Casino Online Strategy | Roulette Games

Placing Bets When Playing Roulette: Does the Seat Placement Really Matter?

While others may believe that the only thing that matters most in a roulette game is what the roulette wheel tells, there are also other aspects which may or may not have a direct effect on the success of a roulette gameplay.

People may disregard them as just one of those old wives’ tales, but knowing the right seat to take can affect how you play the game, especially when you’re in a land-based casino.

First off, a player should consider looking for a seat that is comfortable and can accommodate proper body posture. This prevents the body from getting stressed out especially if the game lasts that long. If this is not observed, an aching body will eventually affect how you play the game. For sure, anyone with an aching back won’t be able to focus his attention in the game when he’s suffering from the uneasiness brought by the pain.

After comfort, comes the aspect of strategic positioning. Yes, it does matter and here’s the reason why. If the player wants to reach all the parts of the betting layout, he needs to take that particular seat which serves the purpose.

Know that timing is of the essence when playing roulette, even more so when it comes to putting your wagers. Basically, the betting begins once all the bets from the previous round, both winning and losing, were already cleared or paid out by the dealer. Now that the layout is cleared, the croupier will begin receiving the bets. The players approximately have about one minute to make their bets.

Players can still make wagers though even during or while the ball is rolling in the wheel. However, when the ball starts to decelerate or slow down, the dealer will now wave his hand over the table and will say, “no more bets, please.” After which, everything is now being left to lady luck.

Any bets made after this point will be dismissed. There are cases when the player has unknowingly made a past post (a bet placed after the allowed period) and the dealer will just void his bet. The worst thing that could happen here is for the floor manager/supervisor to take further action, like kicking the player out of the establishment.

Again, time is of the essence when placing bets which is why the player needs to gain full access of every single bet made available in the roulette table. To do this, he will have to take that favourable seat.

So what are these “perfect” seats to take?

Depending on the shape of the table and the given situation, these are typically the best seats where all of the betting parts are reachable:

Seats at the center of the front of the roulette table
The last seat around the backside
The last seat next to the dealer

If possible, avoid the seat where the column bets are located.

Now there are times when the crowd can get dense, in this case, the player would be left with no choice but to make do of what’s available.

If you wish to free yourself from this dilemma, then we have a perfect solution just for you! Why not play in an online casino?

Roulette games in online casinos aren’t all RNG’s (random number generator). In fact, there are web casinos in UK that offer live roulette gameplay.

Playing live roulette does feel like playing in a real, brick and mortar casino. This article dishes more reasons why it’s best to play live dealer roulette online.

In case you’re looking for a live dealer roulette online, then we recommend these web casinos:

Roulette Special Rules: The Surrender Rule

The single zero (in a European roulette) and the double zero (in an American roulette) can be a source of frustration for some roulette players. However, this animosity can definitely be eradicated if they know about the game’s special rule – the Surrender Rule.

This rule, despite its popularity among expert roulette players, is rarely found. Needless to say, if you look hard enough, you’d still be able to find casinos, both online and offline, which accommodate such special rule.

The surrender rule is basically a player’s friend as it works largely on his favour by making it possible for some or even all of his money return to his bankroll. The only condition for this to happen is that the ball should land on either the single zero or the double zero.

This further means that the special rule has a significant effect on the house advantage which is now either greatly reduced or obliterated altogether.

Still, players should note that the rule applies only on even money bets, which are basically outside bets which pay even money. These bets are Red/Black, Odd/Even, High/Low, Dozens, and Column.

The rule comes in three distinct variations, and depending on the region as well as the wheel being used, the terms may apply differently.

En Prison

This rule is typically applied on French roulette wheels. This roulette game supposed to have the least casino edge out of the three popular versions. The others are European and American variants. With the En Prison taking effect, the house advantage is further reduced from 2.7% to a whopping 1.35%. This means the chance for the player to win and make profit is further increased.

The rule works in this way: suppose the player makes an even-money outside bet and the single zero comes out. He will choose between losing 50% of his bet or let his entire wager be “imprisoned” for the next spin. In the latter’s case, the bet is basically held hostage by the dealer. If the bet wins he’ll get it back. Otherwise, the house forfeits the amount.

Le Partage

This special rule, which is quite popular here in the UK, shares some similarities with the En Prison rule. To better explain the mechanics, imagine this scenario: the player once again makes an even-money outside bet. A single zero comes out. The bet, which is supposed to be a losing one, will be divided into two: 50% will be recovered by the player, the remaining 50% goes to the house.

While there’s no chance for the player to fully redeem his bet, he still at least gets half of this losing money. Most experts would swear more on this rule because it provides both the player and the dealer a better deal.

Surrender

American roulette game is a roulette game like no other. It has the highest casino advantage of 5.26% thanks to the single zero and the double zero. What’s more, it has its own special rule: the Surrender.

The said rule pretty much works like the Le Partage in which the winning number should either be “0” or the “00.” The only thing that differs here is that the rule exclusively applies only to American roulette games.

These rules do not necessarily make it possible for the player to beat the game. However, with the significant reduction of house edge, it does help the player get a better shot at having an enjoyable and profitable roulette game session.

What are Roulette Betting Limits and Its Significance to the Game?

What’s beautiful about roulette is that the game offers players a huge variety of opportunities to bet. However, there are certain limitations that enthusiasts and game lovers alike should take into account and be wary of.

In most land-based casino, these “limitations” will be brandished in every roulette table. It can be found written or indicated in a plaque resting on top of a table and casino goers who wish to try their luck in the game can easily see it. There are also times when the dealer will be the one to show and explain the terms.

Generally, these are called “table limit signs” and the information that lies herein indicates the limitations of the roulette betting placement observed at a particular establishment.

Table limit signs may contain the following:

Minimum chip denomination – ex. £1.00
Minimum inside bet – ex. £10.00
Minimum outside bet – ex. £10.00
Maximum inside bet – ex. £150.00
Maximum outside bet – ex. £3,000.00
Any Way to the Number

There are times when players, especially the beginners, may not understand what’s indicated in the sign, for example in the last line which says “any way to the number.” No need to fret though because we will further explain what they mean below.

Chip Denomination

Normally, player buy chips that they’ll use to bet in the game from the dealer. A stack may contain at least 20 chips and each chip can have different minimum value. This concept applies both in online and offline casino.

In the US, for example, a chip might be worth within the range of £.50 and £2.00. This means, the player has to pay £20.00 for a single stack.

In some casinos, a player who just entered the game may be required to purchase higher than the minimum value of his chips. In this case, the dealer will put a marker, the term of which is known as “lammer” on the rim of the roulette wheel. This will help the dealer know the value of that player’s chips.

Table Minimum (Inside and Outside)

For both inside and outside bets, the table minimum might be the same. But some casinos treat either of which differently. To explain the concept, consider this illustration:

Suppose a casino has a table minimum of £14.00 where each chip is worth 14.00 where each chip is worth £2.00. If a player wants to make an outside bet, he has to put at least 7 chips on every bet so that he can follow the minimum requirement.

Contrary to what many people, the chips a player use cannot be spread in any way he likes it. This means that if he is eyeing to bet on Black, he needs to bet at least 7 chips, and if he is also betting on (for example) the 1^st Dozen (1-12), he has to put yet another 7 chips.

The player is, however, not restricted on the kind of bet he wishes to make. He can go for inside bets only, outside bets only, or a combination of both, for each round of spin. This is as long he observes the table minimum.

Table Maximum (Inside and Outside Bets)

The table maximum limit, for instance, in an inside bet varies from place to place. Some have it in between £25.00 and £1,500. There are establishments that set the limit in this manner: Max Inside Bet – £150.00 any way to the number.

This means that the player can make a Straight-up bet for as low as £150.00, a Split for £300.00, or a corner for £600.00, while each of the bet feature a similar number.

For outside bets, the amount may vary between £1,000.00 and £10,000, depending on the casino. The limit, in this case, applies for each singe outside bets made.

Any Way to the Number

For some who doesn’t know it yet, the term means that a player can bet the table max on every possible bet to be made. Should the max is set to £1,000.00, he can absolutely put in £1,000.00 for a Straight-up bet, the same amount on a Split, on a column, etc.

Knowing this information may help the player make well-informed decision especially on how to manage his bankroll and prevent himself from being kicked out of the table for each betting violations made.

Advanced and Uncommon Types of Bet Pros Often Use When Playing Roulette

Almost everyone who starts out playing roulette, both offline and online, would often make the most basic of wagers. Some would take the safe side of the street and bet on outside bets like Odd/Even, Red/Black, and 1-18/19-36. These bets, while they yield low profits, are easy to learn and make when done in real life because players can see them marked on the roulette board. Still, there are those who like to take it to the next level and play with straight-up bets which has the highest payout of 35:1 but has the lowest winning chance of below three percent.

The above-mentioned bets are probably the most commonly made. In this post, we’re going to introduce to you a handful of advanced and uncommon kinds of wager which pros often make and that you can do as well, the next time you play roulette.

Bets with 11:1 Payout

There are two types of roulette bet that has 11:1 payout, and each would cover three numbers at the same time. The first one is called a basket bet. In a European roulette, this involves placing a bet on zero plus two of either 1, 2, or 3. To do this bet, you place your chips at the upper corner of 1 and 2 or 2 and 3. Make sure it also touches the zero. For a clearer illustration, see the image below.

The second type of bet is made on a row of three adjacent numbers which runs horizontally across the roulette board. Called a street bet, the player would only have to place his chips on the outer edge of the three numbers he’s eyeing for. For instance, if he wants to bet on 16-17-18, he will place his chips at the edge of either 16 or 18. Check out the image below for reference.

Mid-Range Bets

There are a lot of numbers covered with mid-range bets. However, unlike the even money bets (outside bets), these wagers do have higher payouts. Moreover, it’s more flexible to make and players have a wider range of choices on how he wants to spread his numbers.

For example, the corner bet. It’s a bet made on four numbers that form a square. The way to do this is to put the chips on the middle corner or the intersection between the four numbers. It pays out 8:1. See the image below.

The next mid-range bet we would like you to know is the six line. It’s pretty much like the street bet, but instead of a single row of adjacent numbers, you have two. Same as with the street bet, you place your chips on the outer edges of the two adjacent street bets. In this case, suppose you want to add another street bet on top of the one you made above, which is 16-17-18, and you want it made on 19-20-21. What you’d do here is to place your wager at the outside corner of 16 and 19. The bet pays out 5:1. See the illustration below.

We’re just barely scraping the list of less common roulette bets often made by pros. If you want to know more and learn how it pays out in a European Roulette or an American version of the game, then follow this link.

Roulette and the Gambler’s Fallacy: Are You A Believer or Not?

Man’s success in evolution is in part, affected by his unique perception towards the phenomenon of cyclical events. Almost all of the things important to our survival happens in such a way that it follows a “predictable” pattern. Take for example our food: hunter-gatherers of the primitive times were able to feed themselves because they were able to know that a specific kind of animal would return in this time of the season; farmers, on the other hand, were able to grow, harvest, and stock crops because they also observed the cycle of the season.

This consequently leads us to believe that things which seems to happen randomly in this world is not really… random.

If we noticed a flock of migrating birds gathering at a lake, we would assume right away that soon, they would all fly out towards north because it’s that time of the year for them to do so.

In the same manner, if we get hundred heads in a coin toss, we would think right away that they “gathered together” and a specific event (a tail, perhaps) would likely to happen next.

This way of thinking is called the Gambler’s Fallacy. This “mistaken belief,” however, has long been debunked by people who like to take things as it is.

For the skeptics of the fallacy, with regards to the coin toss scenario, the hundred heads didn’t just happen for a reason. They simply “occur” and each of the tossing events have no direct connection to the last outcome.

By definition, the gambler’s fallacy is a belief that any random process becomes “less random” and more predictable when they repeatedly happen. This phenomenon happens commonly in gambling, hence the attribution of the name.

A specific example would be in the game of craps. A player, having failed to win in a number of rolls, may feel that the dice are now “due” for a certain number and would likely to come up with a favourable result.

Gambler’s Fallacy and Roulette

Another famous example of a gambling fallacy which happens in roulette was back in August 18, 1913 at the Monte Carlo Casino. According to history, a ball fell in Black for 26 times, consecutively. An extremely rare occurrence, gamblers held the belief that at a certain length of series, a Red would eventually come up. In the end, they lost millions in bets for betting against Black.

This further gave rise to the notion among roulette players that if one lose a number of games in a row, he is bound to make a big win “anytime” soon, which is why he needs to keep on playing.

If you come to think of it, the premise somehow makes sense. It is known for a fact that each spin made in a particular round has completely nothing to do with the previous result or the ones that would come next to it in the future. What if during a series of Reds, you followed your guts to bet on a Black. Since the next spin is an independent event, thus there’s an almost equal chance for Black to occur as with Red.

Should You Believe the Gambler’s Fallacy?

To be successful in roulette, one has to keep in mind that roulette, like any casino game relies purely on chances. Unless done illegally, there is no known device or technique that one could use to affect the outcome.

If you ask us, it is better not to bank on the idea in which you have to pile up on loses so that you will get a big win later. Each spin is its own event. Take it as it is. Bet accordingly. This way, you become more of a cautious and mindful roulette player rather than a gambler who puts faith on some unforeseen forces.

The Best Strategy to Use When Playing Spingo

In this previous post we introduced to you what is Spingo and gave you the reasons if the game is worth your time and effort.

Basically, Spingo is the combination of two favourite casino games: Roulette and Bingo. Designed by Microgaming, this unique game draws inspiration from the spinning action brought by roulette. It has a wheel and numbered slots. Meanwhile, the chutes to where multiple balls come out bears significant semblance to the game of bingo.

Like roulette, Spingo works in such a way that the player predicts the result of each spin. The game, however, uses a total of 21 balls with two each numbered from 1 to 10, plus one ball that has a number zero. The wheel, on the other hand, has 25 coloured slots (8 yellow, 8 red, 8 blue, and 1 green).

For more basic information of the game and how to play it, please refer to this link. As of this particular post, we’re only going to talk about the strategy on how to win.

First off, let’s look at the house advantage on each type of bets you could make when playing Spingo:

Number bet – 4.76%

Colour bet – 4%

Zero numbered bet – 4.76%

Green colour bet – 4%

Colour and number bet – 2.48%

Even/Odd bet – 4.76%

Low/High (1-5/6-10) – 4.76%

Go for Combinations

As you can see, the colour and number bet has the lowest house edge in Spingo. And so, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise when experts of this game recommends making combination bets. For instance, you want to make a bet on the number nine. You could definitely just make a straight up bet. However, you’re further thinning out the house edge if you bet on each of the three possible results of nine: Red 9, Blue 9, and Yellow 9. Furthermore, the payout of the number and color combination is 31:1, which is the largest in the game. The specific number (1-10), on the other hand, only pays 9 to 1.

Cover as Much as Possible

If you plan to wager with the amount larger than the minimum, it’s best to do it while covering a huge part of the betting layout. For example, if you intend to make a £10 bet on yellow, it would be better if you put instead ten £1 bets on all the yellow numbers. Similarly, this cuts off the house edge significantly while you raise up your odds of winning.

Other Bets

You can always experiment with the type of bets that you can make in Spingo, and it’s quite profitable, to say the least. For instance, instead of betting £3 on the number 6 (which would win £27), why not bet £1 on a Blue 6, Yellow 6, or Red 6. This way, you can make £2 (32:1 payout) more of profit if any of the three bets come out.

As with roulette and any other online casino games, Spingo still relies heavily on luck and there’s no way that a player can influence the outcome of a spin. Even more so that most of Spingo games available to play online is RNG or Random Number Generated.

We still have to see more playing strategies to be made of this game. But to play Spingo still has a lot of potential for excitement and profits to be made like our favourite online roulette.