Is it possible for a Kiwi Roulette Player to win big money, buy a home in Christchurch, be surfing one day, and mountain skiing the next? Having money, as they say, may not make you happy, but it will certainly finance a heck of a lot of happy meals. So back to the question. Can roulette make you rich? Possibly. But you need to make good decisions and be darn lucky to do so, so let’s break down the game.
Roulette Has a Low Win Rate
The first thing to notice is that regarding the pay-off, whether you are a Kiwi player trying their luck at an overseas online casino, or you are entering one of New Zealand’s six physical casinos, realize that roulette is not the best game to play. The house edge on roulette, if you manage to snag a single zero game, is 2.70 per cent. And if you play a double zero game, then the house edge is 5.26 per cent. Compare that to the house edge of .5 per cent for blackjack, a house edge as low as .85 per cent with odds bets on craps, a house edge as low as 1.06 per cent for baccarat, and even a house edge as low as 2 per cent on some slot machines and roulette doesn’t look like such a good game.
Online Casinos use Table Limits
Another important element to getting rich is how much can you win at one time. Those new to online gambling may not understand that both online and physical casinos have table limits on roulette bets. For example, many online casinos have an inside bet limit of around $150 or less. Let’s say for example that it’s your 7th wedding anniversary, and you were married on the 7th month (July) and the 7th day. So you are 100 convinced that the number 7 will come up on the 7th roll when you sit at the tables. You’re at an online casino with a table limit of $150 for inside bets. That means, at a payout of 35 to 1, you can win $5,250. And while most of us wouldn’t sneeze at a $5,000 win, it will hardly buy you a new Snowmobile, let alone a yacht or a house. So why do casinos, who have a significant house edge on roulette, set house limits anyway? It’s because of the famed Martingale manoeuvre. Created by a British Casino owner, John Martingale, who whispered to certain high-roller casino players that he had a sure-fire way for them to win money. Just double down your bet each time you lose. Eventually, you’ll wind up winning. Of course, Martingale, as an experienced casino operator, knew that the vast majority of gamblers would lose their entire stake long before the system paid off. After all, sometimes red comes up 50 times in a row… true story. And it’s not unheard of for a single number, although the odds are high, to show up 6 times in a row. In case you didn’t know, casinos don’t like to take chances. The entire system is built in the casinos long term favour. But to avoid short-term anomalies like this, casinos all set table limits, particularly for roulette.
Slot Machines Pay High
Now, let’s compare this with playing a single dollar on a slot machine. Most online slot machines payout a minimum of 7,500 coins to upwards of 10,000. And if you are playing a progressive slot, that could be much higher. In fact, in New Zealand in 2016, a Kentucky Fried Chicken Employee named Rawiri Pow managed to win over 10 million dollars playing a slot machine and managed to place himself on the Kiwi rich list. The best that we are aware of in roulette, by comparison, is an anonymous Kiwi roulette player, also in 2016, who in a few hours managed to turn a $1,000 stake into $100,000. Not bad, but certainly more rare, and even $100,000 will not turn you into a rich Kiwi.
Roulette Winning Odds are Greater than Blackjack
You frequently hear of professional blackjack players and professional poker players, but you rarely hear about professional roulette players. Why? Because the less skilful the gambling game, the greater the odds. A blackjack player, for example, can bring the odds down to as low as one-half a per cent, and have a decent chance of making money. This is not true with roulette players. In roulette, the player never touches the ball or the wheel. The game is completely hands-off and subject to the long objects of chance. You can be assured that though they might take notice, no bean counters are sitting at their calculator, a computer spreadsheet at their side, keeping track of each win or losses. Rather, they know over the long haul they will profit 2.7 to 5.26 depending upon how many zeros are on the wheel. Casinos win consistently on roulette as well as every other gambling game. But with roulette, while it possible a few rare players will become wealthy, on average, plenty will lose.
