How to Beat Roulette

If you think you can beat roulette, careful play and budgeting can help you come out ahead.

Want to Beat Roulette by Knowing the Next Spin?

A lot of times, people cite statistics that make you think you’ll know what the next spin is. For example, someone will say that the chances of two black spins in a row are about 25%, the chances of three black spins in a row are about 12% and so on. The interesting thing is that the chances of two black followed by one white are also about 12%. Nothing is inevitable. It’s true that it’s extremely unlikely for ten spins in a row to be black, but it’s equally unlikely to have black-red-black-red and so on for those ten spins. Moreover, the gambler’s fallacy is the belief that previous spins will affect the outcome of later spins. In reality, the chance of any number landing is always 1/37 for a European roulette wheel or 1/38 for an American roulette wheel. This is true no matter what number came out before.

Can You Beat Roulette by Knowing the Wheel?

In the past, roulette wheels had larger pockets where the ball would land. Over time, even a balanced wheel might sometimes become somewhat unbalanced. Players would surreptitiously keep track of the spins for hundreds of spins to find patterns, particularly looking for sections of the wheel that tended to attract the ball more often. On these older wheels, players could sometimes find patterns which would lead them to many wins. There have been stories of people winning many thousands of dollars by finding faulty wheels and betting on winning numbers frequently.

Today, it’s much harder to beat roulette this way, because of the newer low-profile roulette wheels. These wheels have shallower pockets and more space for the ball to roll. In addition, pit bosses monitor wheels for people who seem to be winning more than is statistically likely. When this occurrence is seen at one specific wheel, the wheel is taken to be re-adjusted and fixed for any unevenness. As a result, players are unlikely to beat roulette wheels by tracking their performance.

So How Can I Beat Roulette?

The way to beat roulette is to remember that all games of chance will give you ups and downs. Even a slight win is worth pocketing. Every time you win, simply pocket your winnings. Don’t touch the money in your pocket no matter what. If you pocket every win instead of letting it ride, you’ll end up with a pocket full of cash. On a good day, you’ll end up ahead. On a bad day, you’ll still end up with cash in your pocket. Unlike almost every other system, this system doesn’t end when you’re broke. Even if you haven’t made a killing by the end of the day, you’ll be sure to end up ahead of where you’d be if you tried any other system