How to Beat the House Edge at Roulette
Roulette, a casino game with an ancient heritage, is one of the oldest gambling games. It has never enjoyed the popularity of slot machines, video poker, blackjack or craps, but it still draws large crowds in Europe. It is one of the few games where players can bet against the house.
The Roulette wheel consists of a solid wooden disk slightly convex in shape. Around its rim are metal partitions, called separators or frets, and the compartments or pockets between them are numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. On European wheels there is also a green compartment carrying the sign 0.
During the course of a game, players place bets on individual numbers or various groupings such as odd-even, red-black, high or low. Then the croupier throws a ball into the spinning wheel, and whatever number it hits determines the winners.
There are many strategies that claim to improve a player’s chances of winning. But in the long run, it is a matter of luck. Barring exceptional circumstances, no betting system can overcome the built-in house percentage of the game. Even if your birthday, anniversary or last week’s lottery numbers are good, they won’t make any difference. You have to play skillfully in order to beat the odds. But don’t forget that a successful strategy requires a substantial bankroll.