Do Roulette Strategies Work?
It is important to make it clear that there is no way to beat the house without cheating. Eventually, the house will always win, even when you use roulette strategies. This is due to the green zero, that ultimately gives the house the advantage.
However, strategies do exist for roulette and they can go a long way towards improving your chances of walking away with a profit. They will not work all the time, but they do strengthen your position at a roulette table. Thus, we have put together a list of the best roulette strategies to boost your chances of winning.
Roulette strategies are used to help you win more bets with bigger stakes. The safest bets to place are the even money bets – i.e., red/black, odd/even or 1-18/19-36. Most of these roulette strategies are played with even money bets. The strategies we will be looking at are:
- Martingale
- Fibonacci
- Labouchere
Martingale
The Martingale is the most popular and famous roulette strategy. It is very easy to follow. After every round that ends with a loss, you double your bet. Eventually, when you win, you get back your lost money and make a small profit as well. After winning, you place the same starting bet and repeat the process again.
To use the Martingale strategy, you must place outside bets. That means even money wagers like red/black, odds/evens or 1-18/19-36. This gives you the greatest chance of winning (almost 50%) but also pays out the minimal 1:1, which is required to cover your losses from previous rounds.
The betting for the Martingale is quite standard. After every wager placed that loses, you double the stake placed. Thus, if you start with €1, after losing you place €2. If you lose after that, you place €4. This is followed by €8, €16, €32, €64, €128, €256, €512, €1024 and so on. However, as soon as you win a round, you return to the starting bet of €1.
Advantages
- By doubling your bet after every loss, you are bound to win back the amount you previously bet and improve your net winnings.
- It is effective to use the Martingale when playing for a short period of time – no longer than a few hours. This boosts your chances of leaving the casino with a profit.
- The Martingale is very easy to learn and can help you recover your losses at a roulette table.
Disadvantages
- Roulette tables that set a maximum betting cap will damage your chances of winning with the Martingale. If you reach the maximum bet, you will not be able to use the strategy effectively.
- Your bankroll has to be big. To use the Martingale effectively, you will need to have a large bankroll that can cover every loss with an even bigger wager. Ultimately, the strategy burns through your funds.
- The Martingale is effective in the short term. As a long-term strategy, you are bound to fail with it. The more you play, the more likely you are to lose. It is advised to play for a few hours and then quit.
Fibonacci
The Fibonacci is one of the safest roulette strategies you can use. It is most effective when playing with a Live Dealer at a table with high limits. The concept of the Fibonacci is based on the Italian mathematician’s famous sequence of numbers. It sees you place wagers based on the Fibonacci sequence, in which each number is the sum of the prior two. Here’s what the first few numbers are:
1 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 8 – 13 – 21 – 34 – 55 – 89 – 144 – 233 – 377 – 610 – 987
When using this sequence as a betting system, you start with a bet of 1 unit (the first number in the sequence). You can set how much a unit is, it may be €1, €5, €10, or anything else. If you lose, you move to the next number in the Fibonacci sequence, so if you lose the first bet, the second is also 1 unit. This way you continue to progress along the sequence for as long as you lose. Once you win, instead of returning to the beginning, you move back two numbers in the sequence. For example, if you were to lose seven bets in a row and then win, your next bet would be 5 units.
Advantages
- The main advantage to using the Fibonacci strategy is that it is safer than the Martingale. Your winning percentage is increased over the long run rather than a short-term fix.
- The Fibonacci does not require as big a bankroll as the Martingale. The bets you place are low value wagers.
- It is very easy to learn and follows a simple sequence.
Disadvantages
- The Fibonacci strategy does not guarantee wins. Much like with the Martingale, some roulette tables have maximum wagers that you may reach before hitting a win.
- In the long run, you are bound to start losing your profits. While you can play longer and safer than with the Martingale, the Fibonacci strategy will eventually see the house win.
Labouchere
The Labouchere strategy was named after Henry Labouchere, who was a British aristocrat in the 19th century. He was a politician, a journalist and above all, a gambler. Labouchere loved roulette and used an interesting strategy when playing.
Labouchere is a popular roulette strategy that may be difficult to grasp at first but is rather easy to learn. The first thing you ought to do is to decide on an amount that you want to win. For this example, we will use €15 as the amount we set out to win.
Then, divide the 15 into several minor bets to produce a sequence of numbers, for example:
1 – 2 – 2 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 1
The sequence is completely up to you. You can play with any sequence of numbers adding up to the amount you want to win.
To start the betting, the Labouchere strategy requires you to add the two numbers on the outmost left and right side of the sequence together. Thus, your first bet would be €2.
If the bet wins, you cross off the two numbers and your sequence will look like this:
2 – 2 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 2 – 1
You then continue to play with the same strategy in mind. Hence, the next wager will be €3.
If your initial bet did not win, you add the value of the bet placed to the end of the sequence. Thus, your initial sequence will look like this:
1 – 2 – 2 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 1 – 2
To use the Labouchere, you need to follow the sequence. In a nutshell, whenever you win, you cross off the two outer numbers. Whenever you lose, the sequence gets longer by 1 more number, which is added to the rightmost side. When you have crossed off all the numbers in the sequence, you will have made a profit of the initial target amount.
Advantages
- The Labouchere is a very logical and organized roulette strategy. The essence of it is very simple. You cross off and add numbers to the sequence accordingly. In the long- run, if you lose as much as you win, you will have a net profit.
- To use the strategy effectively, you must keep tabs on the sequence. Unlike the Martingale, the betting is quite safe, as you are not placing double the stake after every loss. This means that the strategy does not burn through your bankroll as fast.
Disadvantages
- The bad part about the Labouchere is the difficult to grasp nature of it. Unless you have a clear view of the sequence in your mind (or on a piece of paper), you may lose touch with the numbers remaining in the sequence.
- Much like with the Martingale and Fibonacci, Labouchere also has its flaws. If you end up on a losing streak, it can be very difficult to catch up with the numbers in the sequence. The list of numbers will only get longer, and it may seem difficult to cross out all the numbers in the sequence.
Closing Remarks
These roulette strategies are perfect for new players. They aren’t that difficult to learn and can give you a clear idea of how to make a profit (or at the very least, minimize your losses). Although they cannot overcome the house advantage, roulette strategies are useful for keeping your budget under control, allowing you to play for longer, and with a bit of luck, they can even result in some profits.