Four Roulette Myths Debunked: Never Believe These Roulette Urban Legends

Author:
Joe A.
Date:
29th November, 2020

There are many roulette myths going around on the internet. Are you better off putting some money on red or black? Is there a certain number on which the ball drops more times than any other number? Players who take a seat at the roulette table need to make many decisions – foremost the exact bet which they will place on the table. And in roulette, there are many possible bets! In this article, we will show you some urban legends about roulette bets – and tell you the truth behind these myths.

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Casino game

Roulette is one of the most popular casino games for a good reason. It’s easy to understand, rounds are played rather quickly (but not too fast!) and the odds are decent enough compared to some less advantageous casino games. Above all, there is the sheer excitement as you wait for the croupier to put the little ball in the wheel as you take a close look how it spins around and eventually drops on the winning number.

Although the game of roulette has grown in popularity, there are still many misconceptions about it. In this article, we highlight 4 roulette myths which are often told by gamblers – but which in reality aren’t true at all. Let’s start debunking these myths one by one!

Myth 1: There is only one version of roulette

Many players are familiar with the most common version of roulette with 1 to 36 numbers and a zero (0) on the wheel. Many people will be surprised to find that there are actually many more versions of the game and there are some big differences between all these variants. Apart from individual preferences, there are also differences when it comes to the game rules and the odds of winning!

In our list below we explain you the most popular roulette variants you can find in online casinos across the world. It is important to realise that just because a certain roulette version might be named after a country or region, this does not mean that it can only be played there. For example, you can play European roulette in the US too, and American roulette is also available in European casinos.

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a) European roulette

European roulette is perhaps the most common variant of roulette which can be found in online casinos. The wheel and board have a field of numbers ranging from 1 to 36, as well as having a single zero.

b) American roulette

The American version differs from European roulette that besides the 0, there is now also a double zero: 00. This might not seem like a too big of a difference at first glance, but if you know that the payouts are exactly the same you realise that having one number more on the wheel actually decreases your odds. Compared to American roulette, European roulette has a 50% lower house edge and is thus slightly more advantageous to play.

So how did the double zero appear on the wheel and board and why was American roulette created? Simple – when roulette first came from France to the US some two centuries ago, American casinos saw it as an opportunity to slightly tweak the game and make it more profitable for the house!

c) French roulette

The French approach to the game is probably one of the first casino games to ever exist – and it should not be confused to European roulette. Although the wheel and range of numbers are the same (1 to 36 and a single zero) – French roulette has a few extra rules which are actually quite advantageous for you as a player. The French version is more difficult to find than the European or American versions in most online casinos. But if you find one, it is advisable to read into the game rules so you understand the extra options this variant will allow.

In French roulette, there is a special rule that ensures that you receive half your bet back (or half of the bet remains on the table for a second try) when the ball hits zero. As a result, the house advantage is once again slightly reduced. French roulette offers an extremely low house edge of 1.35% for single odds when these “la partage” or “en prison” rule applies.

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d) Multi wheel roulette

If you really want to take everything to a higher level, then the game of multi-wheel roulette might be something for you. You’ll only find it at online casinos and will not see it at any land-based casino.

Although there is just a single roulette table, on it you will find eight roulette wheels which can be used for your bet. The choice is up to you for how many bets you want to place at a time. Your single bet is multiplied by the number of wheels you decide to play. For example, if you bet on 3 wheels, you place a bet 3 times, and you have 3 times the chance to win or lose. Multi-wheel roulette is exciting and presents a fun opportunity to make big wins, but be sure to stay in control of your game as both winning and losing can happen a lot faster than in a regular game of roulette.

e) Multiplayer roulette

As you could probably guess from the name, multiplayer roulette is simply a game of online roulette which can be played with a group of players at the same time. Normally, a virtual roulette game is just you and your computer screen – with nobody else being active in the same window.

However, multiplayer roulette allows you to take a seat at a virtual table together with other players. You can often even communicate with them using the chat function and watch which tactics and betting patterns the other players are using.

roulette myths

Most online casinos have dozens of different roulette games available.

Myth 2: The martingale system or tactic is a proven winner

Just like in every other game, players of the game of roulette have been looking for betting patterns, tactics and strategies trying to beat the house and increase their winnings. One of these strategies which many people think works well is the so-called Martingale system (also called the Martingale Tactic). We can easily write a few pages just on this tactic alone, but we just briefly browse through the basics of this betting pattern to show you why Martingale doesn’t work at all.

The basic idea behind Martingale is quite easy to understand. It is supposed to work like this: You first bet 1 unit on red/black, let’s say you put 1 euro on black. If the ball drops on red and your bet is lost, you then double your initial bet to try to recoup this loss. So you bet 2 euro, again on black. If you lose again, you then bet again double the amount – 4 euro! Bad luck and lose again? Then the next bet is 8 euro. The essential part behind the system is that it requires you to always double the bet after losing a bet in order to cover the losses. Many bet double + 1, for example after losing 2 euro, the next bet is double + 1 (2 x 2 = 4 + 1 = 5 euro) – another variant of Martingale.

At first it seems like a pretty good strategy. It has survived the gambling world for a decade because many people still believe in the system. But it is important to say that there are shortcomings with the Martingale system. One of the major problems with this system is that it requires quite a huge balance to actually be able to follow up with additional bets. You may think that there is no way you will lose your bet 5 or 6 times in a row, but trust us on this, if you play roulette for prolonged periods there might be both long losing streaks – just as you can have a long lucky winning streak. Another problem is that people don’t take into account that when they lose several turns in a row that at one point they will hit the maximum betting limit on the table – meaning they can no longer double their initial bet and recoup their losses.

Moreover, what starts as an innocent bet of 2, 4 or 8 euro can quickly turn into thousands of euros, with almost no profit! Even if you finally win such a 1,000+ euro bet – you are basically mostly recouping previously losses and still do not make a big profit at all. When you look closely, the Martingale system seems reasonable at first, but it just doesn’t work in the long run. If there was real evidence that a system gives you a guaranteed profit, you would have heard about it by now and millions of people would play roulette for a living. Don’t forget that in the long-run, the casino always has a house edge. And that certainly is true for roulette.

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Myth 3: Previous outcomes are a way to predict future results

Many gamblers are familiar with the phenomenon of “gambler’s fallacy”, but not everyone knows exactly what it is. That’s too bad as a lot of gamblers – no matter the casino game they play – are at risk of making a mistake which known as the gambler’s fallacy.

Basically, the gambler’s fallacy is an incorrect idea held by many gamblers that past and current events have some kind of an impact on future results – even though there is absolutely no correlation between them.

This is best explained by looking at a simple bet on red/black in roulette. Let’s say in our example that in the three previous rounds, each time the ball dropped on a black number. Does this has any influence on the outcome of the next few rounds? Does it impact the odds? Not at all. At the next spin, there is an almost 50% chance that the ball will drop again on black – or hit a red number (it’s not entirely 50% as there is of course always the green 0, and the 00 in American roulette). There is no correlation whatsoever.

However, there are many players who fall for the gambler’s fallacy. There are two ways how this can happen. One group of people might subconsciously think that after three times black in a row, for sure on the fourth spin the ball will again drop on red? After all, with four spins you would expect two black numbers and two red numbers, no? This thinking is completely wrong. Only on the long-run (thousands of spins!) black and red would eventually even out and feature an almost equal amount of times. In the short run you cannot say this. Even if the ball has hit black three times, the fourth spin sees the same near 50-50 chance for the ball to hit black again.

Of course, the gambler’s fallacy works the other way around as well. It can affect gamblers who believe in ‘lucky numbers’ or ‘hot streaks’. They would argue that because the ball dropped on a black number three times in a row, this is a ‘hot’ colour and will likely feature many more times. They might even argue that somehow on this particular table the wheel is ‘tweaked’ to favour black numbers.

Again this is wrong. Whether you play at an online casino or a land-based casino does not matter. Thanks to software (in an online casino) and vigorous checks (at both) each spin is completely fair and honest and features an unique result each time again. There is no way how to influence it. And again no way why the odds would be any different the fourth spin than the previous three. The conclusion is that regardless of what happened in previous turns, the odds always remain the same.

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Myth 4: Covering the playing field is a good strategy

A lot of people try to create the winning roulette formula by looking into betting patterns. You can often clearly see the difference between players at a table. Some just place their chips on just one bet at a time, while there are others who spread their chips over multiple numbers or bets thinking that by covering as much ground as possible, they have a higher chance of winning. Unfortunately, this is not true.

Sure, it might seem that these players win more as they might always have 1 out of their 10 bets being successful and getting a small return, but you should not forget how much chips they just lost having placed them on unsuccessful bets and numbers. On the other hand, that guy who each times just places a single bet on number 15 might not win anything for 10 times in a row, but when his number does hit – he gets a very nice 35 to 1 payout – more than making up for his last lost bets. Although such a bet is more risky, it has a higher return.

Just as the martingale system has indicated, if there had ever been a proven roulette strategy, everyone would know about it, and casinos would have made adjustments to the game or else would go bankrupt.

roulette myths

Make sure to know about the myths and misconceptions surrounding roulette before you place your bets!

Conclusion

As long as you stay away from these 4 roulette myths, the roulette wheel can offer some of the best odds in the casino. The low house edge and easy to learn from the game rules are something that appeals to many players – just make sure you don’t loose any unnecessary amounts of money by falling for myths and misconceptions!

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