Roulette Red Or Black
The most popular of them are known as ‘even money’ bets, because they cover pretty much half of the possible outcomes – with the exception of the number zero (and the double 0 in American roulette). All the even bets in roulette are: red or black, even or odd, 1-18 or 19-36. All of those bets have a chance of winning close to 50%. An outside bet (for example odd or even, red or black, 1-18 or 19-36) often gives players the best chance of a payout. Half of the possible outcomes of a game of roulette are covered by 'outside. A European roulette wheel has 18 red pockets, 18 black pockets and 1 green pocket. It’s the ‘unwanted’ green pocket that provides the casino with its advantage. The chance of hitting a red pocket on any given spin is: 18 (number of red pockets) ÷ 37 (total number of pockets) x 100 = 48.64%.
On the surface, roulette is a simple game, thus half its appeal to a wide range of gamblers. The concept is straight forward; place a bet on a number, spin the wheel and hope that the ball lands on that number, bringing you in a sweet cash win. But roulette strategy goes beyond just picking your lucky number, and with a collection of Side Bets on offer there is a lot more depth to this classic casino game than meets the eye.
Recommended online roulette casinos
The numbers on a roulette wheel are divided into one of three colours, with 18 numbers on red, 18 numbers on black, and zeros on green. One popular roulette side bet is to place a wager on the ball landing on either red or black. Betting on red or black means the roulette ball must land on a number of that colour to constitute a win, with bets that offer an even payout of 1 x 1, giving players the chance to double their money for a spin with close to a 50/50 chance of winning.
Betting on red or black doesn’t quite offer a 50% winning chance, as the ball landing on a zero on a red or black bet is an instant loss. European Roulette only has one zero, whereas American Roulette has double zero, therefore making European Roulette a much preferable version if placing a red or black bet. Although the double zero only adds one number to the mix, it has quite a big impact on the odds:
- Red or Black Bet in European Roulette = 48.65% chance of winning, with a house edge of 2.70%
- Red or Black Bet in American Roulette = 47.37% chance of winning, with a house edge of 5.26%
Placing a side bet on red or black is a good way of maintaining your bankroll and adds an additional element of excitement to the game. While ultimately betting on red or black is a pure game of luck, there are some popular strategies out there.
The Martingale betting system
The Martingale System refers to a collection of betting strategies that originated in France in the 18th Century. In terms of roulette the Martingale System is very easy to follow, therefore any players can utilise this strategy.
In a nutshell, the Martingale System suggest that you place a standard bet, for example $5 on red in roulette. If the spin lands on red, resulting in a win, you then make the same wager on the next spin. However, if you lose, you double your wager on the next spin. The aim of this strategy is that after a series of losing spins, the net win will be $5 and that every winning bet will bring you up another $5 regardless of previous losses. The results is increased chances of winning in the short term, but the wins will be small and when you do lose, the losses will be greater.
In a perfect world, the Martingale System would be ideal, but in order for it to work you’d need an unlimited bankroll and a roulette table with no betting limits, which unfortunately is not reality. If trying this system, increase your odds by playing European Roulette over American and be prepared with a decent sized bankroll and try not to play for any more than a couple of hours.
Where can international readers play online roulette
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Each of these trusted sites offer a fantastic range of roulette games, from the classic to the obscure. Check out some of the roulette variations and take advantage of the welcome bonuses and try your luck at a red or black side bet:
Roulette Red Or Black Strategy
One question about Roulette that we get asked a lot is: when the same colour (for instance black) hits multiple times (for instance 8 times) in a row, what are the odds of hitting red on the next spin?
Are the odds of the Roulette ball landing on red higher or lower than the odds of hitting black? Many people will think that the odds of hitting black for a ninth time are very low. After all, this colour has already hit eight times in a row. So statistically, red has to be due, right? But is that the case?
And would it be possible to design a winning Roulette strategy based on the Roulette wheel’s past outcomes?
Roulette: how to determine the odds of hitting red
To answer this question correctly, we must first calculate the ball’s odds landing on red in one single spin. For argument’s sake, we will pick European (also called French) Roulette as the game of choice.
A European Roulette table has one zero (green), 18 red and 18 black slots. In total there are 37 slots for the roulette ball to land on.
The odds that the Roulette ball will land on red is 18/37 = 48.6%.
The odds that the ball will land on red two times in a row is 48.6% x 48.6% = 23.6%.
The odds that the colour red will hit three times in a row is 48.6% x 48.6% x 48.6% = 11.4%. Etcetera Etcetera.
De odds that the Roulette ball will hit a red slot 8x in a row is 0.31%. In other words, it is quite rare for this to happen, but it can happen. Series of 30 times consecutive hits on the colour Red has been documented.
What are the odds of hitting red after 8 x black?
The odds of hitting red after 8 successive spins on black is precisely 48.6%. A Roulette wheel has no memory, and every spin is independent of the one before. A Roulette wheel does not look at statistics, nor does it have the ability to determine when a specific result is “due”.
Even if the colour black has been hit 300 times in a row, the odds of hitting red on the next spin are the same as the odds of the Roulette ball landing on the colour black again.
Long successive patterns of Roulette outcomes say absolutely nothing about the possible result of the next spin!
Wait a minute. Then why do casinos always show the latest Roulette results?
An excellent question. The reason? It is to fuel a phenomenon that is called the “Gambler’s Fallacy”. A large percentage of gamblers believes that results from the past are somehow an indication of future results. They are looking for patterns or trends, that will help them place winning Roulette bets. Although patterns are undeniably there, they have no influence whatsoever on future outcomes.
Casinos tap into these beliefs by showing the results of past Roulette spins, and by doing that, enticing the players to place one more bet. After all, number 11 has to hit soon. It has not been hit for 200 spins!
Now you know why it does not work this way. By all means, enjoy your game of Roulette. Just don’t go chasing a certain outcome because it is “due”.
All spins are random and independent of each other, which is a good thing, by the way. We would never want to play at Roulette wheels that have been tampered with in any way.
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