances are they wouldn’t believe you. Then tell them that your system is for sale, and they will automatically assume it is a scam. For around 15 years, I’ve been involved in developing and selling techniques and systems to beat various casino games. So understand this area well.

Yes indeed, almost every gambling system is a scam. Approximately 5% of them are legitimate. This minority includes advantage play strategies such as visual ballistics. If you aren’t aware, visual ballistics is a legitimately effective strategy where you use eyesight to determine where the ball will land. Of course you don’t achieve perfect accuracy. Although, perfect accuracy is not required.

Some roulette systems can be tested at online casinos, and some cannot. Techniques such as visual ballistics can only be used on live roulette wheels. You can see a list casinos at Ruletti Kasinot and similar websites.

Why people fall for scams

Ultimately, people believe what they want to believe. Intelligent and educated are two different things. An intelligent person can still fall victim to themselves, by believing what they want.

But mostly, people that fall for scams are not educated. In the area of roulette systems, it is important to understand what at least can work, and what cannot work. Below I will explain further details, and some examples. The whole story is a book though, and beyond the scope of this article.

Almost every roulette system has random accuracy

There are probably more systems for roulette than any other casino game. The casino thrives on delusions and misunderstandings of players.

A typical example is a player walks up to the marquee, which is where the winning numbers are displayed. And they may see a run of red numbers in a row. Some players will assume that red is on a streak, and is more likely to win next. Other players may assume that red has had its run, and black is bound to spin soon.

Who is correct? Neither. The fact is red and black are just as likely to spin next as each other. The streak of reds is simply random fluctuation.

Such streaks can happen with individual numbers, dozens, columns, or whatever. It is all within the normal realms of roulette wheel behavior. The streaks happen whether the wheel is real, or winning numbers are determined by random number generators. Players see patterns that make sense in their own minds, but do not represent reality.

The problem with this is players base roulette system is on patterns that do not exist. Streaks is just one example. But there are many other types of patterns the player may be convinced exist.

Ultimately, a system that is based on imaginary patterns will achieve no better than random accuracy. In the case of individual numbers, the winning number has a one in thirty-seven chance.

Therefore, if the accuracy of predictions is unchanged, the odds of winning are unchanged, and of course the payouts haven’t changed. So what has actually changed? Nothing.

The law of a third

This is just one example of many myths and misconceptions roulette players have. The law of 1/3 state that after thirty-seven spins, approximately one third of the numbers will be repeated. Roulette players get stuck in the poor understanding of basic statistics. They believe that it is inevitable that numbers will repeat. So they think this can somehow be used for an advantage.

The math of it is simple. Basically on a European wheel, the odds of a number spinning is one in thirty-seven. On the second spin, the odds of the next number are exactly the same. But say after five spins, there have been no repeated numbers. So what are the chances that the next spin will be repeated number? It will be five in thirty-seven.

This basically means the more numbers that spin, the more likely there will be a repeated number.

How is this a big deal? It’s not. And an uneducated roulette player will be fixated on the belief that eventually repeats will occur. Yes, it’s basic probability that eventually it is likely to occur. This has no effect on the odds.

Players don’t test properly

Most players don’t know how to correctly test. They will assume they only need to win over a few spins, so they only need to test over a few spins. This understanding is incredibly bad.

Anything can happen in the short term, so proof of effectiveness can only be conclusive over a statistically significant number of spins. In reality, this means hundreds of thousands of spins, or more. The an educated player will see no point to testing so many spins, because they expect to never play this many spins.

But what happens if ten thousand players only play on ten spins? This is a total of one hundred thousand spins. Does it mean that all players are going to profit, supposedly because they only played in the short term? Absolutely not. There will be some winners, and some losers. But overall, most will be loses. And this is exactly how the casino’s house edge works.

Conclusion

In the context of roulette system scams, ultimately, players are so easily scammed because they don’t understand basic statistics. And they don’t ask the right questions to system sellers. There are some legitimate roulette strategies for sale, and many scams.

It is not difficult to identify whether or not a system at least has a chance of working. It begins with asking system seller the right questions. For example, ask the seller if the system beats random number generators. If the answer is yes, you know the system is a scam. How do you know? Because the spins from random number generators are not based on physics, and are instead based on random number generator software. You don’t know the exact cause and effect of a winning number. It is both random and unpredictable with random number generators. As such, you cannot change the odds of winning. And if you can’t change the odds, you have changed nothing, and the house edge from the casino still takes effect. This means you will eventually lose.

Most of the knowledge you need to identify scams is readily available on credible websites. But you need to know which credible websites to follow. You can start on websites that explain basic statistics.