Can you really win at roulette every time?

For centuries, this casino game has fascinated players and strategists in their quest for the infallible method. Martingale, Fibonacci, James Bond… behind these names lie tactics that are sometimes brilliant, often risky. But do these strategies really allow you to win every time? Take a behind-the-scenes look at roulette to find out what is myth and what really makes the difference.

Roulette is one of the most iconic casino games. It offers players the chance to bet on numbers, colours or groups of numbers. There are several variants, including European roulette (with a single zero) and American roulette (with a zero and a double zero). The latter offers a higher house edge.

Roulette has always fascinated players, who have sought and even developed strategies to win every time. Today we’re going to see if it really is possible to win every time at roulette using these strategies invented by hardened players.

Can you beat roulette?

Many strategies have been developed to try and beat roulette. Some of the best known are:

• Martingale: This strategy involves doubling your bet after each loss, in the hope of recouping all previous losses with a single win. This method is undoubtedly the surest way of making profits, since in the event of a win you recover all your losses plus a small profit. However, it does require you to have a certain budget, and if you’re unlucky the stakes can rise very quickly.
• The d’Alembert method: This strategy involves increasing your stake by one after a loss and decreasing it by one after a win. It is less risky than the Martingale because it requires a smaller budget in the event of a loss.
• The Fibonacci strategy: With this strategy, the bets increase with each loss according to the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc.). If you win, you move back 2 digits in the sequence.

Other strategies are less well known but still give good results. Here are a few that caught our attention:

• The James Bond strategy: In this strategy you spread your bets over specific areas of the board to cover almost all the numbers.
• The Romanovsky strategy: This strategy is similar to the James Bond strategy, but you choose your bets. The aim is to cover 32 of the 37 numbers on the roulette table with as few chips as possible. This way, you have a nearly 87% chance of winning on each spin of European roulette.
• The Red and Black strategy: this strategy is aimed particularly at beginners and is based on the martingale strategy. The method is very simple: you bet on red or black and keep betting on the same colour until you win. Each time you lose, you double your bet; each time you win, you can choose a new colour and restart your bet at your minimum stake.

There are many other roulette strategies, from the simplest to the most complex. While they can help you control your budget, and make small wins, they cannot change the fundamental probabilities of the game. Each spin of the roulette wheel is an independent event, and no method can guarantee a win every time.

However, with a little patience, the Martingale, Red and Black and Paroli strategies are the most likely to guarantee you a win every time you play. Provided, of course, that you have a sufficient budget to increase your bets each time you need to.

Limits imposed by casinos

Casinos are well aware of betting strategies and have implemented measures to limit their effectiveness:

• Betting limits: Roulette tables have maximum betting limits. This prevents players from increasing their bets indefinitely, as required by strategies such as Martingale. A good way to get around this is to use the minimum amount as your base bet.
• Game variants: Some variants, such as American roulette with its double zero, increase the house edge, making strategies less effective.

A few tips to increase your chances

Although there is no foolproof strategy for winning at roulette, here are a few tips to maximise your playing experience:

• Favour European roulette: With only one zero, it offers a lower house edge than the American version. So you’re more likely to win.
• Avoid aggressive betting systems: Strategies like Martingale can quickly deplete your bankroll. If you decide to apply this type of strategy anyway, it’s best to bet the minimum stake. This will make your budget last longer.
• Set yourself a budget: Decide in advance how much you are prepared to lose and stick to that limit.
• Play for fun: Always think of roulette as a form of entertainment rather than a way to win money.

What is the casino house edge?

The house edge is the percentage of each bet that a casino can expect to keep over the long term. In other words, it is the mathematical difference between the player’s real chances of winning and the potential winnings offered by the game. This advantage is built into the very rules of gambling and enables online and physical casinos to ensure their profitability over the long term, even if players can sometimes win in the short term.

In European roulette, for example, the house edge is around 2.7%, meaning that for every €100 wagered, the casino will retain an average of €2.70 over the long term. In American roulette, the house edge is 5.26%, meaning the casino earns around €5.26 for every €100 wagered.

Understanding the house edge is essential to playing responsibly and wisely. It allows players to better assess the risks and choose the games that offer the best prospects, while keeping in mind that the casino always remains a statistical winner.