Simple Truths and Most Common Misconceptions of Roulette Strategy
Why having a strategy does not make you impervious to loss
Having a strategy in a game of chance such as roulette is often regarded as a fool’s gold; in most cases, the term describes the strategy quite accurately, since there is no way of knowing with certainty where the ball may land. It is therefore easy to conclude that strategizing in roulette has little, or rather nothing to do with the ball’s final destination. Let us illustrate one of the most commonly used strategies with an example: if you decide to use a progressive betting system and double you bet on red after every loss, you will not increase the odds of the ball actually landing on the red pocket. The odds will remain unchanged regardless of how many times the black won and the players are likely to soon drain their budget. Even if the red wins after a series of losses and double losses, the payout will hardly cover the damage incurred by the previous negative strikes for two reasons – the bet has an upper limit that you cannot cross and the odds that the roulette game is giving you are 35 to 1 on 37 numbers (in the European variant). In a word, you are counting on your luck, rather than the strategy.
The truth behind the most common beliefs
For some reason, there are many roulette enthusiast who believe how analysis of the previous spins can be used as an indicator of the future spins. Unfortunately, physical variables aside, there is no link between past and future spins, nor are the odds for red increased after the ball landed on black field 100 times and vice versa.
Which brings us to the second misconception – long term balance. Testing a high number of spins will in most cases lead to a conclusion that the number of black wins will be almost equal to the number of red wins. Therefore, if we go back to the last 1000 spins and find that the number of black spins has been a bit lower than the number of red spins, the logic would prompt us to stake on the black as we would expect the numbers to eventually even out. However, this judgement is flawed for two reasons:
- The test was conducted on the last thousands spins and we have not determined the statistics of the last 10,000 spins – had we done that, the results might have been entirely different
- The higher percentage of the red winnings may be caused by the defect in the wheel, in which case wagering on the black equals to wagering on a random colour/number pocket
One other illusion that the players hold onto is called progressive betting, both positive and negative. The idea behind any type of progressive betting is not to affect the odds, as this is not possible, but to control the budget and employ damage control – to a certain extent. The eventual win a player is waiting for during the course of progressive betting will be far from enough to compensate for the losses along the way. In other words, one should take the betting system for what they truly are; a feeble attempt to control the game with no true influence on the outcome.
What does work?
So, how does one improve the odds in a game of roulette? Dismissing all known progressive betting strategies such as Martingale system, The Kavouras Bet or John Solitude Raindrop strategy, we are left with one word that actually has something to do with the wheel and the ball, as the only two factors closely connected with roulette odds. The word is physics.
Before you run away, screaming, let us assure you that the physics of roulette is really rather simple and pretty much the only thing that will give you an advantage over the house and other players.
In simple terms
The number and the landing of the ball is determined by the physical variables such as properties of the wheel and the ball, speed, resistance etc. Odds and payouts on the other hand cannot be made different than what they already are. If you are playing European variant, the odds will always be 1 in 37 for an accurate prediction and 35:1 for the payout. Popular betting tactics have absolutely nothing to do with factors such as rotor speed and bounce of the ball; which is of little use in a game of roulette. What can help you and therefore deserves to be considered a strategy is roulette computer on one side, and cross-reference roulette system on the other.
Roulette computers
Probably the only device out there that can predict the landing of the ball by considering Dominant Diamonds and Predictable Ball Bounce. The Dominant Diamond is the most likely landing for the ball and is not depended on the release speed. With the Ball Bounce, the player will only need an approximate value in other to gain advantage. In most cases, the ball bounces across 15 pockets and one can even create a chart that will display the length between the first and the last bounce.
Cross-reference roulette system
Here, the player needs to use analysis in order to discover patterns and make use of the available information. The method works equally well in online and brick and mortar casinos and can be mastered in no more than a few minutes. Due to the amount of data used, the system is accurate, carries a low risk rate and is effective with old and modern roulette wheels.
The final question is how far are you willing to go to beat the system. For some people, not knowing is the part of the game they enjoy the most, which is precisely why they choose roulette. If the strategy is what you are after, roulette may not be your kind of game and you might want to consider moving onto a different battlefield altogether.
