1
Know a bit about the martingale strategy. Probably
the most common roulette strategy out there, the martingale relies on
doubling bets after a loss in a ~50/~50 chance game. This way, the first
win recoups all the previous losses, along with a small profit for the
gambler.- The advantage of this strategy is intuitive. In basic roulette, you're playing a coin-flip game. You bet on a color, and your color either wins out or it doesn't. If you only bet on a single color, and you keep doubling your bet until you win, probability says that you increase your likelihood of winning. Provided you keep doubling losing bets, as soon as you win, you've recovered all your losses.[1]
- The are a couple disadvantages to this strategy. First, probability isn't reality: just because you have a high statistical likelihood of hitting black after four consecutive red pockets doesn't mean you will hit a black pocket.
- Another disadvantage of this strategy is that, eventually, you may reach the maximum bet after several consecutive losses. As soon as this happens, you're in the red, even if you win. You need to continue making larger bets — or winning out — in order to recoup your losses.
2
Find a roulette table with a small minimum bet and a high maximum bet. You
want to start small and have the opportunity to double your losing bets
almost ad infinitum. Hence, a small minimum bet and a high maximum bet.
3
Bet a small amount on black or red, even or odd, 1-18 or 19-36. American
roulette tables have 37 pockets, including the 0, meaning that the ball
has an equal probability of landing in either the black and red
pockets, even or odd, and the small digits (1-18) or the larger digits
(19-36).- For the sake of example, we'll assume that your bet is going to be red or black, even though you could easily bet even or odd, 1-18 or 19-36.
4
If you win, pocket your winnings and bet the same small amount. Alternately,
you can leave the casino, although leaving with $2 instead of $1 isn't
very satisfying. It does beat leaving with $0, however.
5
If you lose, double the amount you last wagered and place the bet on the same color again. In other words, if your losing bet was $1, you should now bet $2. If you bet on black, you should bet on black again.
6
If you win on the second bet, collect your winnings and place the original small bet or leave the casino. If you win, you've made just as much money by winning on your second bet as you would have had you won on your first.
7
If you lose again, double your bet and try again.
8
Repeat these steps until you either lose all of your money or you hit the table maximum. Remember
that this is not a sure-fire way to win money, it is just a way to
maximize your odds at the table with the worst odds (for the gambler) in
the casino.