Roulette Systems.
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There’s plenty of them about- roulette systems we mean. But are they any good? Do they work? Or are they just a scam?
Roulette systems , such as The Martingale Double Up strategy, the Fibonacci, or the Labouchere System, get alot of “press” on the Internet. There are plenty of sites thta are dedicated to them.
Let’s just get one thing stratight from the start- roulette systems do not change the fundamental house edge in roulette- the house or casino always has an advantage in roulette over the long term- that´s the way that roulette has been designed. Some people win at roulette, and others lose at roulette. The house edge comes from the design of the game, and the payout table- two things that are fixed and cannot be influenced by players.
A casino might make a loss over a day or even 2 days, but over the long term it will claw the money back. But everyone gets an adrenaline buzz, and the trick is to be the player who hits the winning streak and quits while he or she is ahead. There is nothing wrong with investigating some of the roulette systems that are out there. They may not increase your odds, but at the very least they may make your bets more methodical so that you minimise the house advantage (for example by only placing bets on the types of roulette bet with the best odds, such as the even money bets).
Anyway, they can be fun to try out- just make sure that you understand the theory behind these systems and you´ll be head of the game. How you leave the casino “up” at roulette, or any gambling game for that matter, is to hit a wining streak and to know when to stop. Play to a method, or plan, and you are more likely to be stricter with yourself and to make decisions using your head rather than your heart or gut.
We’ll quickly run through 2 of the most popular systems- the Martingale and the Paroli. For the full explanation, head to the individual systems pages HERE.
The Martingale System of Roulette
Double Your Bets
In the Martingale System , you place bets on even money positions with a 1:1 payout such as even/odd, 1-18/19-36 etc. Put your initial bet down. If you are successful, bet an equal amount. If you are unsuccessful, double up your investment on the following spin. If you lose again, double up the roulette bet again and keep doubling up each round until you win.
According to the Martingale System, you will eventually win on a losing streak. You are making a bet that the ball won´t hit an even pocket an infinite number of times, to give you an example. As soon as you win on a losing streak, you will immediately recoup all of your losses, as you been doubling up your bets at every round. Each bet effectively covers the previous bet. If you hit a winning streak, however, you are quids in and you pocket the winnings at each stage, accelerating your winnings and cancelling out your losses.
WHERE´S THE CATCH WITH MARTINGALE?
Well, we did warn you- there is no way to beat the casino over the long term. If there was a way, believe me, the casinos wouldn´t offer roulette as an option, or we´d all be extremely rich and the casinos would have all gone bust.
There are 2 catches to the Martingale System, (but it can be a useful way of playing methodically and to try to hit that winning streak).
1. Your odds are lower than you think: for example on an “even money” bet, your odds are actually 1:2.06 in European Roulette, not 1:2. The bet is not an exact even chance bet, because there is a zero pocket on the roulette wheel (in American Roulette there are 2 zero pockets meaning that your odds are even lower at 1:2.11- ALWAYS play European Roulette, never American Roulette, if you are using Martingale as European Roulette only has a single zero pocket.)
2. All Internet and land-based casinos in the UK and abroad have an top limit for bets, normally between £200-£500. If you happen to hit a losing streak (say R,R,R,R,R when you are betting on black) there will come a time when you can not double up your bet due to the table limits. There´s no way around this, but the best advice is to start your Martingale progression with a small initial bet (leaving you plenty of room for doubling up your bets) and to search for Internet roulette sites that offer high table limits (often online casinos will give their VIP customers a higher limit. 888 does this.
The Paroli Roulette system
The Paroli system is also known as the Positive Progression roulette system.
In the Paroli System, you begin with a bet and you double your bet when you win rather than when you lose. You are effectively making a bet that you will hit winning streaks, and you are limiting your loss by not ratcheting up the investment on losing streaks. This system is also know as the Reverse Martingale.
Make a plan to decide how long you are going to let the bet build before you bank it. You can double your bet after each win, or add 50%, or 3 units every time- it doesn´t matter, as long as you make a plan and stick to it. The good thing about this roulette system is that you do not need a big wad of cash to operate it. You let your profit run and cut short your losses. The downside, is that you are not covering your losses.
