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HOW
TO WIN at ROULETTE
First-class roulette strategies start with
what we know, and what we know we can affect. As my roulette
odds page states, the American version of the game has a
steady house edge of 5.26%. The only omission is the five-number
bet, which has an even worse edge of 7.29%. These numbers
may not be a very striking to some, so let's see what we
can do to cut the edge down to size a little.
When in Atlantic City, roulette players
celebrate at the offering of 'surrender' on the tables.
If you're a casino buff you may right away think of blackjack
when the word surrender appears, but it means something
quite different in roulette. Although it's hard to find
in Vegas, there are a few spots offering it outside of Atlantic
City, but sadly, not near the Guru's house. Just ask at
the table before you play and the dealers will let you know.
So what is it? Well it's a rule that only
applies to outside bets that pay even money. This includes
the red/black bet, odd/even, and high/low. The deal is,
when the ball lands in 0 or 00, you only lose half of your
bet instead of the full amount. You might be thinking that
this is a rarity so how does it really help me? But the
0 and 00 are the main cause of a high house edge in the
game of roulette. With surrender at the table, the house
edge is cut noticeably to 2.63%.
The next thing you should look for in your
quest for decent roulette strategies is a European roulette
table. A European table is the same as a normal American
one, but only has a single 0, and no double zero slot. As
I just mentioned, those pesky 0's are the root cause of
most of our woes at the roulette table, so getting rid of
one of them repeatedly increases our chances. The house
edge drops down to a much more convenient 2.70%. Of course
it's easier to find European roulette wheels in Europe,
but it's not impossible in Vegas, and it's actually very
easy on the Internet.
A roulette strategies page just wouldn't
be whole if it failed to talk about our last hint. There
is a little known and regrettably rare available rule called
'En Prison'. If you speak French, or can just guess well,
you've figured out that this translates to 'In prison'.
It's another rule that only applies to those, even money
outside bets, but it's an even better one than the rest.
What happens is, if a 0 is rolled, your money isn't swept
off the table by the dealers, but remains 'in prison'. Your
bet outcome won’t be decided until the next roll. If the
imprisoned bet wins on the next spin, then you get your
bet back, if it loses then, well, it loses.
