Roulette is a game that relies on luck, especially when played in digital versions at mobile and online casinos. A random number generator offers no exploitable biases to observant punters, the way physical wheels and croupier habits do.
Instead, you might study the layout of numbers on the wheel and the pay table, so you can craft combination bets that mean you lose less often, and which ensure better returns when you do hit a win. However, some Roulette enthusiasts remain forever in search of that infallible betting strategy that guarantees wins. Here are 3 of the most popular:
The Martingale
The oldest, most famous and perhaps most dangerous Roulette betting strategy around. The Martingale system is simple: place a single unit on an even-money bet: high/low, odds/even or red/black. If it wins, subtract the win and bet the same stake again.
If you lose, double the bet. If you lose again, double it again. Continue until you finally win, at which point you profit by the one-unit win you missed on the first losing spin. If you lose $10, then $20, then $40, but then win $80, you’re $10 up, right?
Yes, except the Martingale system doesn’t work. Sooner or later, you’ll hit a long string of losses: it’ll only take 7 in a row to require an eighth bet totalling more than $1,200. You’ll either hit the table limit or run out of money.
The Labouchere
The Labouchere is a complicated betting system, so you need to study it well before trying it out. It also requires a pad and pencil to keep track of things. You predetermine the bets you intend to make, then only add bets as required to make up for any losses in that sequence.
You start by writing a list of numbers: a short sequence of low numbers in best, because they refer to the size of your bets. Your first bet should be the total of the first and last numbers on your list. If it wins, you cross those numbers off and bet the next two. If you lose, you add the total amount that you lost to the end of the line and repeat the process. If you cross out all the numbers in a line before exhausting your bankroll, you walk away with a profit.
The d’Alembert
The d’Alembert is quite simple: bet one unit as long as it wins. Every time you lose, raise your next bet by one unit; don’t double it as in the Martingale. Continue raising each bet by one unit until you win again, then bet one less unit on the next spin. That’s the whole strategy: raise the bet by 1 unit after a loss, lower it by 1 unit after a win.
It can work, too, if you’re prepared to leave the table with a modest profit. A run of wins that comes after a few losses, when your bet has grown quite high, can make you some decent returns.
