- In this article I will explain a couple of interesting “roulette tricks” to use at the game of roulette. Mind you, these cannot give you a mathematical edge but they are fun to play and using my money management advice they might reduce the overall negative expectation of the game.
Roulette and craps are probably the two oldest games that are now found in our modern casinos and on any online casino. Actually, dice games were played all the way back to Caesar’s time – and perhaps even further into the past than that.
Those bones people rolled were from sheep and (wait for it) sometimes from humans – and roulette of a type goes just as far into the past. Heck, shields could be used for more than just shielding oneself. Soldiers needed their games to play and those spinning shields could give a lot of enjoyment without worrying about being killed by an enemy.
ROULETTE TRICKS AND SYSTEMS
First things first: What is the difference between a gambling system and a gambling trick? Actually not much. I look at gambling systems as a more complicated type of approach to a game such as roulette. I think of a roulette trick as a shorter, simpler method of approaching a game. One requires a certain type of discipline to follow; the other is short and sweet and not very taxing.
One of the most enjoyable of my roulette tricks is the utilization of a Big Number roulette strategy. This is a straight number strategy where you bet directly on the chosen number or numbers.
Take a look at any roulette scoreboard, those that usually show the last 20 numbers that hit, and what do you almost always see? That’s right; some number or numbers have repeated. Don’t get too excited; this is not unusual; in fact, it is usual in any random game of which roulette is one. Numbers do tend to repeat even in such short lengths as 20 spins.
The Big Number roulette trick is to take whichever number has been a repeater and bet that number. If there is more than one number you then bet on each of those numbers.
HOW MUCH TO BET?
Whatever your normal bet is then that is the bet you make on that one number. If there is more than one number than you bet your minimum bet on all the repeaters.
It is rare indeed that there will be three repeating numbers. Still, although I haven’t seen that a profound number of times, it does happen.
Please Note: If you are a player who bets more than the table minimum, then try to apportion your betting amounts so that you are not betting more than what is usually a single bet if you are betting multiple Big Numbers. A $50 player might want to break up his bet $25/$25 on two Big Numbers.
HOW LONG DO YOU BET A BIG NUMBER?
In the Big Number roulette trick you are betting with the scoreboard. Once a number disappears from the scoreboard you stop betting on that number. If no number repeats you do not bet until a repeater shows. Not betting does take a modicum of discipline on the part of players but not betting on certain rounds does save you some money. That is not something to be dismissed. No bet is not susceptible to the house edge – naturally.
BETTING THE NEGATIVE ON BIG NUMBERS
What about roulette players who prefer to bet against numbers that have hit? Or what if they want to bet numbers that have not shown up as yet on the scoreboard?
These negative betting methods are just as valid as the one I am proposing but they are in a different category. The Big Number is a positive betting trick, going with the scoreboard’s numbers and not against them, and it is far simpler than the negative category which requires the player to keep track of the numbers that have not hit (if they are not on the scoreboard) which might require a notebook and pen. And how many of these numbers that have not hit or repeated do you wager on? Those can be tough questions to answer.
WHAT IF SEVERAL NUMBERS APPEAR WITH A DIFFERENT FREQUENCY?
Let us say that a certain number repeated once but another repeated twice? Do you treat them differently? Some players might want to bet more on the number that repeated more than once. I wouldn’t recommend that as such larger bets can be dangerous to your bankroll. Just go with one bet on the repeating numbers.
You are not enhancing your chances of winning when you bet more money. You are merely increasing the overall amount you are expected to lose over time. True, if a number with more money on it hits, you certainly make more money but that does not mean the house will win less over time when you wager this way. The more money you wager the more money the house edge will grind away at.
Please Note: You must always keep in mind that whatever betting trick or system you are using cannot change the fundamental mathematics of roulette. In the American double-zero wheel you have a one in 38 chance of your number hitting and in the European single-zero wheel you have a one in 37 chance. Those probabilities do not change based on your betting methods.
MORE BIG NUMBER ROULETTE TRICKS
Players do not have to bet straight up on the numbers. After all, with a one in 38 chance of winning on the American double-zero wheels, there can be long waits for a number to hit (yes, true, the number could hit right away) and this could be discouraging to many players.
If we use the American double-zero wheels as our guide, we can postulate other ways to play the Big Number. You can use the same exact technique for the European wheel so those of you lucky enough to play the European single-zero wheel, I envy you!
Please Note: The European single-zero wheel is almost twice as good as the American double-zero wheel. The house edge is 2.7 percent while on the American double-zero wheel the house edge is 5.26 percent. So whenever given the option think in terms of playing the single-zero wheels.
If you wish to avoid straight-up bets, then you could make outside bets on one, two or a few of the outside proposition bets such as the red/black, odd/even, high/low, 1st Dozen, 2nd Dozen, or 3rd Dozen. By doing this you reduce possibly long waiting times between decisions. Many players prefer more frequent hits; to them this makes the game more enjoyable. I tend to be one of those players!There are many combinations of these bets that can be made. I’ll cover a few here and you can, I am sure, come up with more. You might even want to wager straight-up bets and outside bets!
THE "THIS AND "THAT" BIG NUMBER BET
We look at the scoreboard and we see that 10 has repeated. That number is a black one, it is an even number, and it is also a low number (low numbers are 1-18, high numbers are 19-36). Also 10 is one of the inside dozen numbers.
Please Note: On all the outside bets a hit on the 0 or 00 loses the bet. Yes, the 0 and 00 can also be the Big Number but that would mean a straight up bet on that number. Avoid making the five-number bet at the top of the layout as the house edge is 7.89 percent.
Now you have some choices to make if 10 is the repeater. Here they are:
- Make a black bet which has a one-to-one payout
- Make an even bet which has a one-to-one payout
- Make a low-number bet which has a one-to-one payout
- Make an inside dozen bet which has a two-to-one payout
You can also make any combination of the above bets, or all of them! The truly aggressive player might decide to also plop down a straight-up bet on the number. Such an aggressive player would be making five bets.
I think five bets are somewhat overboard as you are betting a lot of money. I would go with one or two of the propositions. You don’t want to throw too much money into the game at once because a losing streak could wipe you out. However, if you are breaking up a single bet into five units – say a $50 wager into $10 each – then that would be fine, as long as your minimum bet is really that $50.
WORDS OF CAUTION
Let me go over some of the obvious problems with betting these outside propositions.
- If you have two Big Numbers of different colors then you obviously do not bet red or black.
- If you have two Big Numbers and one is high and one is low, you do not bet that proposition.
- If you have two Big Numbers and they are on two different dozen lines you bet one or the other.
- There are other combinations on the inside numbers to spread out your betting. These you can create for yourself.
THE BIG CAUTION ON THE BIG NUMBER ROULETTE TRICK
I am a very conservative player. I try to protect my money even as I am betting my money. To me gambling is a combination of fear and fun. I find it fun to play the games but I do not find it too much fun when I get clobbered and I have been clobbered at times in my almost 30 years of casino play. I am sure that many of my readers have been clobbered at times and I am guessing that it was a miserable experience for them as well.
So my fear can also be my protection against foolish play. Such fear has helped me study the games for the best possible ways to play them. I think all players should incorporate fear within themselves. How can that fear manifest itself? Here are the good products of fear:
- Do not make too many bets at once. The more money you bet the greater the chance that bad luck can knock you out. Go slow. You worked hard to earn your money.
- Do not increase your bets to make up for previous losses. This is often called “going on tilt” and it has hurt many a player. Going on tilt is a sure way to get destroyed on bad sessions. If you are feeling rotten, quit for that session and do something else. The games will always be there. In fact, there are probably more casinos in the world today than there were yesterday.
- Make sure you have enough money in your bankroll not to get upset should you lose. Use the large bankroll to small bet equation. The larger your bankroll, the less a loss will hurt you.
- Have a separate bank account for your gambling money. Never mix your daily-living money with your play money. You can make deposits in your gambling account so that it grows. Put your wins in it too!
- Recognize that all casino games have a built-in advantage for the casinos. Casinos are in the business of making money. They have structured their games mathematically to beat the players. The casino’s math will defeat the player’s luck over time. Players ultimately need good luck to win; casinos just need the math; luck does not play a part on the casino end of things.
Please Note: Although the betting advice I am giving cannot overcome the math of the game, using such roulette tricks can be fun and give you a satisfying strategy for the playing of roulette. Just be cautious. Play with discipline and enjoy the thrills of the games.
ROULETTE - FAQ
Question 1: What is the house edge on roulette?
The European wheels’ edge is 2.70%. The American wheels’ edge is 5.26%.
Question 2: What is the Fibonacci system?
The Fibonacci system using the following number sequence to establish one’s betting levels. If you are a 10-unit bettor, the sequence would go like this: 10 units, 20 units, 30 units (on up).
Question 3: What is the difference between the American wheel to the European/French wheel?
The American wheel has two green (or blue) zeros (0 and 00). The French or European wheel has only one green (or blue) zero.
Question 4: Should the odds be the same on an RNG game?
Yes, the odds on an RNG game (such as online roulette) and the payouts should be the same (or better than) the odds and payouts on a regular roulette game.
Question 5: What is the RNG?
The RNG is the random number generator. It is a computer program that randomly selects number sequences that will correspond to symbols or elements of a casino game or slot machine.
All the best in and out of the casinos!
