Best Roulette Strategies

Unlike other casino games such as blackjack or poker, roulette relies entirely on luck. Although using roulette strategies won’t make you win every time, they can help you take a more considered approach to the game's payout odds, the betting types available and your bankroll management. All these combined will give you the edge over the other players at the table and potentially help you beat the casino.

Let’s break down the most popular roulette strategies:

The Martingale Strategy

The Martingale strategy relies on a player doubling their bets after a loss meaning that eventually you’ll recoup all your losses. However, this roulette system does require a large bankroll to execute effectively.

When using this strategy, make sure to always gamble responsibly – it’s easy to reach the maximum bet or even run out of money rather quickly. Set a budget and try to stick to it if you don’t have an unlimited amount.

The Reverse Martingale Strategy

As the name implies, the Reverse Martingale is the opposite of the Martingale strategy above. The strategy works by doubling your bet after each win and decreasing your wager to the minimum amount when you lose. Therefore if you’re on a winning streak, increase your bets or if you’re feeling unlucky, limit your losses.

The D'Alembert Strategy

The D'Alembert strategy is another progression bet, however, it’s much less aggressive than the Martingale strategy. Instead of doubling your wager when you lose, with this strategy, you just increase it by one. This is a much safer way to make incremental gains and works best on even-money bets like red or black and even or odd.

The Fibonacci Strategy

The Fibonacci strategy works by betting the same amount as the number you’re on in the mathematical sequence of 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144.

Whenever you lose, you simply move to the next number in the sequence and bet the corresponding amount. A win on a number moves you back down the sequence two numbers, with the strategy ending when you’re back at the first number.

The James Bond Strategy

The James Bond strategy is typically played on a European roulette wheel with a minimum bet of $200. However, this can be changed to either $20 or $2,000 as long as the proportions remain the same.

The strategy consists of splitting your total wager across the even-money high bet, a double street bet and the 0 for insurance purposes. Betting this way covers over a third of the table but you will lose if the ball lands on numbers 1 to 12.

This strategy is certainly for more high-roller players who can afford to bet such large amounts each time. If you fancy trying this, we suggest playing free roulette to see how often it plays in your favor before gambling on real money roulette online or in a physical casino.

The Labouchere Strategy

The Labouchere strategy can be complicated at first but it’s easy to pick up and can be a great alternative to the Martingale technique. It works by choosing how much you'd like to win and dividing that number into a range of numbers which add up to the total; we recommend using even numbers to start with.

The first bet is the total of the furthest left number and the furthest right number added together. If the bet wins, you cross off both numbers and move inwards on the sequence. If the bet loses, you add the first bet total to the furthest right of the sequence and start again.

Playing this strategy on even-money bets such as red/black and odd/even will help to recoup any losses you incur. However, despite having an end goal in mind, you will also need either a strict bankroll budget or an unlimited wager amount as adding the losing amounts to your list can become costly in the long run.

An Example in Play

Total goal: $20

Sequence: 2-2-2-4-4-4-2

The Paroli Strategy

Similar to the Reverse Martingale strategy, the Paroli system sees players doubling their bet after each win until they win three consecutive bets. After that point, they return to the original stake, looking to repeat the process again. If you lose, you also return right to the original wager too.

How to Choose the Best Roulette Strategy for You

With so many different roulette systems available to use it can be difficult to choose the correct one to suit you. While we can explain how different strategies require certain levels of funds, experience or mathematical know-how, it's important you understand your limitations as well.

We've broken down three considerations you should make before trialling any roulette strategy:

Budget: Can I afford this?

Many of the strategies account for losses but require persistent betting to eventually see success. Knowing your budget is incredibly important to avoid spending your bankroll before the strategy’s end goal has come to fruition.

Understanding: Do I know the rules?

Whether you're new to the game or not, brushing up on roulette rules is important. You don't want to ruin an effective strategy by making a basic mistake or missing your turn. Know the game's step-by-step process and plan your approach.

Experience: Have I played enough?

Some roulette strategies are complicated and require experience at the table to know when and where to bet. Play some free roulette first and trial some strategies in practice to learn without risking money.

Roulette Strategy Tips

Roulette is a simple game of chance and luck. There is no need for skill which makes it a very popular casino game to start playing quickly, for both new and seasoned casino players alike. However, having a bit of roulette know-how can help you navigate the roulette wheel and table a bit more easily.

Have a look at our top five strategy tips below for making smarter roulette bets. Don't forget to also check out our dedicated page on how to win roulette filled with tips and advice on checking the odds, using the right wheel and the best numbers to bet on.

1. Don’t Play Red and Black

A common mistake players make is betting on both red and black at the same time. In this case, you can only make even or lose – you’ll never win playing like this. We recommend choosing one or the other and spreading your bets evenly around the table to maximize your chances.

2. Play Outside Bets

These may have lower payouts in real money roulette, but they have higher odds of winning. We suggest making these bets more often in roulette to make your bankroll last longer. Read our roulette bets and payouts guide to learn more about the differing odds for each bet.

3. Know the Odds

If you can, we recommend playing European roulette as it has the lowest house edge (2.63%), helping you to maximize your potential payout.

4. Take Advantage of Bonuses

Online casinos offer welcome bonuses for new sign-ups and frequent offers for regular players. Essentially, these act like free credit for real money roulette. Find an online casino that fits your gameplay, and then search for all the extra casino bonuses they offer.

5. Take Your Losses

Losing is part of playing roulette. As a game of luck which has a higher house edge than other casino games, learning to accept losses and not chase them will help you enjoy it more, as well as keep your bankroll healthy.

Roulette Betting Strategies to Avoid

For every search on ‘best roulette strategies’, you’ll find some good advice (like the info listed on this page) but you will also find many theories on how to beat the system. These are usually based around finding biased roulette wheels, looking for dealer signatures, and spotting defective Random Number Generators (RNG) online. Some bettors dedicate hours searching for these faults in casinos instead of just playing for fun.

Find out why we don't recommend these mythical 'roulette techniques', and put our tips to the test instead:

• Biased Roulette Wheels

Some gamblers swear that casinos have roulette wheels with a tilt or deeper pockets on specific numbers. To find these, bettors must record thousands of roulette wheel spins to find the bias before they can exploit it to their benefit. In reality, it just wouldn’t make financial sense for a physical casino to defraud its customers. Plus they are rigorously regulated to ensure this sort of thing doesn’t happen. The same is true for legit online casinos too.

• Dealer Signatures

According to some gamblers, experienced croupiers can throw the ball in the roulette wheel so that it lands on the exact number of their choosing. With months and perhaps years of practice this might be true but finding such a dealer and getting an in with them to help you cheat your way to winning would surely be nigh on impossible.

• Defective RNGs

Online roulette games operate on RNGs. Some gamblers will search for a game that has a glitch in its software, in the hopes of manipulating it to pay out large winnings. However, this would not be in the best interests of the online casino so the time wasted finding this out could be better spent actually playing and enjoying the game.