The Worst Roulette Bets You Can Make

BetMGM Feb 12, 2025, 1:20 PM
min read
A man in a suit pulls out his pockets to show they are empty. Behind him is a roulette table with people sorting out banknotes.

Roulette is a game of pure chance, but that doesn’t mean players can’t make poor decisions during the game. Many instances of players losing their entire budgets are at least partially due to either not understanding how bets work or placing the worst bet in roulette at the moment.

In this regard, the online table game of roulette is identical to roulette at a physical casino. To have a chance to make a profit as you play, you need to avoid mistakes that some players fall prey to.

These include some general gambling blunders and some issues specific to roulette. Identifying what not to do can help you figure out the best play in any situation as well.

Understanding Roulette Odds and Payouts

Even though fate determines whether you win when you play roulette, knowledge is still power. Understanding roulette odds and roulette payouts, along with the differences between the two, are all essential.

In roulette, odds refer to the likelihood that an outcome will happen in a single spin of the wheel. For example, in European Roulette, the odds of the pill landing on any single number on the wheel are 1 in 37.

Payout, however, is the return on your wager you will receive if your bet hits. This may be the same as the odds but often is not. Continuing with our example, you will usually get a 35 to 1 payout on a straight bet.

That difference is due to the house edge or the casino’s interest in the game. Think of it like the cost of admission for the entertainment you are enjoying.

In order to play roulette, you have to “buy your ticket” by accepting the casino’s payout for the wager you want to make. One way to evaluate the quality of a roulette bet is to compare the odds and the payout.

What Is the Riskiest Bet in Roulette?

When considering the riskiest bet in roulette, the pure odds of the bet hitting shouldn’t be your only point of evaluation. The bets with the longest odds also tend to come with the most lucrative payouts, so they might interest you for that reason.

If your roulette bankroll allows and you are interested in trying for a bigger return, you should compare the odds to the payout the casino is offering for that bet. The larger the gap between the two, the bigger the house edge against you.

The bets with the largest house edges tend to be roulette side bets. The Five Number bet in American Roulette, for example, has a standard house edge of 7.89%.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you should never place these bets. It only means that if value for your money is a concern, you should choose other wagers at that time.

What is the Smartest Bet in Roulette?

In many cases, the smartest bet in roulette is a matter of hindsight. Even a wager with the longest odds can look like the smart bet on a specific play if it hits while bets with shorter odds look the wrong move if they don’t hit.

Because roulette is a game of chance, playing the odds only works to a point. For every bet on red that gets placed, there’s a pill that lands on black.

With that in mind, if you want to give yourself a chance to end your session with some profit, it’s usually good practice to stick to the best with the higher probabilities. If you can string together some wins, you can then try riskier bets that offer better roulette payouts without burning through your bankroll in just a few minutes.

Winning at online roulette is a game of patience and a matter of establishing a solid wagering plan before you start playing. There’s no better way to formulate your roulette strategy than to register for BetMGM.

New players who sign up and make a qualifying deposit receive a casino welcome bonus that can help you investigate all of BetMGM’s various roulette titles with diminished risk. Once you’re comfortable, you can start earning BetMGM Rewards points with your real-money roulette bets.

In roulette, few experiences are more rewarding than a well-formed plan paying off. BetMGM is the best place to try your luck.

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