Roulette is a top game to play at online casinos in South Africa, with its simplicity ensuring it is easy to pick up for absolute newcomers. Anyone can understand the rules of roulette very quickly, but winning at the game is easier said than done.
With that in mind, here is our guide for how to win at roulette at the online casino.
Pick the right roulette game
To start with, it is important to know that not all roulette games are the same. While they have a wheel and the layout looks identical, tweaks can make a big difference to players.
At online casinos, American roulette is usually the worst value option available to players. This is because American roulette wheels typically have two green spaces for zero. What this means is that the player’s odds of winning are reduced, due to the higher chance of the ball ending up in one of those slots when the wheel stops spinning.
The first thing to do, then, is to only play online roulette games with a single space for zero.
Try out a staking strategy
For online casino games like roulette, many players swear by using a staking strategy. There are a few different roulette strategies that people use at the wheel but one of the most common of them is the Martingale strategy.
When using the Martingale strategy, players have to stick to bets with the best odds. In roulette, these are the simple options such as red/black, odds/even and 1-18/19-36. The odds are not quite 50-50 due to the presence of the green space for zero, but these wagers offer the best chance of getting one over the casino.
In the Martingale strategy, players double their stake when they lose and place the same value bet when they win. The idea is that all streaks end at some point, with the law of averages suggesting red will come up eventually, even if black has won a few spins in a row. However, the major drawback of the Martingale strategy is that it can need a big bankroll to pull off. Losing streaks mean stakes get big quickly and this can be scary for some players too.
Fibonacci strategy
While the Martingale strategy is risky, the Fibonacci staking plan is more conservative. This staking strategy works by following the Fibonacci set of numbers, which are as follows:
1 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 8 – 13 – 21 – 34 – 55 – 89 – 144 – 233 – 377 – 610 – 987
Again, like the Martingale strategy, the Fibonacci staking plan should be used on even-money bets such as red or black, or odds or evens.
Reverse Martingale
Those who want to learn how to win at roulette but feel the Martingale strategy is too risky might benefit from playing with the Reverse Martingale plan instead.
With this strategy, players double their stake when they win, rather than when they lose. The idea behind this plan is that stakes do not get out of control due to the fact bankrolls grow before bets are increased.
But like any roulette strategy, profits can never be guaranteed due to the house edge – nearly three per cent for this casino game – that is against the player.
Quit when ahead
Roulette, like a lot of the best casino games in the world, is designed to be addictive. Players can get carried away spinning the wheel and not realise how much time has passed – and how much they have bet. Knowing when it is the right time to walk away from the roulette wheel is therefore one of the key things that must be done to win at the game.
Quitting in the middle of a winning streak might sound like a bad move, but luck always turns and it is all too easy to gamble away profits in the hope of winning even more cash. Some roulette players set a profit target before starting to play, or simply select a budget that they are willing to lose.
Whatever these numbers are, players should stick to them regardless of what streak they are on at the roulette wheel.