Few casino games offer the range of betting options as does roulette. On an American-style roulette wheel there are 38 slots in which the ball can land and multifarious combinations of those numbers that can be wagered. The payback for these bets ranges from even money to 35 to one.

A player who tries to “break the bank” by letting it all ride on 22 has the opportunity to see a big payout, but is likely to fail. Someone who uses a more calculating system involving small bets on options that offer better odds is likely to lose less, or – more importantly – win a greater percentage of the time.

Fast and Slow

Roulette is a game of percentages and sometimes of long runs on a certain color or range of numbers. This can mean a losing streak that could be hard to break, especially of the player is using one of the most common systems. Under what is called the “Martingale” system, a player is supposed to double every losing bet and then go back to playing an even-money wager after a winning spin.

The flaw in this aggressive strategy is that there can be long losing runs and losses can quickly exceed the maximum table bet, making it impossible for the player to wager enough to cover losses and be able to return to the less aggressive betting strategy. Also if a player always makes an even-money bet, the house advantage of approximately 5 percent (for American wheels) eventually will drain the bankroll. The house advantage would mean that placing the same bet every spin on an even-money bet would produce 20 losers on every 38 spins.

Changing the Odds

Roulette experts will tell you (some for a price) that by using strict money management, knowing the wheel, watching how the croupier is spinning the wheel, and recording the track record of spins the odds of winning for the player can be improved. In fact, some roulette experts will strongly advise against the strategy employed in Martingale and tell players to never “chase” losses by doubling down on losing bets.

Instead, it is urged that a player wait until a winning spin before increasing the bet, then to gradually increase the stakes on each successive winning bets. Using this method, experts argue, will minimize losses on the losing runs and take advantage of winning sequences. An even safer alternative is to return to the base flat bet after two wins in a row.

Using this calculating system means less risk on each spin of the wheel but it also means less payout on each win. However, the important part of the game is to win, so the slower paced system means money in the pocket in the long run. For instance, roulette experts say a player should be happy with a 10 percent payback on an initial investment. That means if a player starts with a $100 bankroll, then coming away with a $10 profit equals success. As in the old adage, “slow and steady wins the race.”