Roulette Systems. Useful or Useless?
As a keen roulette player, one of the questions that I am often asked relates to roulette systems. Type in "roulette system" into Google and youll get 2,440,000 results with headings like "Free Roulette Strategy. how to Win at Roulette" and "Winning Roulette System".
My personal favourite is: "Roulette System that is Guaranteed to Win".
Well, here are the facts. The probability of winning at roulette is a direct result of the layout of the wheel and betting options, the mechanics of the wheel (how it is built) and the payout that is awarded for each type of winning bet. All these 3 things are controlled by the casino. Now put yourself in their shoes. They are running a business. They want a balance between making money and attracting loyal customers (it costs far more to acquire customers than it does to hang on to existing ones). It makes bad business sense to set up a system where no one wins, as that means no one will come back. But at the same time, it would be crazy to set up a system which was basically a one way automatic teller machine
Roulette systems will NEVER alter the fundamental odds of the game. But they can allow you to play more methodically (ie systematically). By playing with your head rather than your heart, you will be able to stick to a plan: when to leave the roulette table if you are up, and when to leave it if you are down. Now this is never a bad thing.
The key to enjoying yourself at roulette is understand the fundamentals behind the game and make them work for you. Lets take even money bets for starters. For example, red/black. If you win one of these bets, the casino will pay out at a ratio of 1:1. Thats to say if you put $1 down and win, youll get $2 back (your original stake plus $1). However the probability of you landing red is not 1 in 2, but 1 in 2.06. Why? Because there is also a zero pocket (we are talking European Roulette here). So lets say you bet 1,000 times at $1 a time. You would more than likely win around 485 times. Your bankroll would have reduced from 1000 to 970.
So why do people gamble, I hear you ask? Well, the excitement comes in the streaks that you will experience, either winning or losing. Savvy roulette players know when to spot a winning streak and more importantly when to stop playing and walk away.
The main thing to take away from this article is, however, that the house always wins when you look at the average of their takings versus the winnings that they pay out. Sure there are winners, and big ones too. But dont feel sorry for the casino: these winners are being indirectly funded by people losing their money, not by the casino.
My personal favourite is: "Roulette System that is Guaranteed to Win".
Well, here are the facts. The probability of winning at roulette is a direct result of the layout of the wheel and betting options, the mechanics of the wheel (how it is built) and the payout that is awarded for each type of winning bet. All these 3 things are controlled by the casino. Now put yourself in their shoes. They are running a business. They want a balance between making money and attracting loyal customers (it costs far more to acquire customers than it does to hang on to existing ones). It makes bad business sense to set up a system where no one wins, as that means no one will come back. But at the same time, it would be crazy to set up a system which was basically a one way automatic teller machine
Roulette systems will NEVER alter the fundamental odds of the game. But they can allow you to play more methodically (ie systematically). By playing with your head rather than your heart, you will be able to stick to a plan: when to leave the roulette table if you are up, and when to leave it if you are down. Now this is never a bad thing.
The key to enjoying yourself at roulette is understand the fundamentals behind the game and make them work for you. Lets take even money bets for starters. For example, red/black. If you win one of these bets, the casino will pay out at a ratio of 1:1. Thats to say if you put $1 down and win, youll get $2 back (your original stake plus $1). However the probability of you landing red is not 1 in 2, but 1 in 2.06. Why? Because there is also a zero pocket (we are talking European Roulette here). So lets say you bet 1,000 times at $1 a time. You would more than likely win around 485 times. Your bankroll would have reduced from 1000 to 970.
So why do people gamble, I hear you ask? Well, the excitement comes in the streaks that you will experience, either winning or losing. Savvy roulette players know when to spot a winning streak and more importantly when to stop playing and walk away.
The main thing to take away from this article is, however, that the house always wins when you look at the average of their takings versus the winnings that they pay out. Sure there are winners, and big ones too. But dont feel sorry for the casino: these winners are being indirectly funded by people losing their money, not by the casino.
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