The greatest mind this world has ever known, Albert Einstein, supposedly once said that there’s no way a person “can win at roulette unless he steals money from the table while the croupier isn’t looking.”
Although we would normally hail each of Einstein’s statement as the absolute truth, there are still shades of doubts that came to mind when he said it. Of course, a player can win roulette using the physicist’s own specialty, which is physics. Otherwise, he can take the time to find a biased wheel where particular numbers are likely to come up.
Einstein’s statement, like all others that come before and after it, can sometimes be taken out of context. What he probably meant was that there’s no mathematical trick that a player can use to help him beat the roulette.
As we said it again and again, each spin of the roulette wheel is an independent trial. This means, the past results don’t matter to the present and upcoming ones. This is unlike the card games like Baccarat, which is a dependent trial type of game.
What makes roulette harder to overcome is the presence of house edge. In this post, we thoroughly discussed what casino advantage is and why this can’t stop you from winning. Despite its presence, this doesn’t mean that a player is automatically lost.
It’s no secret, however, that house edge is already hard-coded into the rules and design of the game. You may call it a gambling tax, or a prerequisite business commission on every transaction, the casino advantage is basically what the establishment charges a player for playing roulette with them.
Note though, that they can’t take this certain % of charge directly off your bankroll or your bet. Rather, they rely on this “magical” gap which occurs between the probability of an event and the amount they actually pay for the bet.
For example in a European Roulette, which has 37 pockets in all: suppose you bet £1 on a number and you win. If there is no house advantage, you should be getting £37 back. However, the payout for a Straight Up is only 35:1. Can you see the difference?
That is the gap between the numbers on the wheel and the casino payout which is 1/37 or 2.7%.
Such amount goes to the cost of the roulette wheels, the salary of the croupier, the complimentary drinks, the lightings, and so on. This is also where the house draws its revenue.
Regarding the question if there’s a way to get rid of the house edge, there’s actually none. Without it, there’d be no casino left standing to serve its avid patrons.
However, there’s a way to somehow get around with this player’s disadvantage: minimizing the house edge. One can reduce house edge simply by choosing the right roulette game to play. We always said it that it’s better to play European roulette, which only has 2.7% advantage, versus the US roulette which has a whopping 5.26%. If you wish to decrease it further, check out the French roulette. It has special rules, La Partage and En Prison, which brings the figure down to 1.35%.
Beating the roulette wheel is another plausible way to beat the house. Some players even took it to the negative simply by spotting wheel biases as well as going for the hot zones.
Of course, let’s not forget better bankroll management. We certainly believe that managing your payroll well is the key to a fruitful and enjoyable roulette game. Having full knowledge as to where your money goes allows you to take better control of your funds. The more funds you have, the longer you get to stay on the table. The longer you play, the higher the chance for you to win.