The truth is, there are no strategies to help you play roulette and win all the time. Roulette is a game of pure chance.

You can make choices on how to bet and the level of risk and reward you want – but you can’t use skill to influence the outcome of the game. It’s 100% random.

How to Boost Your Odds of Winning Roulette

The European roulette wheel has only 36 pockets and one green 0

There are 2 things you can do to increase your odds of winning in roulette:

1. Make outside bets with 1:1 payouts to get the best odds.

2. If you can, play the European wheel (see illustration). Notice that it has 36 pockets instead of 37. This means its house edge is only 2.7%. So, the odds are better for you to win, in contrast to the American wheel house edge of 5.26%.

Streak or Trend Betting

Some players believe in betting with or against the trend to try to increase their chances of winning. For example, if black has hit 7 times you might believe it will hit again – or that red is due to win next, so you bet accordingly. In other words, you’re using past information to guide future bets.

But in reality, a past spin won’t influence the outcome of a future spin. It doesn’t matter that black has hit 7 times in a row. The odds of black or red hitting next will always remain equal because the outcome is completely random. So you can’t get an edge by betting on past numbers or trends.

Tip

You can’t predict which trends or streaks will happen and when trends will end. Roulette is 100% random. So betting with or against the trends isn’t a winning strategy.

A tote board screen displays the most recent winning roulette numbers

Use the Number Display Board for Fun

It is now common to see an electronic screen called a tote board that highlights past winning numbers. This board acts as a record and is used by some to place bets based on “streaks/trends”.

And sure, while betting on past numbers can add some fun to the game, like we’ve been saying, it isn’t a winning strategy.

BETTING SYSTEMS

Some players base their play on betting systems like the Martingale system, where you double your bets after each loss. But we wouldn’t recommend it because you end up betting your play budget much faster than you would otherwise, and without any guarantee of winning back your losses.

Tip

There’s no dream system out there that can make you a frequent winner at roulette. Steer clear of “roulette pros” selling “the secret to winning roulette” betting systems for only 20 bucks a pop.

Play Lucky Numbers for Fun

Play your lucky numbers for fun and know they won’t improve your odds.

Betting on birthday, wedding or any other favourite or lucky numbers is part of the fun of playing roulette. Just know that playing these meaningful numbers doesn’t improve your odds.

Extend Your Fun

Roulette is fast paced so you can end up spending your play budget faster than expected. Here are a few ways you may be able to extend your play budget, game play time and your fun:

Start small:

Stick to outside even-money bets (1:1) and play at tables with the lowest round and chip minimums. This will help you make your budget last longer. If you have a $100 budget, you don’t want to bet $25 per spin or you’ll be out of the game rather quickly.