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Wheel of Fortune: Your Guide to American Roulette
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What's the best bet in roulette? What number hits the most? Read on to learn everything you need to know about American roulette.
Few casino games are as intriguing as American roulette. Just ask Ashley Revell, an English real estate mogul who once bet all his assets on red and won big! If he can do it, what's stopping you?
Not only are the rules easy to learn, but you can win some major money with the right bets. There are few better ways to get your adrenaline pumping than watching that roulette spin.
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about American roulette, including how to play.
How to Play American Roulette
American roulette is one of the easiest casino games to learn.
At its core, you're betting on which number the roulette is going to land on. In American roulette, the numbers go from zero to 38, as opposed to 36 in European roulette. Each of these numbers lays in either a black or red field.
At the start of each round, players decide which number they want to bet on. If you think the roulette ball will land on 3, for example, you would put your chips on the 3. Once all bets are placed the croupier spins the wheel, the ball lands on a number, and bets are paid out.
American roulette, unlike European roulette, has a zero and double-zero space. These lay in a field of green rather than red or black. This additional 00 space gives the casino an edge, as landing on it results in a loss whether you bet on red or black.
Ways to Bet on American Roulette
There are a few different ways to bet on American roulette.
An inside bet is a bet on an exact number and offers the highest winnings. You can place your chip on any number, or on the line between two to four numbers. By placing your chip on the line, you're splitting the bet, meaning you win if it lands on any of the numbers touching the chip.
This raises your chances but lowers your winnings.
An outside bet gives you higher chances of winning, but a lower payout. Outside bets include betting on red or black, even or odd numbers, or broad ranges like 1 to 18 and 19 to 36. You can also bet on whole columns.
What Are the Best Ways to Bet?
Certain bets will give you better payouts, with inside bets always getting you higher winnings. Here are a few common ways to bet, and the payout rate you're looking at for each.
Betting on the Street
"Betting on the street" means you're betting on three consecutive, horizontal numbers on the board. You're looking at an 11:1 payout here.
Straight-Up
Betting "straight-up" means betting on a specific number. This gives you a 35:1 payout.
Split
A split is when you put your chip on the line between numbers. The payout here is 17:1.
Line
A line bet is made up of two street bets -- so, six consecutive numbers. This pays out 5:1.
Corner
A corner bet is when you place your chip in the center of four numbers. Doing this offers a payout of 8:1.
Basket
A basket bet is when you place your chip on 1, 2, 3, 0, and 00. It's probably the worst bet you can make in American roulette. The payout is 6:1, and your chances of winning are only about 13%.
Choosing the best bet depends on your budget, as well as your strategy. A broad bet like red/blacks, evens/odds, and columns will heighten your chances. Inside bets have lower chances but net you bigger winnings.
Knowing the payouts helps, but so does knowing a few winning strategies.
Winning Roulette Strategies
There are a lot of different strategies that bettors use to find success in American roulette. Here are some of the most popular ones.
The Martingale System
One particularly popular way to play American roulette is by following the Martingale System.
The Martingale System is easy to follow. Every time you lose a bet, you double that bet until you win. Once you win, you return to the first bet.
Not everyone will be able to follow this system, especially if you end up losing a lot of bets. Since your bet keeps doubling, the sum can get too high to manage. If you've got a lot of money to bet, though, this can be a very effective way to make money on American roulette.
Reverse Martingale
You can also try out the reverse Martingale. With this method, you increase your bet only after you win a roll. When you lose a roll, you lower the bet back to the original.
The reverse Martingale is a little risky, as you could lose all your earnings in a single loss. If you're on a hot streak, though, the reverse Martingale could make you big bank.
The Fibonacci Strategy
Following the Fibonacci sequence, thought up by Leonardo of Pisa in the 1200s, is an interesting way to bet.
The Fibonacci sequence looks like this: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, and so on infinitely. Every number in the sequence is the sum of the two preceding numbers. To utilize this strategy on the roulette table, you should bet in conjunction with the sequence.
So, you would want to bet $1 the first round, then $1 again, followed by $2, $3, $5, and so on. This is a good way to ease yourself into American roulette and avoid losing too much money. However, the further into the sequence you get, the higher the amount of money you're putting at stake.
The D'Alembert Strategy
The D'alembert strategy is one of the safest ways to bet on American roulette.
It's simple: When you win, decrease your bet by $1. When you lose, increase your bet by $1. Once you hit as many wins as you have losses, you can walk away safely.
This is a good way to make some small gains with little risk.
Win Big at the American Roulette Wheel
American roulette is easy to learn but takes real strategy to master. Now that you know how to play American roulette and some winning strategies, it's time to hit the table. Who knows, your next visit to the casino could be your most successful yet!
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