Winning At Roulette
by Greg Melikov

Roulette, which means "small wheel" in French, is the most popular game of chance played in Europe. It was either invented in China and brought to Europe by Dominican monks who traded in the Orient or by 17th century French mathematician Blaise Pascal.

Frenchmen Francois and Louis Blanc developed single "0" roulette, known as European roulette, in 1842. As the brothers introduced their game to France and Germany, gambling was prohibited in both countries.

So they took roulette to Monte Carlo, where they made an agreement in the 1860s with Prince Charles III of Monaco to design and build the palatial Casino de Monte Carlo.

Roulette hit America in the 1800s and a slot was added - the double "00." The game became popular in the Old West during the California Gold Rush.

It is one of the most misunderstood games in online casinos. The funky wheel and strangely numbered squares located throughout the betting table intimidate many players, but to the surprise of many roulette is one of the easiest available games on the Internet.

All that's required: placing color-coded chips on numbers, lines, colors or boxes. You simply let your cursor select the chip and place it anywhere on the table. Then click "spin" and the ball will bounce around the wheel and settle on a colored number.

There are many different types of wagers. There are inside and outside bets, combinations of numbers, colors and whether the ball will come to rest on odd or even.

Forget about strategies because the wheel is completely random. Streaks, winning or losing, can begin and end on any number.

The most logical method, experts agree, is to distribute your bets across the table to ensure a better chance of a winning wager. For example, spreading your money around, by playing $2 straight up and another $2 on all four corners instead of $10 on one, will increase staying power.

Other tips, according to various experts, include:

Start out with even money bets. You won't win as much as straight-up wagers, but you won't lose as much while getting a good feel of the game.

Pick a segment of the wheel and bet adjacent numbers.

Test the waters by betting small amounts. When you get a good run where your block of numbers keeps coming up, you can increase the stake so if the block comes up again, it will bump up your betting bank.

Don't use the double up system after a loss because eventually you will lose all your money.

Look for single "0" wheels because that reduces the house edge more than any other option.

Avoid betting on red and even or black and odd at the same time. Go for better odds and wager on red and odd or black and even because there are 10 red odd and 8 red even numbers as well as 10 black even and 8 black odd numbers.

Stay away from the five number bet - it has the worst odds.

Never chase losses you'll just lose your cash faster.

However, go ahead and set aside a small portion of your betting kick for wild impulse wagers.

Last but not least: Set a wagering limit and stick to it.