The Myths of Roulette
As with many other casino games there are often a number of myths that surround the game of roulette. It’s an old game that has been around a while. So inevitably, there are a few stories and legends floating around.
Due to its simplicity roulette is a popular table game that is enjoyed by many players around the world. These myths, legends and misconceptions about the game are just that- myths, legends and misconceptions. Be careful that you clock them as such, and don’t let them influence the choices that you make. There is also a lot of science that has gone into roulette as well, by the way. Check out our roulette physics page for more details- it’s not all rabbit’s feet and crossed fingers!
Whether you’re an inexperienced player, a roulette expert or a seasoned pro your typical, and more sensible, instincts often get lost somewhat when that wheel starts spinning and is replaced with a less than reliable gut feeling. it’s always better to be scientific about these things than to start resorting to your tarot cards.
Roulette first and foremost is a game of luck. You have to remember that playing the game is pure chance and neither the wheel nor the ball has any way of retaining memory of its previous spins. Some variants like Next Gen’s Roulette Master game even build in feature to let you track hot and cold numbers.
Just remember, no matter which number on a roulette wheel that you may put your money on, the odds remain exactly the same as they did for the previous spin. Spinning a red has absolutely no bearing on landing a black on your next spin and vice versa. Odds are no better than evens and just because a red 7 or black 8 hasn’t popped up all night will not mean that it’s due to spin in. Maths in roulette is of course useful, but it is ultimately a way of describing the motion of the wheel and ball, rather than something that is going to crack the roulette code for you.
Think about it this way. Say you spun 10 reds and then bet again straight away. Which colour is more likely to come up? Are you leaning towards black? Now, let’s say you went home, and the roulette wheel remained inactive for 12 hours. Is black still more likely to come up, or does the tendency tend to decay over time? What about 1 week, 1 month , a year? As you can see, this fallacy about the wheel remembering what colour came up on the last spin is just that. A fallacy. It’s called the Gambler’s Fallacy as a matter of fact.
Much like other number-based games our basic human instincts will often dictate how we play games of chance such as roulette. They tell us to either stick to numbers we feel comfortable with or even to keep changing them with the expectation that numbers that have rarely spun in will eventually come up.
With a game such as roulette there are of course endless systems and strategies out there that promise to increase your chances of winning. However, no matter which system or pattern you introduce into your game play the odds of picking up a win are no better than if you are simply placing a few bets for a bit of fun. You can improve your money management by using roulette systems, and we’d always encourage players to be thinking about their stop loss levels and take profit targets before they hit the table. But other than that, the odds remain the same. Any site claiming it can do otherwise, or even inferring it, is a roulette scam to be frank. You can improve your odds at roulette with good game selection by playing variants with the lowest house edge (read our article on zeros in roulette), but you cannot alter the underlying odds of an individual roulette variant which are set by the physical make up of the game and the payout structure.
All these instincts, feelings, spin history and attitude will all influence your betting decisions when you next find yourself sitting at that wheel or online trying to land your next big win. So you will have to take great care to keep all these things in mind when it comes to choosing your stake. Although it can be fun to be lead by your gut feelings in this situation you will also need to make sure you aren’t drawn in too much by the lure to place big bets otherwise you could soon find yourself without any chips left.
Always try and quite while you’re ahead and don’t chase your losses. Set yourself a maximum budget of money you can easily afford to lose, and stick to it like glue. You might theoretically be able to win a supercar with a £2 roulette bet, but the odds are pretty long.