The Skillset of a Professional Roulette Player: How to Get Started
Professional gamblers are plying their trades in most casino games. They are far more common in poker and blackjack games, but you can also find them around tables that rely purely on chance, including roulette.
So, what does it take to become a professional roulette player? Can any amateur gain professional status? What are the traits and tricks needed to turn a profit?
How to Become a Professional Roulette Player
Roulette is a game of chance with an unchangeable house edge. Unlike poker, where you compete against other players, and blackjack, where you can reduce the house edge with strategy and card counting, there is no easy way to reduce the house edge in roulette.
A roulette professional player, therefore, is someone who employs tricks not available to the average player, ones that may not be possible in every casino and are certainly not possible in every game:
Looking for Biased Wheels
If you have ever played “eeny, meeny, miny, moe” before setting up a game with friends, you may remember that counting the number of people in the circle and changing the starting position can manipulate the results.
It’s a similar case with roulette…or so the theory goes.
The idea of predicting wheel spins comes from the fact that some of the game’s elements are predictable.
For instance, the ball bounces a certain number of times on the wheel, the wheel makes a certain number of revolutions, and the croupier employs specific methods to ensure a repeatable rhythm to their play.
Pro roulette players will watch these games, study the dealer, and then try to calculate where the ball will stop. It’s not an exact science, but you will gain an advantage if you can predict the outcome to within half a dozen numbers.
Players have been employing these methods for decades, and some professionals claim to have their own complex prediction models. Some apps promise to help you predict roulette spins.
The problem is that there are many variations, and while some methods can work in land-based casinos, they won’t work in virtual games governed by RNG, and if you keep consulting your phone in a land-based casino, you’ll be kicked out.
Predicting Wheel Spins with Mathematical Models
Roulette wheels can favor certain outcomes due to a mechanical bias. If a wheel has been in use for years, it may have picked up wear and tear or have a mechanical error that has been overlooked. A player studying the game can record the results, spot the bias, and profit accordingly.
These tricks were more common 50+ years ago before computer models and precision manufacturing could ensure a wheel was made and maintained with randomness in mind.
Furthermore, you don’t need to predict a number exactly to gain an edge. Knowing that the ball is fractionally more likely to land on red numbers or hit a single number is enough to give pro roulette players an edge.
Today, such mistakes are very rare, and if you limit your play to an online casino, you’re unlikely to get any results from this trick.
Traits and Tricks of Pro Roulette Players
Whether you play roulette online or offline, every serious player needs a few important traits. These won’t necessarily change the house edge, but they will give you a strong foundation and could help you control your betting and limit your losses:
Patience
You need patience to study the game, find the right variants, employ strategies, and collect as many bonuses as possible. If you veer away from a plan, it won’t work, so if you’re the sort of player who gets easily frustrated and starts changing their stake and betting options, you will struggle to become a pro roulette player.
Strategy Knowledge
There is more than one roulette strategy to win big, but none are 100% effective, they won’t suit everyone, and they are all subject to luck and game variations.
Take the Martingale strategy as an example. It’s the most popular and, on paper, it looks perfect.
It works by doubling your bet after every loss and returning to a starting stake when you win. So, even if you lose ten times in a row, you will eventually win all of that money back, and if you stick with even bets (such as Black/Red), your numbers will come up eventually.
The problem is that doubling your bet can get scary, and if you hit a table limit, there’s nowhere to go. Suppose you start with a wager of $1 and lose ten times in a row, for instance. In that case, you will eventually wager $1,024, which is terrifying (and potentially impossible) for someone who usually wagers $1. If the table has a limit of $500, you won’t even be able to get that far.
Strategies can certainly help, but they are not perfect.
Bankrolling
The first tip in our how to play roulette guide highlights the importance of a bankroll, and it’s also something we’ve discussed concerning slots, blackjack, poker, and sports betting.
Every pro gambler has one, and every dedicated player should have one as well.
A bankroll is a gambling budget. Set aside a monthly amount for gambling. It should be an amount you can afford to lose, and it should be broken into session budgets.
Calculate how much you can afford to lose (never assume you will win), and use this to structure your bets. If you lose your bankroll long before the month ends, adjust, wait, and try again the following month.
Negotiation Skills
A professional roulette player often acquires welcome bonuses, golden chips (free table game plays), reload bonuses, cash-back offers, and more. They also join loyalty/VIP programs and negotiate with casinos for better deals.
They are saying to the casino, “I deposit and wager a lot of money. You need my business. Here’s what it will cost you.” Casinos covet players like this and often bend over backward to help them.
Summary: The Best Way to Play Roulette
The best way to play roulette is to find a low-edge game for the house, like French or European Roulette, set a budget, look for exploits (if available), employ strategies, and get as many bonuses as possible.
Pro roulette players will do all this and more, but even then, success is not guaranteed. Remember, this is a game of chance, so the casino will always have an edge.
Roulette Common Queries
Are there professional roulette players?
Yes. There are fewer than in poker and blackjack, but they do exist. Some players who have successfully created roulette strategies include Edward O. Thorp, an author who was primarily a blackjack pro and wrote Beat the Dealer.
Comments (0)