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Roulette Strategies and Systems Explained

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Roulette is one of the most widely played casino games throughout the world. Whether you’re playing it online or in person, very few things can match the thrill this brings. It’s very much a game that revolves around percentages as there are multiple ways you can place a bet to win money.

Best Roulette Strategies explained

As a result, there are various ways in which you can approach a game of roulette when you play online or at a land-based casino. This has led to multiple strategies being created by top players. A good roulette strategy is always a good way to make the game more interesting.

But be aware, that no betting system can guarantee you a profit! There is no super system or money-making guarantee roulette system. There are some low risk roulette strategies but still, there is no guarantee you will make a profit.

The roulette systems we discuss on this page are just very popular and could help you make some money if you have a good run, but the secret to success here is to Bank your winnings when you are ahead.

Best Roulette Strategy?

Let’s have a look at the most popular ones

If you’re a newcomer to the game and want to try and gain the upper hand on the table, then we’ve got different roulette strategies and systems for you to have a look at in this blog post. Bear in mind that you can try these strategies at any classic live dealer roulette table.

Following a roulette strategy is also one the most popular online roulette tips on how you can increase your chances of winning.

We’ll explain how to play each roulette strategy, how it works while running through the various pros and cons as well. You can apply these strategies regardless of the type of roulette, i.e. Live European Roulette or American Roulette.

Here is a video with an overview of some of these systems.

The Martingale Roulette Strategy

First up, we have the Martingale roulette strategy. This betting strategy was named after John Henry Martingale who owned reputable gambling houses in Great Britain during the 1700s. This is probably the most commonly used system in the roulette world, and there’s a clear reason for this; it’s simple.

But the fact that is simple comes with a price. It is very risky and the profit you might make is very low.

The concept is that you keep upping your bet whenever you lose, which means you win your money back plus some profit when you eventually win.

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How to Play

There are different ways you can approach this system, but the best one is to only bet on options where there’s an almost 50/50 chance of winning. For example, Black or Red, Odd or Even, 1-18 and 19-36. If you keep betting over and over again, your choice is bound to come in at some point.

As for increasing your bets, the general rule of thumb is to double your money. Start with the minimum bet you’re allowed. If you win, then great you can start over from scratch. If you lose double it and keep going. It is the most famous roulette system, and most people do end up at least getting their money back.

But be aware that you need to have a bankroll to cover a streak of losses. We are giving you a fair warning – don’t make extensive use of it in the long run as it can eliminate your balance quickly.

Pros:

  • Easy to understand and no real technical knowledge needed
  • Can be used at any roulette table
  • Less chance of losing money compared to just erratically betting

Cons:

  • Won’t work effectively if you’ve got a budget – can quickly lose all your money before your bet comes in
  • The odds are always against you because of the green 0 (you have around a 47.6% chance of winning each bet)
  • The profit you can make is very low compared to the amount you are risking
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Many live casino players are using the Martingale and other systems when they are playing live roulette online because they prefer to have a betting system.

Variations of the Martingale Roulette Betting System

There are a few variations to this type of system each with different ways of winning that are briefly described below.

Great (Grand) Martingale

The Great Martingale roulette betting system requires players to double up their stake as well as add an extra unit increasing the number of units after a loss. The player is then able to eventually increase the number of units in case of a loss. This is advantageous over the other system as it rewards a player much better after a win.

This system is, therefore, a better choice for gamblers looking for greater returns to their bets.

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Classic Martingale

This is the original betting system in which players double their wager after encountering a loss or else reducing it after a win.

In this system, a player is required to place a bet on a specific colour, for example, a red or black colour. Of all other numbers in the wheel (18 for every colour), a player makes a loss after hitting either 0 or 00 and wins a bet after hitting either of the colours.

Anti-Martingale

This system favours players in circumstances through which they are lucky to make consecutive wins. Unlike the Martingale system where a player doubles up a stake in case of a loss, a player increases a stake after a series of wins in the Anti-Martingale betting system.

It is due to this fact that the system is also known as a Reverse Martingale as it has the opposite concept of the Martingale system.

Mini Martingale

This system shares many similarities with the classic variation except that when a player loses a bet, the player confines himself to the number of times he or she will bet twice in a row.

Compared to the classic system, a player is able to save some losses that could have been made in case of continuous losses. The other advantage is that players lose money slowly also because they increase the number of bets gradually. This makes the Mini Martingale a better choice when it comes to the short term.

Paroli Betting System

Next, we have Paroli – sometimes called Paroli progression or Parlay. This is another simple roulette strategy with a lot of strong advantages. It’s easy for you to get to grips with, all you have to do is double your bet when you win, and start over with 1 unit after a loss.

Unlike some other systems, you don’t have to deal with crazy equations or calculations here. Again, you’re placing all of your bets on all the even chance outcomes.

The difference between this and Martingale is that you only double your bet if you win.

How to Play with Paroli Betting System

So, bet 1 unit on red, win the bet, then bet 2 units – and so on.

The fact you double your bet when you win means you have the potential to get some big money here.

But, the risk of this strategy is that if you use it long-term you might not make any profit.

The tricky thing with Paroli is knowing when to stop a winning streak and take home the cash.

Pros:

  • Betting with one unit means losing streaks aren’t that damaging
  • Can win big when you go on a winning streak
  • A good starter strategy for beginners

Cons:

  • You will almost certainly lose multiple times
  • All it takes is one loss after a good sequence of wins to take away all your profits

D’Alembert roulette betting system

double ball live roulette by evolution gaming

The D’Alembert roulette strategy is slightly more complicated than the previous two. It’s based on the theories of a legendary mathematician and is considered a linear betting system. Again, to go through with this system, you’re only looking at the even chance bets.

The D’Alembert roulette betting system was named after a prominent mathematician known as Jean-Baptiste le Rond d’Alembert. In the 1700s, D’Alembert came up with a rather inaccurate argument that when a coin is flipped several times and landed on heads in a row, the likelihood of the coin landing on tails was increased with every subsequent flip.

Unlike the Martingale system, the D’Almbert system requires players to increase their bets when they lose and reduce them when they win in a manner that is less risky for the player.

How to Play with D’Alembert roulette betting system

The system goes a little bit like this:

  • Place your first bet of one unit
  • Increase your bet by one unit when you lose, decrease it by one unit when you win
  • When a net profit is achieved, reset everything and start again with one unit

The whole concept is that you have more chances of winning after a losing streak, so you should bet more. Likewise, there are more chances of losing after you win, which is why it’s smart to reduce your bets after winning to avoid big losses.

As a general rule of thumb, most roulette experts say you need a ratio of 2 wins per 5 spins to generate a profit through this system.

According to this system, if you lose, you continue with betting using one unit as each time you lose you increase the previous bet by a unit.

If you win, however, you will have to continue betting with one unit as you cannot bet with a fraction of a unit.

In this system, the amount of times a player is allowed to place a bet is infinite unless there are table limits. In spite of this fact, it is possible for a player to determine his or her limits as one can decide to quit after a number of consecutive losses. A player may choose to stop after losing a bet five times in a row.

Here’s a basic example:

  • Bet 1 unit, lose the bet, you have a profit of -1
  • Bet 2 units, lose the bet, you now have a profit of -3 overall
  • Bet 3 units, lose the bet, you have an overall profit of -6
  • Bet 4 units, win the bet, you now have an overall profit of -2
  • Bet 3 units, win the bet, you now have an overall profit of +1

Hopefully, that’s easy to understand so you can see how the 2 wins per 5 spins ratio works out!

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Pros:

  • Can be done with a small bankroll
  • Is relatively safe compared to other strategies because you never bet all of your winnings
  • Very easy to get to grips with

Therefore the d’Almbert system is a good alternative to players who dislike the Martingale because of its huge pitfalls and higher risk.

Cons

  • Long losing streaks are likely
  • The odds of making a big profit are low because it’s such a ‘safe’ method

Another drawback is that in the case of losing a couple of bets continuously, it will take several wins to recover from losses, unlike the Martingale where a player gains money after winning.

For example, if a player loses bets four times in a row and is down by 10 units, winning in the next bet will only recover five units. A Martingale system however assures a player some return after a win.

The Labouchère roulette system

The Labouchère roulette system also referred to as the spilt martingale or the cancellation system is a strategy for gambling in roulette. Before placing a bet, users of this strategy decide the amount of money they want to win and then write down a list of positive numbers which add up to the pre-set amount.

For every bet, the amount staked by the player is equal to the sum of the first and last number listed. If one number is the only one remaining, then that is the stake amount. If the bet is a success, the two amounts on the list are removed.

If unsuccessful, the amount a player loses is added to the end of the list. This process will go on until either the list gets crossed out completely or until the player’s bankroll has run out.

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How to Play Labouchere roulette system

For you to use the Labouchere roulette system, you must set a goal for the amount of money you want to win. Usually, the easy way is expressing this is in a certain number of units where the value of the unit is any amount you like.

If for example, an individual would like to win £100 they can set the value of a unit at £10, this implies that the goal is winning ten units.

The moment you know the number of units you would like to win, it’s advisable to break them down into small numbers which you’ll write down in line.

The following number sequence can be used for the example above.

1 2 3 2 2

The key is that the numbers sum up to ten. Crossing off five of the numbers from your sheet implies you have attained your goal.

You can make money bets such as red/black or odd/even with the Labouchere roulette system just like in many other systems. By adding together the first and last numbers from your line then wagering that many units you will be able to determine your bet size.

In the above example, 1 and 2 are the numbers at the line ends. The unit total will be three implying the first bet will be £30.

On winning the bet, the numbers used to make the bet are crossed. The line will now be like this:

2 3 2

The next bet will be for £40 (adding 2 and 2 to make a unit total of four). If the bet is lost, the total unit number is added onto the line and it will look like this:

2 3 2 4

Now, the next bet will be for £60 (adding 2 and 4 to make a unit total of six).

A person needs to continually make bets till the line is entirely wiped out so as to see this system all the way through. It’s at this point that a person completes the Labouchere roulette system and the goal set before starting will have been attained.

Advantages of the Labouchere Roulette System

The very obvious advantage is that a player doesn’t need to score wins that are constant to meet their goal eventually.

Winning just a third of the time is sufficient to maintain a player‘s line as they only need to add one number to the line every time they lose but cross two numbers off every time they win.

Just like the Martingale, if a player hits a losing streak, they need to increase their bets. The difference however is that, unlike Martingale where bets double, the effect is less severe making it manageable for many players.

Disadvantage of the Labouchere Roulette System

The fact that there isn’t any guarantee absolutely to overcome the house edge is probably Labouchere roulette betting system’s largest disadvantage. Nevertheless, this system of negative progression helps players generate wins which may cover up their losses and minimize the house advantage.

Fibonacci Roulette Strategy

Lastly, we have the Fibonacci roulette strategy. Right away, we have a good sign as this is widely viewed as the safest system out there. Some will even consider it the best roulette system because of the low risk it involves compared to the others.

So, it’s a good place to start for beginners. It’s all focused on a sequence of numbers where each corresponding number is equal to the sum of the previous two numbers.

How to Play Fibonacci strategy

The best way to describe this is by just showing you, so here is the Fibonacci sequence:

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89… and so on, you get the picture!

Applying this to roulette is relatively straightforward; you use the numbers in the sequence to determine how many units you bet. So, you start with 1 unit, then 1 unit again, then 2 units, 3, 5, and so on. If you win, then you need to go back two numbers in the sequence and start from there. You’re betting on the even chances here, so keep that in mind.

Pros:

  • A fun way of betting
  • You can win, but you won’t win big
  • A relatively safe system to minimise losses

Cons:

  • Won’t work in the long run
  • Always the chance of a big losing run

James Bond Roulette System

The James Bond roulette strategy is remarkably different from the other roulette techniques. Here, you need at least 200 units to bet with. Instead of betting on the even chances, you’re betting on three different things.

How to Play James Bond Roulette System

It’s fairly simple; 140 units go on 19-36, 50 go on 13-18, and 10 goes on zero. This leads to a number of possible outcomes:

  • If your 19-36 bet wins, you get an overall profit of 80 units
  • If your 13-18 bet wins, you get an overall profit of 100 units
  • If your bet on 0 wins, you get an overall profit of 160 units

Of course, the obvious issue here is that you can lose money if any numbers from 1-12 come in. But, if this happens, you can combine this with the Martingale strategy and double your bet.

It’s an effective strategy for making a lot of money fast, but you should almost certainly walk away as soon as you hit your profit. Whether that comes in on your first or fifth spin, it doesn’t matter – walk away!

Pros:

  • You cover a lot of options, so there is a high chance of winning
  • Due to the amount, you bet you can win reasonably big right away
  • Doubling your lost bets mean you could recover your losses with one win

Cons:

  • If you lose you’re instantly down 200 units, and this doubles with every loss after that – can be a long time before a win
  • Not going to work for newbies who don’t have or want to bet that much money

To sum up, you have five roulette strategies that could help you get to grips with this game and pocket a bit of cash. But, be warned, there’s no guarantee you’ll make a profit just by following these roulette tactics.

Any strategy will result in a loss if you get too carried away, so make sure you back out whenever your balance is positive! We also recommend you play at a low stakes roulette table at least until you get familiar with the strategies. Some great low roulette stakes tables include speed roulette, lightning roulette and football roulette.

*All betting systems involve some kind of risk and Best UK Live Casinos recommends casino players to gamble responsibly.

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