How to Win at Online Roulette: Expert Tips and Strategies

Whether you’re playing at a luxurious land-based casino or enjoying a bit of gaming at your favourite online gambling site, roulette is ubiquitous. From immersive live dealer tables to special versions packed with unique features, roulette is one of the most popular casino games ever, mainly because it’s pretty simple to understand. Above all, it’s a game of chance. 

But how can you really win at roulette?

Well, it’s not enough to simply pick a random number and hope for the best. You can apply some specific online roulette strategies to give yourself the best possible chance of landing a win. Our Betsquare team has put together some expert roulette tips to try at your preferred online casino now. 

Understanding the Basics of Online Roulette

Before you can master any strategies, it’s important that you understand the basics of online roulette.

Roulette rules are relatively simple to understand. The dealer will spin the wheel, and you’ll be betting on where you think the ball will land. Depending on the variation you’re playing, there are either 37 or 38 potential pockets for the ball to land in.

But it’s not quite as simple as just betting on the specific number – there are other types of roulette bets, too, which give you a better chance of winning but come with a lower payout. For example, you could bet that the ball will land on any red or black numbers.

You’ll see a virtual version of the roulette table on your screen when you’re playing roulette online. The numbers 1 – 36 are arranged in rows and columns, and you’ll be able to see which is red and which is black. Below this grid, you’ll see the options to bet on certain columns of numbers, for example, the first third, second third, or third, and betting options for red/black or odd/even numbers. 

Bets on specific numbers are called inside bets, while all other bets are called outside bets. Here’s a quick summary of how each bet pays out:

 

Type of Bet	Potential Payout
Single Number	35:1
Odd/Even or Red/Black	1:1
Column	2:1
Dozen	2:1

 

Now that you know how to play online roulette, you can start applying some of our top tips. 

The Importance of an Online Roulette Strategy

While many people get by just fine with betting on random numbers or colours on the roulette table, you need some kind of roulette strategy to be truly successful in the game.

The main aim of a roulette strategy is to reduce the house edge (the amount of money a casino keeps) so that you have a better chance of winning. Doing this can be as simple as choosing the variation with a lower built-in house edge (in other words, European Roulette over American Roulette). 

There are also specific methods that you can apply while you’re playing to have a chance at a better result. Most of these strategies require multiple bets, and depending on the one you choose, the strategy will either help you minimise losses, maximise wins, or cover as much of the table as possible to try to get a win as often as possible.

When you apply a roulette strategy, you can effectively plan what you will do with each bet so that you’re not just placing random bets without considering how they will impact your chances of winning and your overall bankroll. 

Overall, it’s safe to say that the importance of a roulette strategy can’t be overstated. Now that you know why you should have a plan, you’re ready to learn a little bit more about the methods you can use and get some winning roulette tips. 

The Martingale Strategy

The Martingale roulette strategy is a negative betting system that dictates that you should increase your wager every time you lose, aiming to make up for any losses when you eventually win. The Martingale betting system should only be used on wagers where the chances of winning are about one in two. Otherwise, it’s much too risky and could result in losing your money very quickly.

When using the Martingale strategy, you must first consider your bankroll and how much you want to spend at a time. If, for example, your total bankroll is $100, you might decide that your unit should be $1. If you bet $1 on red the first time and it wins, you’ll continue by betting $1 on red again the next time.

If you lose, you can double that bet to $2; if you lose again, double it again to $4. When you win, return to your original wager and start again.

The Reverse Martingale Strategy

The Reverse Martingale is precisely what it sounds like – it’s the opposite of the traditional Martingale. Also called the Anti-Martingale, this betting system doubles down when you win and reduces your bets when you lose. The idea is to maximise the winning wagers rather than aiming to reduce the odds.

In this Martingale variation, you’ll set a unit (for example, $1) and place that on a bet with a one-in-two chance of winning (like red/black). If you bet $1 on red and win, you’ll double your bet to $2 and again to $4 if you have another win. At this point, if your bet loses, you’ll reduce your bet all the way back to $1. 

When using the Reverse Martingale strategy, it’s important to keep a close eye on your bankroll and start with small bets because you might not be on a winning streak for too long. 

The Fibonacci Strategy

The Fibonacci roulette strategy is a little more complex than the Martingale and its variations because it involves some maths. But don’t worry; it’s easy to use once you get the hang of it.

Before you can do any Fibonacci betting, you must understand the Fibonacci Sequence. It’s just a series of numbers, sometimes called nature’s “golden ratio”. In the sequence, each number equals the sum of the two numbers before it. For example: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21… etc.

But how can you use this to win on roulette? You should start with a unit that’s about 1% of your bankroll, so let’s take $1 as an example. If you win on the first bet, you move to the next number in the Fibonacci Sequence, which is also $1. Another win moves you to $2, and another win would take you up to $3. If you lose, move back two spaces on the sequence – in this example, you’d go back to $1.

It’s important to remember that the numbers add up quite quickly here, so you might not want to play with this strategy for dozens of rounds. 

 

The D’Alembert Strategy

The D’Alembert roulette strategy is a negative progression method, similar to the Martingale Strategy. However, there’s one major difference: if you’re using the Martingale Strategy, you’ll double your bets after each loss, but with D’Alembert betting, you’ll increase by one unit.

This means that it’s a slightly less aggressive strategy than the Martingale, but it still aims to get back a higher amount when you win to compensate for the previous losses. Your wins tend to be smaller when you use this method, but remember that you can still have substantial losses if you’re on a losing streak. 

Let’s look at a simple example. Let’s say your overall bankroll is $100, and you decide that one unit will be $1. You’ll start with a $1 bet on red or black, and if you lose the first time, you’ll increase it to $2 for your next bet on the same colour. If your second bet also loses, you’ll increase again, but this time to $3. At this point, if you’re lucky enough to bag a win, you’ll go back down to $2 for the next round. 

The Labouchere Strategy

The Labouchere roulette strategy is a negative progression strategy that aims to compensate for losses. This one is a little more complicated than the others we’ve discussed so far because it involves a tiny bit of addition, but don’t worry—it’s not too difficult.

You need to set a target for the amount of money you want to win right at the start. Make sure that the amount is realistic. For example, if your starting bankroll is $100, you might want to aim for $10. Then, break up that amount into a series of numbers and write them down in a line. Here’s what $10 might look like:

 

1 – 3 – 2 – 2 – 1 – 1

 

The next step is to take the first and last numbers and add them together. This will be your bet amount on the first go. In this example, we get 1 + 1 = $2. If you win, you can simply cross off those numbers and move to the next in your series; in this case, 3 + 1 = $4. However, if you lose the first time, Labouchere betting says you should add the amount you lost to the end of the sequence. Then, just keep going until you’ve eliminated all the numbers.

The James Bond Strategy

The James Bond strategy is a flat betting method where you’ll stake the same amount of money each time. The aim is to cover as much of the table as possible, which should result in a win roughly 2 out of 3 times. James Bond betting is slightly less risky than other methods, but your profits will also be smaller. If you have quite a large bankroll and can commit to bigger bets, this one might work nicely for you.

Here’s how your bets should be spread out if you’re using this strategy:

 

• 70% of your stake goes on numbers 19 – 36
• 25% goes on numbers 13 – 18
• 5% goes on 0

Advanced Online Roulette Strategies

Betting on Outside Bets

If you aim to get smaller, more consistent wins, then outside bets are probably ideal for you. As you saw in our table earlier in this article, roulette outside bets come with much smaller payouts, but you’re more likely to win more often.

This means that you’re less likely to lose your whole bankroll at the start, and you’ll be able to maximise your smaller wins while not risking too much money if you have a losing streak.

If you opt for a roulette bet strategy that focuses on outside bets, you’ll have more consistent betting wins. If you have a smaller bankroll, this is a good way to ensure that you get at least a few small wins and can keep playing for a decent amount of time. 

Setting Win and Loss Limits

Bankroll management is extremely important when you’re developing your roulette strategy. How much you have available will determine which strategy you’ll be more likely to use and decide how much you should be betting each time. Whenever you’re gambling, you should always choose an amount of money that you’d be comfortable losing and then don’t play any more if you’ve lost it all.

There’s no point in chasing losses, even if you have the best roulette strategy in the world, as you could just go on to lose even more money.

All good online roulette sites have specific responsible gambling tools to help you control your spending, and you can often apply these yourself through your account section. Using some loss limits or even win limits on your account is a good idea, so you’re guaranteed to stick to your budget. 

European Roulette

European Roulette is the most common type of the game and is widely regarded as the best version. And don’t worry—it’s not just available in Europe. Both land-based and online casinos tend to offer European roulette, and it’s very simple to understand. 

The European Roulette wheel has 37 pockets – the red and black numbered pockets go from 1 – 36, and there’s also a green 0 pocket on the wheel. The ball can land in any of these pockets. 

European Roulette offers a better chance of winning than other game versions because the house edge is just 2.3%. This is because there are only 37 possible numbers to bet on (as opposed to 38 in American Roulette), and there’s less of a chance of the ball landing on the zero, which means that bets on either red or black are more likely to pay out.

 

American Roulette

The difference between European and American Roulette is very simple – American Roulette has two zero pockets on the wheel – a 0 and a 00. This means that the house edge is increased to 5.26%. The higher American Roulette house edge means that overall, you’re less likely to win because, for example, if you bet on either red or black, the ball could land in the zero pocket, and therefore, either of those bets would lose. 

Aside from the house edge, the American Roulette rules are the same as European Roulette so that you can use the same strategies. 

French Roulette

French roulette is similar to European Roulette in that it only has one zero, but this version has a few extra features, which make it even better for players. 

The La Partage rule means that if you place an even money outside bet and the ball lands on zero, you’ll only lose half of your stake. This means the house edge for outside bets is reduced to 1.35%. The En Prison rule means that if an even money bet lands on zero, that bet becomes “imprisoned” for the next spin, and if it wins that time, you’ll get your original stake back with no extra winnings. You can choose not to take this gamble and just lose half your stake instead.

Live Dealer Roulette

Almost all top Australian online casinos have a live dealer section, where you can enjoy all the benefits of an authentic casino experience without travelling to a land-based casino. Live dealer roulette comes in all different forms, including American Roulette, European Roulette, and even games with special features, like Lightning Roulette. Whatever online live roulette version you choose, you can apply the same strategies you’ve used for in-person or virtual game versions. 

Top 10 Tips for Winning at Online Roulette

Tip 1: Understand the Odds

Before you place any bets, you need to understand the roulette odds. You should look carefully at the table in this guide to see which bets give you the best chance of winning. Betting odds will have a major impact on how much you stake and how you place your bets. 

Tip 2: Manage Your Bankroll

As we mentioned, roulette bankroll management is of the utmost importance. The amount of money you have available will directly impact which strategy you decide to use. Effective bankroll management also ensures that you can keep playing for longer. When managing your roulette funds, you’ll be able to determine how much you should stake each time, and you can also set personal limits for yourself to stay in control. 

Tip 3: Play European or French Roulette

By now, you know that the house edge of European Roulette and French Roulette is lower than that of American Roulette. For this reason, we’d rate these two as the best roulette games, and we’d recommend always playing them over American roulette if they’re available at your preferred online casino. 

Tip 4: Take Advantage of Bonuses

Many of the best Australian gambling sites have online roulette bonuses and promotions, which you can claim to boost your bankroll. Often, a casino will have a special offer for new players, where you can bag a deposit match or another type of roulette promotion like free chips. You can use this extra casino bonus cash to play your favourite roulette game and aim for a real money win.

But remember, not all online casino bonuses can be used on roulette, so check the T&Cs carefully before you claim.

 

Tip 5: Practice with Free Games

If you’re unfamiliar with how to play the game, or you’ve simply never played online before, engaging in some online roulette practice is a good thing to do before you play for real cash. Lots of online casinos offer free roulette games in demo mode so that you can get a feel for how the game works and test out some strategies in practice mode first. This means that when you decide to play for real, you’ll be a lot more confident.

 

Tip 6: Use a Betting Strategy

There are several roulette betting plans, like the ones we’ve discussed in this guide, and it’s always a good idea to apply one of these to increase your chances of a win. Depending on your preferences and your bankroll, using strategies can help minimise your losses, maximise your wins, or cover more of the table for a better chance at winning more regularly. 

 

Tip 7: Avoid Betting Systems Promising Guaranteed Wins

We’re sure you’ll find articles out there claiming to detail betting systems that guarantee wins, but that’s simply not possible. As we’ve already mentioned, roulette is largely a game of chance, and although there are strategies you can use to minimise risks, nothing can guarantee a win. Avoiding scams (including dodgy online casino sites) and setting realistic expectations are important so you don’t end up disappointed. 

Tip 8: Know When to Walk Away

Just like any other form of gambling, playing roulette can be addictive, and you should always know when it’s best just to accept your losses and walk away rather than chasing them. All of the best online casinos have responsible gambling policies and tools that you can use to help stay in control. Setting your personal deposit, loss, and wagering limits will help you know when to stop. 

Tip 9: Focus on Outside Bets for Consistency

Outside bets are useful because they strike a good balance between risk and reward. If you’re betting on specific numbers (inside bets), you’ll get a much bigger payout if your number comes up, but that’s much less likely to happen than, for example, if you’re betting on red or black or odd or even. 

Tip 10: Stay Informed and Keep Learning

While you might be unable to perfect your roulette strategy right at the start, you’re sure to improve with continuous learning. You should aim to practice your methods regularly (even if you do it by playing roulette for free online) and stay informed about new roulette strategies by subscribing to online newsletters or reading regularly. 

Wrapping Up on Online Roulette Strategies

If you came into this roulette guide thinking that roulette is strictly a game of chance, you’ll probably be walking away quite surprised. While there’s never a guarantee that you’ll win lots of money while playing online roulette, there’s a much better chance that you’ll at least break even if you apply some of the roulette strategy tips we’ve discussed.

We recommend playing a variation with a lower house edge and always managing your bankroll to ensure that you have enough money to make up for early losses. You might even want to try out some specific strategies like the Martingale or Fibonacci—the most important thing is to find one that works for you, and of course, have fun while doing it.