Roulette is a game of luck and every outcome is determined by luck. Tips discussed on this page do not change the odds of winning.
I’ve met plenty of roulette players who felt they’d cracked the game and had valuable roulette tips to share. Beating roulette is the holy grail of gaming, but unfortunately none of the tips I’ve received have ever worked. Here’s why.
Roulette is a game of luck and there isn’t much you can do to change yours. Every number has the same odds of winning, and you cannot predict what’s coming next. But having played roulette for over 20 years, I have developed a few roulette tips and tricks that can at least give you more fun and value for money, even if they aren’t the answer to the question of how to win at roulette.
My best roulette tips
There’s no point sugar-coating it. Unless you find a biased wheel or have superhuman powers, winning at roulette is impossible in the long run. A game of chance with a house edge of 2.70% is simply not beatable over a large sample size.
But thanks to the element of luck in roulette, you can win any single spin, and even over a several-hour session. When it comes to how to win at roulette online, it’s not about beating the house. There are many other tips which increase your chances of success, starting with the best conditions for success.
#1: Look for the best rules and bets
Roulette tables may all look the same, but the house edge will vary depending on the rules of the game.
- European roulette and French roulette games usually have a house edge of 2.70%.
- Due to the extra double zero, American roulette has a house edge of 5.26%.
Making sure you get the best RTP is one of the most important roulette tips I can share.
There are two aspects to picking which roulette bet to make. First, although roulette bets have different payout odds, almost all of them have the same house edge. If you bet £10 on red, and on Black 33, you’ll get the same Return To Player in the long run, but it’ll come in very different ways.
However there are some bets which have a higher house edge, such as the Top Line or Basket bet in American roulette (0-00-1-2-3) which at 7.89% is over 2.50% more. The trick with American roulette is to bet straight up on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3, and you’ll be back to 5.26%.
For the best value of all, play any even money bet in French roulette. Due to the La Partage rule where you get half your bet back if zero lands, even money bets have a 1.35% house edge, half the usual 2.70% for all other bets. This is easily the most valuable of all the roulette tricks, and yet one that very few players actually know about!
Second, choose the bet with the most appropriate probability for your character.
If you’re an impatient type who wants frequent action, whatever the size, outside bets such as red or black will fit the bill. If you enjoy the drama of hitting a single number and are happy to wait it out, straight up bets are the best option for you.
#2: Have a plan
Most players will come to the roulette table with a random amount of money, and no real plan for what to bet on. You’ll see them grabbing a stack of chips and spreading them across the board in a totally haphazard way.
They won’t know how much they’ve bet, what numbers give them the best outcome, and are unlikely to come away a winner.
The best way to win at roulette in the short term is to keep track of what you’ve spent, pick a sound roulette betting strategy and play outside bets that have better roulette odds, especially if you’re playing French roulette.
#3: Don’t run out of chips
You can’t win if you don’t have the chips to play with. How much money you bring to the table depends on how many spins you expect to play, and what kind of roulette bets you prefer.
You’ll get an average of 50 spins per hour at a typical casino roulette table. If you’re betting red or black, you can expect to win and lose an equal share throughout a 50 spins, so you shouldn’t need a bankroll of more than 20 units.
If straight up bets are your thing, be prepared to go deep into your stack, and potentially see no wins in 50 or even 100 spins. That means you’ll need at least 50 units to play for an hour.
Both of those examples assume you’re betting a single unit per spin, and keeping the bet size constant. If you like to place multiple bets per spin, and vary your unit bet, be sure to account for that when considering how much you’ll need to avoid busting out before the end of your session.
#4: Don’t run out of time
Unless you’re at the roulette table on your own and the croupier is feeling generous, you’ll have less than 20 seconds to place your bets during each round. There’s nothing more frustrating than being told “no more bets” while you’re halfway through placing your bets.
Having a plan is great, but you need to be organised enough to execute it too. The busier is gets, the more prepared you’ll need to be for the opening of the betting window.
Get your chips down in plenty of time and you won’t panic when the dealer warns you there are only a few seconds left. Rushing your bets leads to mistakes that deviate from your plan, and could cost you more money.
#5: Have an exit plan and stick to it
If your numbers come in and you’re in profit, know when to walk away. Like most footballers, gamblers rarely go out on a high, so you can’t expect to leave at the peak of your winning powers.
But booking a win is important, whatever the size, and walking away with the casino’s money is a great feeling, even if you’re destined to come out behind in the long run.
Having a plan is only half of the battle. When you hit your target, don’t be tempted to stick around in the hope of even bigger success. Many gamblers are adventurous, but the successful ones are disciplined too.
#6: Don’t sweat the results
Smart gambling is as much about psychology as skill and expertise. First and foremost, roulette should be entertaining and not stressful. Neither you nor I will ever figure out how to win at online roulette, and you can’t win every time, so the only real goal is to have some fun.
My perfect mindset for any gaming session is a combination of positive attitude, a belief that you can win and a realistic acceptance that however well you play, the results are out of your hands.
Starting your roulette game with the right mentality is easy. Maintaining it when results don’t go your way is another matter.
Staying focused and positive when you’re winning is simple, but if you’re playing inside bets, you’ll need some patience and enough chips to see you through to the end of your session. If a single number only hits 1 in 37 times on average, it’s perfectly possible that your favourite number may not land in 100 or even 200 spins.
The most interesting and challenging aspects of roulette are when you second guessing your betting choices, or seeing your numbers come up at a nearby table. Every spin, and there will always be another chance.
Try not to change your mind when placing your bets, and accept that win or lose, the bets you make all have the same ‘equity’. This means that whatever you bet on, you’ll lose 2.70% of your stake. By seeing roulette Matrix-style, you can more easily disregard short term results and take one step back from the highs and lows.
#7: Stay in control
Unlike a horse race, a game of roulette has no end. With casinos now open 24/7, it’s easy to get immersed in the game, lose track of time and stay longer than you’d planned.
Good roulette players may not have secret roulette tips to win every time, but they will know when and where to play, how much to stake and when to leave. But only the best players will follow their own advice.
Budgeting for your roulette session and only betting what you can afford to lose are clichéd words of wisdom, but they’re still the 2 most important roulette tips for beginners that can help keep your playtime safe.
Starting with low stakes when you’re learning how to play roulette is the smart move, if you can’t practice for free.
#8: Know your roulette etiquette
In a land based casino, lots of players could be wedged around a full roulette table, so it helps if you all play nice. If you’re engaged in a battle of wills with another player, you’re more likely to make mistakes when you bet, or do something silly.
If you know the most common do’s and don’ts of roulette etiquette, you can stay cool as the game heats up. Place your money on the table when you buy in, don’t hand it to the dealer. Don’t take roulette chips away from the table, you have to cash it out with the croupier first.
#9: Practice for free
Unless you’ve got a roulette table in your basement, you won’t often get the chance to play roulette without betting real money. That’s another reason to play roulette online, as many casinos offer demo versions with unlimited play money chips.
Although playing without any skin in the game might not be the same, the freedom to make demo bets and see how they work can really speed up your roulette learning curve. Set yourself challenges to reach a profit target using only certain bets, and mix up the bet types each time.
#10: Scout for the best deal
Although some land-based casinos will have a reward programme, it’s rare to get much out of it. With a captive audience and no nearby competitors, casinos don’t need to earn the loyalty of their punters.
Online is a different story, and you should never settle for an online roulette game where you’re not getting some sort of reward every time you play. Whether it’s comp points, loyalty levels, money back on every spin or a prize draw entry, playing roulette online should always be more rewarding.
#11: Use safer gambling tools
I’ve mentioned budgeting for your roulette session many times in OJO’s roulette guide, and it’s a lot easier online thanks to commonly available safer gambling features like deposit limits and game time reminders.
Tools like these can be useful to all players, not just those who need help managing their play. Set some sensible rules and let the casino do the donkeywork so you can enjoy your spins without watching the clock.
Conclusion
A winning roulette formula involves careful selection of the right rules, knowledge of the best bets and choosing shrewd roulette betting strategies, plus the right mentality to handle the rough with the smooth.
It may sound like a lot to learn, but you’ve already picked up many of the top tips for playing roulette. Test them out for free and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a roulette pro!
FAQs
In a single spin, anyone can win. And even over a few sessions, if luck goes your way, you can come away with a profit. But without any element of skill, your fate is determined by the wheel, and once you take the house edge into account, it takes an impossible amount of luck to win consistently. All you can do is put yourself in the best position to win, hope for the best, enjoy wins if they come, and accept that the house always wins in the end! Steer clear of any online roulette tips that recommend the Martingale roulette system or anything like it. Play roulette for fun, not with any expectation of winning.
Red 14! Only joking. Most roulette bets have exactly the same house edge, so there is no single bet which stands out in your quest to win. Betting on black or red at a French roulette table is the best bet in roulette, as it has the lowest edge of just 1.35%. Going for low odds bets also means you’ll win more often, even if you only win modest amounts.
People often ask me which numbers come up the most, or which roulette numbers are the most popular? The sensible answer is that roulette wheels are random, and so over a very large sample size, every number has their equal share of the limelight. As for which numbers are most popular, your guess is as good as mine! You’d have to ask OJO. Some players have a lucky number – usually a key date in their lives – and some just bet on any number they can reach! One thing’s for certain, green zero is the least popular number, but the ball still lands on zero just as much as any other number. Poor ol’ zero. It must be sick of its reputation – maybe that’s why it’s green.
