Roulette Newbie Question

I never have played Roulette before, but I'm curious, if I were to bet on say 4 numbers, if the number is hit isn't my payout 36X the bet? So if I bet 25 on 4 numbers, the cost is $100 and my odds are 1/9 so can't I just keep playing the same 4 numbers over and over and over and over again until one of those 4 hit?

Numbers pay 35:1, which is where the house gets their edge. However, there is at least 1 zero on a wheel (American roulette has 0 and 00), so that's either 37 or 38 numbers, not just 36.

The house edge is 5.26% of any money you put down. If you continue to play, you losses will approach that percentage of what you have bet over time. The idea that betting a number (or numbers) repeatedly will eventually result in a win because the numbers will be "due" is called "gambler's fallacy." The chance you will hit on the next spin is the same for every spin, no matter whether you have not won for 10 spins or you have won every time for the last 10 spins. The ball has no memory. Enjoy the game, I hope you win. Bet only what you can kiss goodbye forever. There is NO successful betting system for ANY game for which the house has the edge. Poke around this site and you will see all the information I have put down expressed many, many times. We're not trying to be a buzz kill, just promoting informed choices.

Thanks, but let's say I did bet on numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 can I literally stand at a table and just keep betting on these numbers 20 times in a row?

Yes, you can! No casino will have any problem with your strategy.

Quote: nr123

Thanks, but let's say I did bet on numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 can I literally stand at a table and just keep betting on these numbers 20 times in a row?

Sure! As long as your bets meet the table minimum, and you're not being obnoxious or otherwise disruptive, you can do that all night.

Quote: nr123

Thanks, but let's say I did bet on numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 can I literally stand at a table and just keep betting on these numbers 20 times in a row?

What would prevent you from doing this?
Certainly not the casino. They will love
you like a brother.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Sure! As long as your bets meet the table minimum, and you're not being obnoxious or otherwise disruptive, you can do that all night.

I think you can in fact be obnoxious and disruptive if you bet enough.

Play however you like; the odds are the same on all bets except on on a 00 table (the 0, 00, 1, 2, 3 pays the same as a six number bet, if I remember correctly, so the house edge is higher). Play at an amount you like. The ball will do what the ball does and you will either win or lose with any number or combination of numbers.

Unless there is an issue with wheel, no one here reports being able to beat roulette on a consistent basis (in other words, with an advantage) EXCEPT for one senior high-posting member who hints about it but actually says nothing.

Quote: RonC

Unless there is an issue with wheel, no one here reports being able to beat roulette on a consistent basis (in other words, with an advantage) EXCEPT for one senior high-posting member who hints about it but actually says nothing.

If you can somehow bet after the ball settles on a number/slot without said bet/increase being noticed, then you can in fact win on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, only Santa Claus has the ability to stop time long enough to do this.

Quote: NokTang

If you can somehow bet after the ball settles on a number/slot without said bet/increase being noticed, then you can in fact win on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, only Santa Claus has the ability to stop time long enough to do this.

now THAT will get you escorted out of the casino very quickly.

Quote: NokTang

If you can somehow bet after the ball settles on a number/slot without said bet/increase being noticed, then you can in fact win on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, only Santa Claus has the ability to stop time long enough to do this.

Alan Mendelson says the craps dealers at Caesars let him bet after a known outcome saying that just because the crew allows it, it's not cheating. I can't count the number of times I've seen dealers get arrested for this same thing.

Quote Alan M.

"A post bet is a bet made after the result is known. If you did it without the permission of the casino it would be cheating. But in the examples given here by several craps players, the casino (crew) is allowing it and I think that's significant, don't you?"


I can just see the same thing at roulette...

"Dealer, I meant to bet table max on that number that just hit! Let me slide this one time!!"

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

I can't count the number of times I've seen dealers get arrested for this same thing.

You saw cops come into a casino and slap
handcuffs on dealers so many times you
can't count them? Really? Are you sure
that's the story you want to stick with?

Quote: EvenBob

You saw cops come into a casino and slap
handcuffs on dealers so many times you
can't count them? Really? Are you sure
that's the story you want to stick with?

Twice for sure at the temporary MGM here. And it was gaming. They are a division of the state police you know.

Quote: nr123

I never have played Roulette before, but I'm curious, if I were to bet on say 4 numbers, if the number is hit isn't my payout 36X the bet? So if I bet 25 on 4 numbers, the cost is $100 and my odds are 1/9 so can't I just keep playing the same 4 numbers over and over and over and over again until one of those 4 hit?

It's 35:1 and the odds are a bit less than 1/9 because of the zero (or double zero makes it worse).

Maybe this isn't obvious, but also remember that when you do this (and hit your number) you will still lose on the three numbers that did not hit. So you will only net 32 units when, for example, a "2" hits if you bet on 1 thru 4.

But on average you have to wait over 9 rounds (i.e., over 36 units wagered during that time) before you finally see the return.

But you can make whatever combination of bets you want. I've seen people on video roulette stack money on both red and black in order to just build up comps, praying a zero doesn't come out...

Quote: nr123

Thanks, but let's say I did bet on numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 <snip>

how about 0,1,2,3?
any 4 #s will do

now if you only make 1 lifetime bet and never play Roulette again, your chance at a win (a nice win) is only 4/38 or 4/37
10.526% for 00 Roulette

if you make 20 lifetime bets your prob of a net win goes up to 35.315%
26 = 52.5316%

that looks sweet!
more lifetime bets
35: 51.051965%
44 49.923022%

how about 100? 36.10546%
200: 35.932441%

a trend the wrong way
500?
33.224502% this is abouts 1 in 3 chance of showing a lifetime net profit
you could be a lucky one...
Oh, way lower than 26 = 52.5316%

so i say anything past 26 lifetime bets is pure gambling
of course
we all have our own opinion(s)

have fun when you do play!
remember to ask the minimum total bet required on the inside numbers

you might B very nervous at first and play at a $5 min table to get your feet wet
and you bet $4 total inside, well the dealer should correct you
you would need to bet $1 more and that might make you black-out from the terror of....

ROULETTE

Quote: beachbumbabs

Numbers pay 35:1, which is where the house gets their edge. However, there is at least 1 zero on a wheel (American roulette has 0 and 00), so that's either 37 or 38 numbers, not just 36.

It's this famed "house edge" that keeps the casino honest. the casino already has an advantage and merely wants to protect that advantage and let people have fun at a cost to them of five point two six percent.

In the short run, if you bet five dollars on black, you and everyone at the table sees a five dollar chip lying there, but the green-eye shade types who have been doing gambling math all their lives don't really see five dollars, they see a nice bright shiny quarter and a nice bright shiny penny, because they know that in the long run every five dollars a player bets results in twenty-six cents going to the casino.

want to play the same four numbers all night? go ahead, the house edge is the same. want to play a different set of four numbers each and every time? go ahead, the house edge is the same.