Roulette wheel with ball resting on the spinner and casino chips stacked on the betting table in the background.

Most players have wondered, “Is there a winning roulette formula?” Rather than leave things to chance, it would be nice to have an edge, right? Well, the numbers don’t lie. Below, we get into the history of this sophisticated game. We cover the various winning roulette formula players have used to beat roulette and the probabilities behind the hunt for the best roulette strategy for real money.
 
A Brief History of Roulette
 
Roulette is an old game, dating back to the 1600s. It was invented in France by the legendary mathematical genius, Blaise Pascal. He was working on concepts for a perpetual motion machine and happened to create an early form of the roulette wheel. By the 1700s, it had developed into a popular gambling game. Read up on more history to learn the details of how roulette changed over the years.
 
The idea is simple: spin a wheel with many pockets or “stops,” each labeled with a number and colored red or black. Then, send a ball spinning along an upper track. Eventually, the ball will fall into one of the stops. In European roulette, for example, there are 37 of them (1-36, and one is for “0”). Players can bet on a single number, a group of numbers, a color, or a result that is even or odd.
 
Roulette eventually spread to America, where a version was introduced with a bigger house edge. Instead of the 2.7% edge of European roulette, American roulette offers a 5.26% edge. This is thanks to the addition of a stop for double zero.
 
Our first tip for how to win at online roulette? Start with European roulette for a kinder house edge.
 
Getting Into the Odds
 
As we said above, there are a number of different bets you can make in roulette, each with its own odds. The single number bet is the hardest to hit, while the virtual 50/50 bets are much easier. Here’s a breakdown for European roulette:

 

Bet TypePayoutProbability House Edge
Single number35:12.7%2.7%
Red/Black1:148.6%2.7%
Even/Odd1:148.6%2.7%
Dozens2:132.4%2.7%

The dozens bet is where you bet a row or grouping of a dozen numbers. This covers about a third of the betting field. Understanding these odds is crucial if you want to employ winning roulette systems. Every bet comes with a certain statistical advantage. You can’t eliminate the house edge, as you can see. You need to take it into account and go for a betting system that will work regardless.

Glowing crystal ball surrounded by scattered casino chips on a dark, smoky background.

Roulette Strategies – Do They Actually Work?

Players have developed a number of roulette strategies in an effort to beat the game. Many are based on the idea that you can secure a win over a number of bets, but never a single bet. Let’s get into these winning roulette formula and see if they work to bring in a reliable profit.

The Martingale System

This is one of the most well-known roulette betting systems. The basic concept is to double your bet after each loss until you hit a win again. When that happens, you recoup all losses and net a tidy profit. You need to be betting on the 50/50 bets like red/black or even/odd to make the math manageable.

What’s the issue? Well, the first is table limits. If you miss your bet 5 or 6 times in a row, you can run into a situation where you aren’t allowed to bet double your last wager. There’s also the problem of bankroll sizing. Not everyone has a bankroll that tolerates doubling, which gets out of hand fast.

As roulette tips and tricks go, this is one of the popular choices because it is simple and “guarantees” a win, if you don’t run afoul of the issues we just described.

The Reverse Martingale (Paroli)

What if you increased your bet after a win and kept a hot streak going? That’s the Paroli system. Double after wins, and reset to your base wager after a loss. This is not as risky as the Martingale, but it also doesn’t solve the issue of recouping losses. A cold streak will simply drain your bankroll. However, the thrill is undeniable with the Paroli – this one brings a fun factor for sure.

The Fibonacci System

The Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8…) is found in nature – why not bring it to the casino and see if the “divine numbers” can help you secure a win?

To put it in play, just bet the first number, and if you lose, move to the next number in the sequence. If you win, go back two numbers. This is another effort at loss mitigation, like the Martingale. It goes a bit more conservatively, though, and doesn’t exponentially spiral out of control. Not a bad blend of approaches, actually.

 

The D’Alembert System

Speaking of blended approaches, the d’Alembert system is another favored by online roulette fans. It instructs players to increase bets by one unit after a loss, and to decrease it by one after a win. This is a balanced way to adjust bets from round to round in an effort to extend your session and always be moving based on past results. This is one of the best roulette strategies for real money because it moves gradually.

Roulette wheel spinning with players standing around the table in a casino setting.

What About Flat Betting?

Betting the same amount from round to round isn’t exciting and won’t challenge you mentally. But if you’re looking to simply relax, this is the way to go. Especially in live dealer roulette, if you’re enjoying the chatter and don’t want to obsess over numbers, flat betting makes things straightforward. You won’t make huge profits, but you’ll also avoid the swings of progression strategies.

Roulette Tips for All Players

These tips are always helpful for protecting your bankroll and ensuring a fun session:

  • Have a loss limit in mind. And stick to it.
  • Avoid high-risk bets. If you’re always betting single number, it can be hard to win.
  • Check game rules. It’s essential to know what variation you’re playing.
  • Streaks are meaningless. Don’t fall for the gambler’s fallacy. If the wheel seems to be hitting red a lot, there is no higher probability that the next spin will land on red.

How to Win at Online Roulette

There’s no perfect winning roulette formula. The roulette code can’t be cracked, unfortunately. Understanding the probabilities behind the game can help you make smarter decisions and enjoy the experience more, however. Which leaves us with the key question once again: how to win at online roulette? Our answer is to try the European version, use flat or modest progression betting, cash out when ahead, and treat the game as entertainment.

That’s the best roulette experience you can have.