Online Roulette: A Game Of Skill Or Luck?
Every table game has its virtues, but only a game like online roulette offers so many bet types for its wide range of players. There are “easy” bets for the novice, and higher-risk bets for experienced players, which may just come down to a willingness to lose a bit in order to potentially win a lot – and that winning potential is practically unmatched in table games. you can land a 35:1 payout within a matter of seconds as your lunch heats up in the microwave.
With so many profitable options on the table, of course players at Bodog Casino must wonder if the game is purely luck, or if the results can be manipulated with skill. We’ll break it all down, starting with a whirlwind history lesson of the game. You know – dinner party conversation.
Looking Back On Roulette
Roulette-like games have been embraced for centuries. Since its conception, and perhaps because it hard to imagine how it would work any other way, Roulette has been a game of luck that depends on the outcome of a spin to determine the winners. In ancient Rome the soldiers killed time by spinning a shield or a chariot wheel, and ancient Greeks did the same when they bet on the symbols that would land from their spinning shields as well. If only they’d mutually improved each other’s practices, the battlegrounds might’ve been commemorated as bastions of play, where winning took on a new, bloodless, meaning.
Food for thought.
Most of the credit, however, goes to the French in the 17th century with games like ‘Roly Poly’ and ‘Even-Odd’. The game caught on in Germany, then made its way to the US in the 19th century. Online casinos grabbed the virtual wheel in 1996, and by 2008 online Roulette was a staple game in the world of online gambling.
With such a storied history, the wheel has surely been spun in every possible way and looked at from every angle, and generations of players have surely tried out every conceivable way of gaining an advantage. After all that wrangling behind the wheel, surely there must have been some approach that proved advantageous, which brings us to the question that brought you here: is Roulette a game of skill, or of pure luck?
Skill or Luck?
We’ll cut right to the chase.
When it comes down to the nitty gritty, Roulette is a game that is purely based on luck. That said, like any online casino game, you have the opportunity to gain an edge by using a thoughtful betting strategy.
But first we’ll go over the luck part.
At the Whims of Luck
Online Roulette at Bodog Casino operates using a random number generator (RNG), which means each and every spin is truly random, and no strategy you have can sway the outcome.
You could make a basic odd number bet (the easiest to win) and someone else could make a straight up bet (the most difficult to win). You’ll have a greater chance of hitting an odd number on the wheel simply because there are so many odd numbers available, but the numbers in the RNG will jumble up just the same as a single number bet, and the numbers that show up are strictly based on luck.
Given the luck-based nature of the game, does that leave any room for skill?
Skillful Playing: Betting Systems
The skill part of Roulette isn’t about controlling the outcome of the wheel. The skill part comes down to how you manage your bankroll, your betting system, and your time.
Many popular betting systems like the Martingale, D’Alembert, and Fibonacci systems are built around softening losses and making small gains, and they remain popular among experienced players who use them as a core tenet of their online Roulette strategy.
Take the Martingale System, for instance.
You start off the game with one small betting unit: say, around 1-2% of your starting bankroll. If you win on this bet, do the same bet again on the next round. Keep going until you lose. When you eventually have a losing bet, you double your bet size and play again, and keep doubling your bet size until you eventually win. If you do end up winning, you’ll get back your losses plus a little extra. At that point, go back to the beginning and bet the smallest amount.
Skilful Playing: Even Money Bets
Any betting system you choose, such as the Martingale System, works best when you’re making even money bets. That’s because your wins and losses will stay fairly steady without too much fluctuation.
They include odd/even numbers, red/black pockets, and high/low numbers, and give you the most opportunity to win. The payouts are undeniably smaller, but they’re also the most consistent – which is another factor to keep in mind.
If you applied the system to higher risk bets, which, again, instruct you to increase your bet amount with each loss, your bankroll would vanish much faster than you’d accounted for. This is because you’re increasing your bet size even as you increase your losses. So if it’s staying power you’re after, and lowering your risk, your key Roulette tip is to work with smaller increments.
Skilful Playing: Setting Limits
The best online Roulette tips practiced by experienced players include setting your limits and sticking to them. Always have a limit for how much you’re willing to lose as well as how much you’re willing to win before you take the money and run. If money isn’t as much of a consideration as time, then work out similarly how long you’d like to play for (time can be easier to disregard than money when you’re in the moment) and set your limit; either by the number of minutes/hours by stopwatch, or, if you prefer, a specific time on the clock by alarm.
When any of these limits are up, so is your game. It does require discipline, but treating yourself to something nice as a reward makes it more likely that you’ll continue to stick to your self-imposed ceiling.
It’s only through these strategies that you can get a leg up in Roulette, and hopefully massage the luck a bit more in your favour.
Play Roulette at Bodog
You’re at Bodog Casino: and this means that if you’re ready to play Roulette, you have plenty of tables to choose from.
The most popular type of Roulette to play is European Roulette. European Roulette has 37 pockets and only one green zero, making the house edge just 2.7%.
American Roulette, on the other hand, has a total of 38 pockets and two green zeros, resulting in a house edge that’s nearly double that of its European cousin at 5.25%. So it goes without saying that one of the best online Roulette tips comes down to choosing European Roulette as your go-to version. You’re already one step ahead of the game.
Both options are of course available to players, and both versions of Roulette are optimized for mobile, with European Roulette even offering a table that’s led by the voice of a digital croupier.
If you’d rather have a real human croupier, you could always play either type of Roulette with a live dealer. You can still use your favourite online Roulette strategy, but now you’ve got a real, breathing human being to guide you through the game. Besides, a little human connection is never a bad thing.
Roulette is, ultimately, a game of luck, but using the right betting strategies can help you manage the game, and maximise your chances of coming out ahead. Choose your Roulette table, hand Lady Luck the keys for the valet service, and bet like the savvy player you are.