Roulette Strategy
There is none. Roulette is nothing more than an old carnival game. You're hoping a little ball is going to stop where you want it to. Don't listen when some roulette player tells you about a sure fire way to beat the game. Forget about systems and strategies and how to books. Most of them are a complete waste of time and money.
One myth that refuses to die is about veteran dealers who have spun the ball so many times in their illustrious careers that they develop a pattern of motion and speed. The assumption is that the ball will land in a certain section more often than not. And what if the roulette wheel is slightly tilted? What if the divider separating one number from another on the wheel is worn slightly more than the other dividers? What if the ball jumps off the wheel and hits you right in the eyeball? The odds of that happening are about the same as any of these other scenarios.
Casinos go to great lengths to ensure that the roulette wheel is mechanically sound in every way. There is even a compass on most tables to make sure that nobody slips a metal ball into the game. Some players "clock" roulette wheels, looking for repeat numbers, then bet numbers that seem to come in more often than they ought to. This is known as playing a "bias." There's nothing wrong with it, because if it doesn't work, you haven't increased the house edge any more than it was originally. In fact, most casinos supply score cards so you can track each number that comes up on the wheel. Most casinos now have electronic reader boards that show the last 21 winning numbers.
What is the house edge at roulette? On a wheel with both a 0 and a 00, the casino has a built-in edge of 5.26%. If you are going to play roulette, look for a wheel with only a single 0. The house edge drops to only 2.7%. All roulette wheels in European casinos use the single-zero wheel (many also have a rule called "en prison," which cuts the edge on even-money wagers to 1.35%), and that is why the game is so popular there.
