Remember to stay realistic about the long odds on this popular game of chance. Approach roulette with the sober realization that, with a house advantage of 5.26 percent on the American wheel, roulette is among the worst bets in a casino. Despite the odds, you can still use some simple strategies to stretch your roulette bankroll and enjoy the thrill of the spin. This article contains a few tips that can help you improve your chances of winning.
Roulette is a drain on your wallet simply because the game doesn't pay what the bets are worth. With 38 numbers (1 to 36, plus 0 and 00), the true odds of hitting a single number on a straight-up bet are 37 to 1, but the house pays only 35 to 1 if you win! Ditto the payouts on the combination bets. This discrepancy is where the house gets its huge edge in roulette.
$65 Is All You Need to Win! Get Started for Free! Roulette Wave Betting is the Unstoppable New Way of Playing.
Starting with the basics
Strategy is critical if you want to increase your odds of winning. The first time you play roulette, the players sprinkling the layout with chips may look as if they're heaping pepperoni slices on a pizza. You can make many different bets as long as you stay within the table's maximum limits. Consequently, few players make just one bet at a time.
Of course, the more bets you make, the more complicated and challenging it is to follow all the action. Here are two possible plans of attack to simplify matters:
- Stick to the table minimum and play only the outside bets. For example, bet on either red or black for each spin. This type of outside bet pays 1 to 1 and covers 18 of the 38 possible combinations.
- Place two bets of equal amounts on two outside bets: one bet on an even-money play and the other on a column or dozen that pays 2 to 1. For example, place one bet on black and one bet on Column Three, which has eight red numbers. That way, you have 26 numbers to hit, 4 of which you cover twice. You can also make a bet on red and pair it with a bet on Column Two, which has eight black numbers. Again, you cover 26 numbers, and 4 of them have two ways to win. Pairing a bet on either red or black with Column One (or on one of the three dozens) covers 24 numbers, and 6 numbers have two ways of winning. Spreading bets like this won't make you rich, but it does keep things interesting at the table.
Does anyone know what the minimum table bet is on the roulette table? In Atlantic City, some of the many tables were 5.00, some were 10.00 and some were 20.00. Since the cruise ship casino is much smaller than a real casino, and I would expect a minimum of roulette tables. What is the minimum chip and minimum bet (if different) range for roulette on the main Strip Casino's and Fremont Street Casino's. Are there plenty of tables in the lower bet range. I usually play with $2.50 chips betting @ $10.00 per spin in Australia- is this possible in LV.
Playing a European wheel
If you happen to find a single-zero European wheel, you greatly improve your odds: The house edge is half that of roulette with the American wheel — only 2.63 percent. You may see a European wheel at one of the posh Vegas casinos, such as Bellagio, Mirage, or Caesars Palace. If you can't find one on the floor, it's probably tucked away in the high-limit area along with the baccarat tables, so you may need to ask. You can also find the single-zero wheel at some other upscale casinos around the country.
Because casinos set aside the European wheel for high rollers, you're likely to find a higher table minimum, say $25. But because the house edge is half that of a double-zero wheel, the European wheel is the better roulette game to play for bigger bettors.
Your chances of winning get even better if the casino offers an advantageous rule called en prison. Sometimes available on the European wheel, the en prison rule lowers the house edge even further to a reasonable 1.35 percent. The rule applies to even-money bets. For example, say you have a $10 bet riding on black. If the ball lands on zero, your even-money bet doesn't win or lose but remains locked up for one more spin. If the ball lands on black on the next spin, the house returns your original bet of $10, but you don't win anything. If the ball lands on red, you lose. And if the ball repeats the zero number again, your bet stays imprisoned for another round.
The Complete Bet is a high table max coverage bet that covers all of the inside bets for an individual number. This is a bet that is usually played by high rollers and is also known as a Maximum Bet (although in theory you could also add some outside bets to the pot). You would cover the even money bets and the columns and dozens that contain the number, but normally a Complete bet just involves the inside Bets. We also explain how to lay a Complete Bet on the number 23 in our numbers section, or scroll down for an explanation of how to make a Complete 17 bet.
A Mike Ashley Favourite
This is the famous Mike Ashley bet, the owner of English Premiership side Newcastle, who famously made a complete bet on his lucky number 17 in Mayfair, in 2008, and won £1.3 million.
To play the bet at a club, you'd need to call 'Complete Bet on 17' for example, or '17 to the maximum'. I haven't seen any online roulette tables offering this as part of their call bets, so you'll need to make up the bet manually.
Here's how you would do it (for a Complete Bet on 17). The table limits vary from table to table- below is just an example). You will need 40 chips – this assumes the maximum bet on a single number is £100.
Bet Type & Numbers
Betting layout showing a 40 chip Complete Bet on 17 with £100 max single number bet.
- Straight-Up 17 1 £100
- Split 17, 14 2 £200
- Split 17, 16 2 £200
- Split 17, 18 2 £200
- Split 17, 20 2 £200
- Street 17, 16, 18 £ $300
- Corner 17, 16, 13, 14 4 £400
- Corner 17, 18, 14, 15 4 £400
- Corner 17, 16, 19, 20 4 £400
- Corner 17, 18, 20, 21 4 £400
- Six Line 17, 16, 18, 13, 14, 15 6 £600
- Six Line Bet 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 £600
Total Bets Placed 40 £4000
The payout for this bet if your number comes in 9.8:1. Plus you get your original bet back of course.
You will also be paid out on the other numbers covered of course (to a lesser extent).
Other Examples:
Graphic showing how many chips you need (of the same value) to make up complete bets of each number on a European Roulette table.
So, for example,
Cosmopolitan Roulette Minimum Bet Poker
- Completing the Zero costs 17 pieces and pays 235 pieces.
- Numbers 1 and 3 cost 27 pieces and pay 297 pieces.
- Number 2 is a 36 piece bet and pays 396 pieces
- Number 27 – 30 pieces – pays out 294
- Numbers 34 and 36 each cost 18 pieces and pay 198 pieces.
- Number 35 is a 24 piece bet which pays 264 pieces.
If you want to make a Complete Bet, but not at the table limits, ame sure you qualify your request to the croupier, and say something like 'Complete Bet on 17 with £25'. That's 40 bets for a total of £1000.
Where Can You Play a Complete Bet Online?
Roulette is a drain on your wallet simply because the game doesn't pay what the bets are worth. With 38 numbers (1 to 36, plus 0 and 00), the true odds of hitting a single number on a straight-up bet are 37 to 1, but the house pays only 35 to 1 if you win! Ditto the payouts on the combination bets. This discrepancy is where the house gets its huge edge in roulette.
$65 Is All You Need to Win! Get Started for Free! Roulette Wave Betting is the Unstoppable New Way of Playing.
Starting with the basics
Strategy is critical if you want to increase your odds of winning. The first time you play roulette, the players sprinkling the layout with chips may look as if they're heaping pepperoni slices on a pizza. You can make many different bets as long as you stay within the table's maximum limits. Consequently, few players make just one bet at a time.
Of course, the more bets you make, the more complicated and challenging it is to follow all the action. Here are two possible plans of attack to simplify matters:
- Stick to the table minimum and play only the outside bets. For example, bet on either red or black for each spin. This type of outside bet pays 1 to 1 and covers 18 of the 38 possible combinations.
- Place two bets of equal amounts on two outside bets: one bet on an even-money play and the other on a column or dozen that pays 2 to 1. For example, place one bet on black and one bet on Column Three, which has eight red numbers. That way, you have 26 numbers to hit, 4 of which you cover twice. You can also make a bet on red and pair it with a bet on Column Two, which has eight black numbers. Again, you cover 26 numbers, and 4 of them have two ways to win. Pairing a bet on either red or black with Column One (or on one of the three dozens) covers 24 numbers, and 6 numbers have two ways of winning. Spreading bets like this won't make you rich, but it does keep things interesting at the table.
Does anyone know what the minimum table bet is on the roulette table? In Atlantic City, some of the many tables were 5.00, some were 10.00 and some were 20.00. Since the cruise ship casino is much smaller than a real casino, and I would expect a minimum of roulette tables. What is the minimum chip and minimum bet (if different) range for roulette on the main Strip Casino's and Fremont Street Casino's. Are there plenty of tables in the lower bet range. I usually play with $2.50 chips betting @ $10.00 per spin in Australia- is this possible in LV.
Playing a European wheel
If you happen to find a single-zero European wheel, you greatly improve your odds: The house edge is half that of roulette with the American wheel — only 2.63 percent. You may see a European wheel at one of the posh Vegas casinos, such as Bellagio, Mirage, or Caesars Palace. If you can't find one on the floor, it's probably tucked away in the high-limit area along with the baccarat tables, so you may need to ask. You can also find the single-zero wheel at some other upscale casinos around the country.
Because casinos set aside the European wheel for high rollers, you're likely to find a higher table minimum, say $25. But because the house edge is half that of a double-zero wheel, the European wheel is the better roulette game to play for bigger bettors.
Your chances of winning get even better if the casino offers an advantageous rule called en prison. Sometimes available on the European wheel, the en prison rule lowers the house edge even further to a reasonable 1.35 percent. The rule applies to even-money bets. For example, say you have a $10 bet riding on black. If the ball lands on zero, your even-money bet doesn't win or lose but remains locked up for one more spin. If the ball lands on black on the next spin, the house returns your original bet of $10, but you don't win anything. If the ball lands on red, you lose. And if the ball repeats the zero number again, your bet stays imprisoned for another round.
The Complete Bet is a high table max coverage bet that covers all of the inside bets for an individual number. This is a bet that is usually played by high rollers and is also known as a Maximum Bet (although in theory you could also add some outside bets to the pot). You would cover the even money bets and the columns and dozens that contain the number, but normally a Complete bet just involves the inside Bets. We also explain how to lay a Complete Bet on the number 23 in our numbers section, or scroll down for an explanation of how to make a Complete 17 bet.
A Mike Ashley Favourite
This is the famous Mike Ashley bet, the owner of English Premiership side Newcastle, who famously made a complete bet on his lucky number 17 in Mayfair, in 2008, and won £1.3 million.
To play the bet at a club, you'd need to call 'Complete Bet on 17' for example, or '17 to the maximum'. I haven't seen any online roulette tables offering this as part of their call bets, so you'll need to make up the bet manually.
Here's how you would do it (for a Complete Bet on 17). The table limits vary from table to table- below is just an example). You will need 40 chips – this assumes the maximum bet on a single number is £100.
Bet Type & Numbers
Betting layout showing a 40 chip Complete Bet on 17 with £100 max single number bet.
- Straight-Up 17 1 £100
- Split 17, 14 2 £200
- Split 17, 16 2 £200
- Split 17, 18 2 £200
- Split 17, 20 2 £200
- Street 17, 16, 18 £ $300
- Corner 17, 16, 13, 14 4 £400
- Corner 17, 18, 14, 15 4 £400
- Corner 17, 16, 19, 20 4 £400
- Corner 17, 18, 20, 21 4 £400
- Six Line 17, 16, 18, 13, 14, 15 6 £600
- Six Line Bet 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 £600
Total Bets Placed 40 £4000
The payout for this bet if your number comes in 9.8:1. Plus you get your original bet back of course.
You will also be paid out on the other numbers covered of course (to a lesser extent).
Other Examples:
Graphic showing how many chips you need (of the same value) to make up complete bets of each number on a European Roulette table.
So, for example,
Cosmopolitan Roulette Minimum Bet Poker
- Completing the Zero costs 17 pieces and pays 235 pieces.
- Numbers 1 and 3 cost 27 pieces and pay 297 pieces.
- Number 2 is a 36 piece bet and pays 396 pieces
- Number 27 – 30 pieces – pays out 294
- Numbers 34 and 36 each cost 18 pieces and pay 198 pieces.
- Number 35 is a 24 piece bet which pays 264 pieces.
If you want to make a Complete Bet, but not at the table limits, ame sure you qualify your request to the croupier, and say something like 'Complete Bet on 17 with £25'. That's 40 bets for a total of £1000.
Where Can You Play a Complete Bet Online?
We haven't seen this bet as a specific option on too many online variants- but you can play it on Playtech's Multi-Wheel roulette (just de-activate the extra wheel if you only want to play one wheel). Click on the little button that says 'More Bets' and you will have an option to play a Half Complete bet (just the Inside Bets) and a Complete Bet (including Outside Bets).
Cosmopolitan Roulette Minimum Bet No Deposit
Best Casino and Roulette For The Complete Bet.
Cosmopolitan Roulette Minimum Betting
You will need a high limit variant. We'd recommend the 3D Roulette at Betfair Casino. There's a £100 Match bonus.
