Support UkraineEvery player who has just started playing roulette has this question in mind: can you beat roulette? How can cheat the mathematical nature of roulette and win consistently? Although there are countless articles written on this subject, none of them manage to provide clear and precise information. We will do the opposite and answer this question in a way that leaves no doubt in your mind.
Is it possible to beat roulette?
Last updated:
03.26.2024 by Andrew Shepard
What do gamblers use to beat roulette?
Gamblers have tried many things to beat roulette, but they can be grouped into two basic categories: strategies and cheats. The effectiveness of each is different from the next, so let's examine them separately.
Strategies. There are dozens of roulette strategies, and there is no player who has not tried at least one of them. It is possible to collect all existing strategies under two basic groups:
- Bankroll management. The purpose of these strategies is not to increase your chances of winning. They aim to maximize your profits and minimize your losses by changing the wager amounts according to certain rules. Martingale, d'Alembert, and Labouchere are the best known of such strategies.
- Winning chance. Systems in this category do not care about your wager amount, they try to increase your chances of winning. For example, the James Bond strategy asks you to place a series of bets that cover more than half of the numbers on the wheel.
Well, after testing dozens of different strategies on Roulette77, we can say:
- None of them make a guarantee to win
- Most of them are useless
- Few strategies can increase your wins and reduce your losses in the short term, but they cannot sustain this in the long term.
In short, strategies are of limited use and cannot be used as a way to beat roulette.
Cheating. It goes without saying that this is illegal, but throughout history, many gamblers have tried to beat roulette by cheating. The best-known example of this is a gambler named Joseph Jagger, who managed to win £65,000 by cheating with the "biased wheel" technique in 1873. Jagger noticed that the frets between the pockets on the roulette wheel were made of wood and wore off over time. Some frets were too worn to hold the ball, and using this, it was possible to make a consistent prediction of what the outcome would be. After Jagger did this trick, frets began to be produced from metal: it is no longer possible to use this method. Creative gamblers have tried many other things throughout history:
- They tried to predict the pocket where the ball would land with a laser pointer.
- They tried to change their chips with a sleight of hand just before the ball stopped.
- There have even been gamblers trying to manipulate the ball with a magnet.
Let’s cut this short: you cannot beat roulette by cheating. It is neither legal nor possible. Casinos fixed all existing security holes long ago, and if there is still a way to do that, you won't find it on the internet. As online roulette is completely digital and randomly determines the results, it is not possible to cheat on it too. But don't worry, there is still a way to beat roulette.
The secret to beating roulette is actually very simple
The answer to the question “can online roulette be beaten” is actually very simple. Yes, this is possible. Moreover, it is perfectly legal. And no, techniques, strategies, or tricks are not required at all. There is only one surefire way to beat roulette: knowing when to stop.
Let's explain this simply. When you make an investment, if you earn more than the money you invested, you will make a profit. For example, suppose you invest 100,000 USD on a new business: if you earn 110,000 USD from that business, you can say you made a profit. In other words, you will be fine as long as the “return” is more than the investment.
Roulette and other casino games are very honest in this respect. You can see how much of your investment will return before you even start playing: this is called RTP (return to player). This value, represented by a percentage, indicates how much of your investment in any casino game you can win back. The trick is that this value is never 100%. And this means that it is not possible to make a profit.
Let's explain with an example: the RTP of the European variant of roulette is 97.30%. This simply means:
- If you deposit 100 USD, you will earn up to 97.30 USD back in the long run.
- This means you will lose 2.70 USD. Since you cannot earn more than your investment, it is not possible for you to make a profit.
We know what you're thinking: fine, but if I win 35 USD on a 1 USD bet, I'll make a profit, right? This is true, and it also shows the only way to beat roulette: you must stop as soon as you make a profit, that is when you have won more than your investment. If you can get away from the roulette table with more money in your pocket than you started with, you can always beat this game (and any casino game).
Seems so simple, doesn't it? So, why isn't anyone doing this? This is about the psychology of gambling, and casinos rely on it. A player who earns 35 USD by depositing 1 USD will almost always continue to play because “his luck has turned”. When he does this, he will eventually lose in the long run due to the RTP values we have mentioned above: this is a mathematical certainty. Maybe he won't continue playing that evening, but he will definitely try his luck again after a few days. Since he will not be so lucky every time, the casino will always win in the long run. Stopping as soon as you make a profit is the only way to beat roulette. If you have the will and self-control to do this, you can beat roulette every time.
