One of the most popular games in both online casinos and traditional brick-and-mortar is Roulette. It has been part of the casino scene since it began in 1638. The game of roulette is simple and straightforward but carries some of the best strategies to increase the odds of winning. We have gathered a very detailed digest on how the roulette strategy can spell the difference in your gameplay.
We are covering a slew of roulette strategies to win. There is the roulette strategy to beat the wheel, we also added in the best roulette strategies which use the Martingale, Paroli, and D’Alembert systems. Best roulette betting strategies are well-rooted in having the odds in your favour. Of course, with a little bit of luck, the thrill of having a roulette-winning strategy can have you bringing home more than the expected winnings.
How to Choose the Best Roulette Strategies
As with any best roulette strategy, you can create your own collection of roulette strategies that works. You also have to consider your own style of roulette gameplay. There can be very aggressive approaches as well as some more subtle than most consider yet effective roulette strategies. You do need to decide beforehand if you’re a big risk taker or someone who would like to safely build winnings as you go along. We’ll give you the details on roulette strategy in the following sections.
See also: How to Play Roulette
List of Best Roulette Strategies
The roulette strategy that works is largely found in its betting roulette strategy. These are just some of the most popular ones on the block you can focus on. Be ready for a lot of details on this. We want to make sure that you’ll have the best roulette strategy to use when enjoying the game. Take small bites, please. Don’t let the information overload spook your inner game roulette strategy to win.
D’Alembert System (Recommended for beginners)
This roulette strategy was created by a French mathematician in the 1800s. This shows how this roulette bet strategy has withstood the test of time, too. It is the reverse of the Martingale (which we’ll discuss later on) but less risky.
First off, the D’Alembert strategy works on even bets — like red or black. Before playing you need to decide on a set amount of money acting as a unit. In this way, you can easily follow to decrease the next bet if you win by one unit and increase the next bet if you lose.
Doing so will have your odds of winning at 48%. The theory is that over time you can even out your bets. Do note that roulette is a game of luck and your best bet would be managing your bankroll.
| Pros | Cons |
| A great practice to manage your bankroll | Easy to learn |
| Controlled spending by setting your unit amount | Like most casino games, a possible losing streak may happen |
| Winning big sums of money is highly unlikely |
The reverse D’Alembert strategy: instead of increasing your bet when you lose, you increase this when you win.
Which is better — D’Alembert vs Reverse D’Alembert strategy?
There is no best roulette strategy between the two. Roulette is still a game of luck and you just need to stick to one roulette strategy throughout the game to see results.
Paroli System (Recommended for beginners)
This is the mirror image of the Martingale system. Keep your stake the same when you lose a round. If you win, double your stake. This is also known as “positive progression staking”. Your target is to double your stake for three winning spins in a row. Soon after, go back to your starting stake.
Let’s now also discuss the Martingale alongside the Paroli system to understand them better
Martingale System (Recommended for high rollers)
The Martingale system is considered one of the most widely used in roulette. This is a roulette strategy that is based on recovering your losses. With every losing roulette spin, you double your wager. Doing so means that once you win again, you’ll recover previous losses and gain some profit.
This system works best on even-money outside bets. Examples of these are: red, black, odd, even, 1-18, and 19-36. All have odds of 1:1 and are the safest bet for roulette.
Again, when a losing streak occurs, your wager quickly doubles. You can empty your bankroll before you’ve recovered. You could also end up betting big but gain only a small profit.
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy and simply to understand | Snagging a losing streak will quickly wipe out your bankroll |
| Greater chances of recovering your losses | The maximum amount you can wager will always be capped |
| Short-term plays can bring small winnings | It’s possible to bet big but win small |
Will choosing between Martingale vs Paroli make a difference?
The two strategies are designed to suit two very different players. If you’re risk-averse, go for Paroli as you’re increasing your bet with winnings. For Martingale, it’s designed to help recover from earlier losses at a higher risk. You’d need a bigger bankroll and pair it with a roulette table that has a high limit on bets.
Labouchere System (Recommended for high rollers)
If you’re good with numbers, the Labouchere System can be your winning roulette strategy. Like the D’Alembert, this has also withstood the test of time being created back in the 19th century. Here are the steps on how this works:
- Know how much you’d like to win: make this a conservative number like USD10. Split that into smaller, random numbers like 1, 2, 4, 1, 2.
- Mix your numbers up: Take the furthest left number and the furthest right number from the sequence which is 1 and 2 from our example — this will be your first bet, USD3.
- Make your bet: Bet USD3 on an even bet: red, black, odd, even, 1 to 18 or 19 to 36.
- Repeat the 2nd step: with a win, cross off the furthest left and furthest right numbers from your sequence. From our example, you’re left with 2, 4, 1. Again, combine the furthest two — 2 and 1 that would give you a USD3 bet. With a loss: don’t cross off any numbers and add the bet you just made ($3) to the far right of your sequence. You should have 2, 4, 1 and 3 now. Now repeat step 2, you’ll then have USD5.
- Repeat until you win: Repeat the steps until you cleared your sequence and won USD10. A losing streak is controlled and you’ll know when to quit the game. For a winning streak, you’ll stop at the first loss to keep your profits.
| Pros | Cons |
| Crossing the numbers out is gratifying | Losing streaks can get your sequence pretty long |
| Helps you manage your bankroll | You need to carefully follow the sequence and concentrate as you do |
| Winning streaks have better results | The house edge doesn’t improve thereby your odds won’t be higher |
The Reverse Labouchere strategy
For the Reverse Labouchere, you cross off the numbers you’ve bet when you lose and you add the sum of the numbers you’ve bet onto the right when you win. Again, this applies only to even bets and you still need to break down your goal into smaller numbers.
Will choosing between Labouchere vs Reverse Labouchere Strategy make a difference?
Again, roulette is a game of luck. Winning and losing streaks can really create either heaven or havoc on one’s chosen system. It’s best to simply cash in after the first loss following a winning streak. Protect your winnings by knowing when to stop.
Andrucci System (Recommended for risk takers)
The Andrucci roulette strategy is popularly known as a high-risk approach and is also based on chaos theory. With that said, the strategy is based on the idea that although roulette is a game of chance, there really is a pattern in which numbers will appear more regularly. Again, this is only for players with huge bankrolls or players who can afford to lose big.
The Andrucci strategy begins by betting 30-37 times on completely random even bets. Note down exactly which number the ball lands on each time. From the results, see which numbers appear the most and begin making straight bets on one of the popular numbers. Repeat this bet on the same number for around 30037 times, as well.
| Pros | Cons |
| The potential payout is 35:1 since it relies on straight-up bets. | Logic is applied to a game entirely based on chance. |
| Easy to follow since you’ve chosen a number to bet on. | Straight-up bets are the lowest odds — a very high risk to take |
| A lot of money and spins are involved to reap any reward that is not guaranteed |
This is the riskiest of all systems and can deplete one’s bankroll in a very short span of time. It’s better to consider other systems first before even giving this a try.
Fibonacci System (risk takers)
This remains one of the most flexible and conservative systems. The Fibonacci can also be applied to other casino games. Although a tad complicated, this is counted as among the favourite of experienced bettors.
The Fibonacci betting system is also known as a negative progression since your stake is increased when you lose. To digress, although you bet more each time you lose when you do win the stakes will be higher, ergo, higher winnings come along as well.
You will be using the Fibonacci sequence of numbers as a guide for your next stake:
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, etc.
Each stake is the sum of the two stakes before. With each loss, you would progress to the next number in the sequence, and for each win, you would go back two places, or back to the start if you haven’t progressed that far. As you can’t start betting from 0, you’d start from a ratio of 1 and continue from there.
It is important to place only an even bet that pays out 1:1, such as red/black or odd/even. This is to pace the risk of loss making it as minimal as possible.
| Pros | Cons |
| Losses are not huge and it’s easier to make up for losses as long as you win a few bets | The odds aren’t influenced by the Fibonacci system |
| The simple sequence is easy to calculate and follow | Not for long-term play |
| You can continue as you go along, there is no end to the pattern. But make sure you’re within your budget. |
How the Reverse Fibonacci Strategy Works
The reverse Fibonacci simply means that after each win, you increase your stake and after each loss, you drop back two places in the sequence.
Type of Roulette Strategies
There are only two types of roulette strategies. These are progressive and non-progressive. Let’s find out more about them in this part.
Progressive betting in roulette
The progressive betting strategies in roulette involve ever-increasing sizes of bets after each round. This can be in small increments or can hop into sizable amounts depending on whether one loses or wins in the round. This often involves a betting pattern that is strictly followed. The most popular progressive strategy are the Martingale, D’Alembert, Fibonacci, and Labouchere.
For beginners, as well as conservative low rollers, the progressives are not recommended to start off the roulette play. They do involve high stakes and are riskier. But these strategies are also known to help cut losses and become profitable in the long term.
Non-progressive betting in roulette
These betting strategies are safer and more comfortable. There is still some level of risk but is minimal. Each round sees the same amount being wagered regardless of the outcome. There is certainly a well-known non-progressive strategy called the “all-in” where you place your entire bankroll on one wager — and that’s it. This also shows that this roulette strategy is good only for short-term betting.
Aspects that Might Affect Roulette Strategies
- Betting limits: Choosing a strategy can depend on the betting limit of the roulette game you’ll choose. Some strategies call for larger maximum bets and this may not be possible if a cap of, let’s say, USD500 is hit.
- Game type: If you’d like your strategy to reach the maximum results, you better stick to single zero wheels like the European or French roulette. They have a lower house edge than standard American roulette that also has an extra 00 pocket. If you’re using the Andrucci roulette strategy where you do need to note down numbers — that’s one less 0 to think about.
- Bet choice: You’d need to consider your style, gameplay and results you’d like to have when choosing the roulette strategy to work on. If you like a safer mode of play but bigger chances of winning or you’d like riskier, aggressive roulette strategies that have winnings.
Ready to use these Roulette Strategies?
With all those details and options and gameplays and styles to pick from — creating one’s own winning roulette strategy can be overwhelming. Just focus first on what’s your style and the gameplay you really like to have. You also need to consider your bankroll as well as the results you want to see when you’re playing roulette. There’s no harm in trying out riskier betting systems. As long as you always keep in mind that this is a game of chance and there shouldn’t be too many losing streaks before one calls it a day.
