Roulette is a fascinating game. While the game itself is primarily a product of luck, there is the pseudo-science of will involved. Let’s say you play craps. It may take two seconds for the dice to be rolled. And what about blackjack? Every time you hit, it may take just a fraction of a second for the dealer to turn that card over. In roulette, however, that little silver ball may go round and round for up to 12 seconds before it slows down, hops a couple of times, and finally settles down. And you can bet that every player betting is using their mental will during those 12 seconds to will the ball into landing on red, or black, or number 7, the most popular number, and so on. But being that this is not a D.C. comic book franchise, and we aren’t Superman who is a can will the ball to land where they wish, are there other systems available to play roulette, and do they work.
The Don’t Play System
The vast majority of professional gamblers advocate the Don’t Play System, as in, play a game with better odds. After all, the odds of playing blackjack are as low as .5 percent. The odds of playing craps, with the odds, can be as low as .85 percent. Compare this with roulette, which has a house advantage of 2.7 percent for a single zero game and 5.26 percent for a double zero game, and it’s not hard to see why they suggest simply playing a better gambling game. But to roulette lovers, there is not a more fascinating game in the casino, whether online or in a physical casino. So what are your other options?
The Martingale System
This is perhaps the oldest system in gambling. Allegedly developed by a British Casino owner in the late 1890s named John Martingale, the story goes that to his favored and richest customers, Martingale whispered in their ear that a sure way to win roulette was to double up your bet each time you lose. Logic shows that Martingale was correct. Eventually, you must win. However, Martingale failed to mention that when that winning event occurs, unless you are fabulously rich, that you most likely will lose your entire bankroll. Let’s say you are rich like Warren Buffet and are playing roulette at $10,000 per hand. If you double up then the next bet would be $20,000 a hand, then $40,000, then $80,000, and after that $160,000. In the case of betting on red and black, keep in mind that red came up an astounding 50 times in a row in a Las Vegas Casino back in 1943. So if you were betting just 1 penny a hand (of which no casino has such low limits, by the time you got to 51 your bet would be $12,307,575,068,266, which if your math is slow, over $12 trillion dollars. Secondly, the Martingale system does not take into account table limits. Casinos, of course, know about the Martingale system and do not like to lose big money, set table limits. Typically, online casinos where Kiwis play roulette, have maximum bet limits of $1,000 to $10,000.
The Fibonacci System
Fibonacci’s numbers were created by the mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci and provide a sequence of the previous two numbers. If that seems confusing, it will be clear if you look at the numbers 1 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 8 – 13 – 21 – 34. Some people believe that Fibonacci numbers mirror elements of natural science, and therefore use them to play roulette as well. Most people use Fibonacci numbers to predict odd or even bets, it’s an interesting strategy but certainly doesn’t work long term.
The Reverse Martingale System
Just like it sounds, the Reverse Martingale is the opposite of its big brother, Instead of doubling your bets when you lose, you double your bets only when you win. Probably the most newbie-friendly system out there, the advantage is that you tend to ride streaks and don’t lose a lot of money at one time. The big disadvantage is that with a single loss, you can wipe out all your profits.
The James Bond Technique
Based on a popular Ian Fleming Novel, Casino Royale, James Bond creates a series of bets such as betting on zero (now respecting bond would play a double zero game) 13-18, and 19-36. The idea is that you cover a lot of real estate with your roulette bets and spread the best around. Does it work? Of course, it works if you are Bond, just as beautiful women fall in love with you and throw their bodies at you. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work in real life. You may win a little sometimes, and other times you will definitely lose.
So is there any roulette system that works?
Unfortunately, the answer is no. There is just too much of a house edge to roulette to beat the system. All you can do is minimize the losses.
