Strategy · Practical · 7 min

Roulette Tips

Ten tips with a number attached. None of them beats the house; each of them makes the evening cheaper or clearer.

Short answer

The tips that matter change the price you pay or how much you wager: a single-zero wheel instead of a double-zero one, la partageruleLa partageFrench rule: when zero hits, half of an even-money stake is returned. Halves the house edge on those bets to 1.35%.Read full → on even-money bets, no five-number bet and no triple-zero wheel, a smaller stake, a slower table and limits decided in advance. Tips that promise to beat the wheel do not work.

cheapest common bet

even money with la partage, 1.35%

single vs double zero

2.70% vs 5.26%

worst standard bet

five-number bet, 7.89%

tips that change the price

table choice only

Ten tips that hold up

Each tip below either lowers the price of a bet or lowers the amount you wager, the only two things that move your expected lossmathExpected lossExpected value times total amount wagered; the average amount lost over a session or a period.Read full →. The pages linked from this one show the working.

tipwhy, in numbers

Play a single-zero wheel2.70% instead of 5.26%: the second zero almost doubles the price of every bet.

On even money, look for la partage or en prisonhalf back, or a second chance, on zero: 1.35% (en prison about 1.39%).

Skip the five-number bet and triple-zero wheels7.89% and 7.69%, the worst prices on the floor.

Read the pay table before a side betmany keep 10% to 25% of the stake.

Check “to” against “for” on electronic tables35 for 1 is 34 to 1, which doubles the price of a straight up to 5.41%.

Choose the stake from your budgetexpected loss = stake × spins / 37: $10 for 100 spins costs $27 on average.

Mind the speedan automated game at 200 spins an hour costs four times as much per hour as a live table at 50, at the same stake.

Set a stop-loss and a time limit firstthey cut the money you wager, which is the only way to cut the expected loss.

Do not chase lossesraising stakes to get even raises the expected loss and makes the bad nights much worse.

Practise for freelearn the layout and the call bets without paying 2.70% to do it.

Tips that do not hold up

Some advice is repeated so often that it sounds like arithmetic. It is not.

“Spread your chipsmoneyChipA token representing a fixed amount, placed on the layout to make a bet. Also: check.Read full → over more bets to lower the risk.” It changes how your results are spread out, not what they cost: every chip still pays 2.70%.
“Follow the hot numbersmythHot numberA number that has appeared more often than expected recently. On a fair wheel it predicts nothing.Read full →”, or the cold ones. The wheel has no memory; see the Andrucci System and Myth: Numbers Are Due.
“A system makes your betting more efficient.” No staking plan changes the 2.70%; see Can You Beat Roulette?
“Even-money betsbetEven-money betRed/black, odd/even, high/low. 18 numbers, pays 1:1.Read full → are a 50–50 chance.” RedbetRedEven-money bet on the 18 red numbers. French: rouge.Read full →, blackbetBlackEven-money bet on the 18 black numbers. French: noir.Read full →, odd, even, high and low win 48.6% of spins on a single-zerowheelZeroThe single green pocket that no even-money, dozen or column bet covers; the source of the house edge. Also: single zero, 0.Read full → wheel and 47.4% on a double-zero one, because the zeros take the rest.
“Sit out spins to read the table.” Sitting out helps only because the spins you skip cost nothing.

Myth: Numbers Are Due Andrucci System

If you want to win more often

You can choose how often you win, not how much you lose on average. Even money wins 48.6% of spins, two dozensbetDozen1–12, 13–24 or 25–36, pays 2:1.Read full → 64.9%, a straight upbetStraight upA single number, pays 35:1.Read full → 2.7%. Covering more numbers buys frequent small wins and occasional large losses at the same price.

Dozens / Columns

Questions

What is the single best tip?

Play even money at a single-zero table with la partage: 1.35%, the lowest price in standard roulette.

Do the tips work online?

The same arithmetic applies. Online games are faster, so the tip about speed matters more.

Is there a tip that makes roulette profitable?

No. A casino promotion can, briefly; see Casino Promotions and Rebates.

Comic relief

The tips that work are about paying less.

Sources

Ethier, S. N. The Doctrine of Chances: Probabilistic Aspects of Gambling. Springer, 2010. Chapter 13, roulette.
Epstein, R. A. The Theory of Gambling and Statistical Logic, 2nd ed. Academic Press, 2013.
Bollman, M. Basic Gambling Mathematics: The Numbers Behind the Neon, 2nd ed. CRC Press, 2024.

reviewed 2026-09-28model: European, single zeromethodology ↗sources ↗