Whether you play at a land based casino or online roulette, many inexperienced players will say that it is all luck. And they would be wrong, especially as they would be repeating what they heard from others.
A short answer to the question asked in this article’s title would be a “no”. Roulette is far from being all luck. Being good at this popular game requires both skill and knowledge. Saying that roulette is about luck would be true if spins were utterly unpredictable. But they are predictable enough to allow players to gain an advantage over the house.
When is roulette all luck? When can you make money from playing roulette? When can you beat the game, and when it’s impossible to do so? We’ll try to give you answers to these questions, but remember that things are not black and white.
Types of Roulette You Can Beat
Here are the main types of roulette:
RNG roulette
With this kind of roulette, there’s no physical wheel available. A software algorithm, known as RNG (or “random number generator”), determines the winning numbers. RNG roulette is essentially like online slots, where a roulette wheel is nothing more than computer animation.
RNG roulette can be beaten, although there are not many options to do so. In most cases, it’s next to impossible. The reason is simple: RNG makes it extremely difficult to predict the outcome.
Rigged Roulette
Rigged roulette is something you won’t encounter often. In most cases, it’s provided by unregulated online casinos, while the payouts it offers depend on the amounts players have won and lost. You should never play at an unregulated online casino.
There’s no actual roulette wheel. And while it appears the game’s interface uses a random number generator, the outcome of the spin is quite different. For example, if you place a bet of $1,000, you can only get $950 in return. The biggest downfall of rigged roulette is the casino software, which doesn’t allow players to profit in the long run.
It’s not called theft, but it sure does resemble one. That’s why it is mostly used by unlicensed online gambling sites. All the luck in the world won’t help you with rigged roulette.
Real-Wheel Roulette
As its name suggests, this roulette type comes with a physical wheel and ball. It may include a live dealer, although that’s not necessary. Real roulette may offer automated wheels, with an air blower releasing the ball.
The winning number is not determined by a random number generator but by an actual physical factor, such as the speed of the wheel and ball. That’s why it’s possible (at least, up to a point) to predict the outcome of a spin. That way, players can improve their odds of winning.
The truth is that players can only beat roulette where a real physical wheel is involved. There’s always the unrealistic possibility of exploiting a flawed random number generator, but that’s not likely to happen.
When Luck Doesn’t Help
Now that you know what type of roulette can be beaten, it’s time to see what role does luck play.
If your playing system isn’t effective, then your win rate will almost be random. Here’s an example: if your system places a bet on just one number, it means you’ll win once in every 37 spins (as there are 37 pockets on European roulette). If that’s the case, your result will be all luck.
On the other hand, if your playing strategy is effective, your win rate should be higher than random. Let’s use the example above. If your system allows you to win once in thirty spins, the improved odds have nothing to do with luck but with the skilful way you applied the strategy.
Systems like visual ballistics, bias analysis, roulette computers, and dealer signatures have already proven to be very effective and are among strategies recommended to use when playing roulette.
But Does Luck Have Any Role in Effective Systems?
No matter how effective your system may be, sometimes luck can have an impact, especially in the short term.
Let us explain this. If you use roulette computers, it’s possible to win 90% of your spins if you bet on fifteen numbers. But why not 100%, you may ask? The answer lies in the short term.
Casinos have a long-term advantage over players, at least over regular ones. On certain occasions, casinos can make a loss. However, that’s only a short-term loss, as any casino is fully aware it has a long-term advantage and that losses will quickly be recovered.
Casinos simply call it variance. This term is used to describe how things do happen as expected. On the other hand, players have a different term for the difference to the desired results. They call it luck.
Getting Lucky with Random Bets
Experienced roulette players say that it’s quite usual to make a profit from losing systems, although you’ll need hundreds or even thousands of spins to do so. The reason is the use of betting progressions.
The betting progression is when you increase the size of your bet after losing, which may help you profit over a short period of time. Eventually, you’ll have to repay this loan and with interest.
So, luck and betting progressions are all you need to win over a large number of spins. But that doesn’t mean your system is better than a risky bet. Remember, even random bets can win from time to time.
Let’s be honest. If you want to depend solely on luck, then you should consider sports betting. In the end, it all comes down to knowledge. There is no sure way to win at roulette, it’s essential to know how to use your systems to outsmart the house and spin the odds in your favour. Have fun, enjoy your game of roulette, and hope Lady Luck will smile on you. You never know what can happen, and when that spin with big prizes may come.
