Roulette is the ultimate game of chance. It was even invented by chance thanks to French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal. In 1655 Pascal attempted to defy physics and create a perpetual motion machine but instead birthed the primitive version of the Roulette wheel we know and love today.
Whether you decide to play online Roulette, or spin the wheel at your favourite land-based casino, there are some famous strategies that seasoned gamblers and beginners alike sometimes turn to in the hopes of improving their winning chances. But the question remains: can you really control the game of chance? Read on to find out.
The Martingale System
Arguably one of the most popular Roulette strategies, the Martingale system is relatively simple to understand. Most effective when placing even money outside bets, the system requires you to increase your bet after every loss by doubling it, so that when you eventually win, you’ll get your money back. Then, if you want to continue playing, you’ll start betting with the initial amount again.
Despite this system helping you to get a return on your money, it does carry a lot of risk as you’re essentially betting big to win small.
D’Alembert System
Taking second place in the Roulette betting strategy popularity contest – the D’Alembert system. This system is based on the works of French mathematician Jean le Rond D’Alembert, who concluded that external forces acting on a body and the inertial forces are a system which exists in equilibrium. Dating back as far as the 18th century, this conclusion laid the foundations of Newton’s Second Law.
The idea of the D’Alembert System is based on the thought that the chance of a coin landing on tails increases if it has already landed on heads several times in a row. This concept is also known as the Gambler’s fallacy. With this in mind, the system dictates that you should begin with an even money bet of one unit. Then, if you lose, you’ll increase your wager by another unit. Much like the Martingale System, you should keep doing this after each loss. If you win and lose roughly the same number of times, you should ideally return a profit.
The Fibonacci System
Named after 13th century Italian mathematician Leonardo Pisano, also known as Fibonacci, this system is inspired by Indian and Arabic mathematical systems and certain patterns in nature. The idea was quickly adopted by gamblers, who used the system to see if they could boost their bankroll.
You may have heard of the Fibonacci sequence. In mathematics, it’s a series of numbers where the next number in the sequence is equal to the sum of the previous two. For example, the sequence would run as shown below, and carry on indefinitely:
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34
To use this system in Roulette, you’ll want to place your wager on even money outside bets. Then, you should increase your wager every time you lose, but this time the amount you bet will follow the amount shown in the Fibonacci sequence. Whilst you’re still presented with the risk of betting high to win low, in comparison to the Martingale system, you won’t have to reset your wager after a win – you can just take it down a couple of levels. This means you’ll have a better chance to make up any losses a lot quicker.
Can betting systems help you win?
Many players like to turn to betting strategies to help them feel as though they have a sense of control over the wheel. These systems can have the potential to help you boost your bankroll, and offer a more structured way to bet. However, you’ll have to be playing for a significant amount of time in order to win back your bets or incur a profit, and many systems still come with a risk. All of these systems require you to only place your bet on even money outside bets, giving you almost a 50% chance of winning each time but providing you with the lowest payout out of all the Roulette bets available.
So, if you’ve weighed up the pros and cons and find that a betting strategy helps you amplify your gameplay, then they can help you feel a sense of control over the game of chance. However, you should bear in mind that ultimately, Roulette is just that – a game of chance, and there’s no way you’ll be able to predict the outcome, whether you use a strategy or not. But that’s all the fun of it, right?
