There are few online casino games that are as iconic as online roulette, with its mesmerizing spinning wheel and incredible sense of anticipation. There’s no doubt that many online gamblers love to wait to see what luck’s wheel of fortune has in store for them. But is there a way to increase your chances of winning when you play roulette online?
The answer is both yes and no.
Learn how roulette works, whether you can decrease the house edge so you can actually increase your chances of winning, and learn some tips that you can use when you play to make winning easier when you play at a casino online.
A Quick Look at How Roulette Works
There are many versions of roulette, but ultimately most variations follow the same basic rules: you place a wager, the croupier spins the wheel, and you win or lose depending on where the roulette ball lands.
However, there are many different options when it comes to bets. The two main categories of wagers are outside bets and inside bets. Outside bets are Red/Black, Odd/Even, High/Low, Column or Dozen wagers. These bets offer the highest odds but the smallest payouts. Inside bets are the Straight, Split, Street, Corner, Basket, and Double Street Bet. These bets offer the lowest odds but the highest payouts.
Now that you understand the basics of roulette, discover whether you can improve your chances of winning each time you spin the roulette wheel.
Can You Decrease the House Edge for Online Roulette?
The truth is that roulette, like online slots, is a game of pure chance. Unlike poker, which has an element of skill that allows you to shift the odds slightly in your favor, there isn’t anything a player can do to increase their chances of winning when you play. You place your bet, the croupier confirms the wagers, and then the rest is up to whatever luck has in store.
Tips To Make Winning Easier
That being said, there are some ways you can make winning easier, even if they don’t always directly boost your chances of winning at roulette. Here’s some advice that you can use to make winning easier — it might help you gain a few extra wins.
1. Know the Rules of the Game
On the surface, roulette looks like a very easy game. You place a bet, the wheel spins and you wait to see if you won. However, there are subtle details that are important to learn if you want to make the most out of your wagers.
For example, knowing the differences between the rules of American and European roulette, the odds that different wagers offer and what the different wagers pay out can dramatically affect your decisions and your chances of winning.
2. Play European Roulette
If you’re looking for a guaranteed way to actually increase your wins, at least in the long run, you’ll want to choose European roulette over American roulette. This is because of one tiny difference: the number of zeros on the roulette wheel. American roulette has a zero pocket and a double zero pocket, while European roulette only has a single zero pocket. This reduces the house edge of 5.26% in American roulette down to almost half at 2.7% for European roulette.
Some versions of European roulette also offer the “en prison” rule. This rule gives the player a chance to win back their wager if the ball lands in the zero pocket by locking in their wager for one more spin. If your wager wins on the next spin, your money will be returned instead of lost.
The lower house edge will literally translate to more wins over time, while “en prison” also protects you against what would be a guaranteed loss in other versions of the game, so be sure to pick the European version of roulette if you’re serious about increasing your wins.
3. Pick the Bets With the Best Odds
Another way to improve your odds of winning when you play roulette is to pick the bets with the best odds. The three bets that offer you the highest chance to win in both American and European roulette are High/Low, Even/Odd, and Red/Black wagers. The odds of winning these bets are 48.65% in European roulette and 47.37% in American roulette.
The downside to this is that the payout is only 1:1, but you’re far more likely to actually win with these bets than you are with many of the other wagers. For example, a straight-up wager offers a payout of 35:1, which undoubtedly sounds amazing, but your odds of winning are only 2.6% in American roulette and 2.7% in European roulette, making it a very long shot at best.
4. Be Careful With How You Use Your Bankroll
Any online game at a casino that is a pure game of chance, such as roulette, demands that you manage your bankroll extra carefully. These games do not have any way for the player to shift the flow of the game in their favor, so each time you play, the result of the game is purely down to chance.
This is also particularly important to remember when you are on a losing streak, as you may fall into the trap of the “gambler’s fallacy” (the belief that the more you lose, the more likely you are to win) and burn through your bankroll chasing a win to try and turn your luck around.
5. Don’t Use Betting Systems as a Way To Try and Boost Your Wins
Many betting systems, like the Martingale betting strategy or the Andrucci System, like to sell players on the idea that if they follow their system, they can increase their wins and, at the very least, break even. However, no matter what betting system you choose, you can never overcome the house edge. This means that no matter how many games you play or what betting method you use, the casino will always have an advantage over you.
Even if you played hundreds of thousands of games, luck doesn’t remember that you’ve lost the last game (or the game before that, or the game before that.) Each time you spin the reel, luck will decide whether you win or lose; there’s no betting system that can change that.
Give Online Roulette a Spin at BetMGM
Whether you want to test out this advice for yourself or you just want to play online roulette, BetMGM offers gamblers a range of exciting versions of roulette. These include American Roulette, BetMGM Roulette Pro, and European Roulette Classic. There are even live dealer casino games such as Lightning Roulette and American Auto Roulette.
But there’s even more than roulette at BetMGM. At the casino, online betting comes in a variety of different flavors, including online slots, variety games, virtual sports, and casino table games such as blackjack, craps, and much more.
Register at BetMGM to take part in all the gambling thrills on offer.
