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Different Ways to Make $1 Million Playing Roulette

Last Updated July 25, 2019 7:55 am PDT
How to Win a Million Dollars at the Roulette Tables
Roulette can be one of the best or worst casino games when it comes to making money. Everything depends upon which variation you’re playing. European roulette gives you a fair chance to win because it only has a 2.70% house edge. This version is played on a wheel with 37 numbers, including a single zero pocket (house friendly). French roulette is even better since it offers a 1.35% house advantage. It’s played on a European wheel and features the la partage rule, which pays half back when your even-money bets lose due to the ball landing on zero. American roulette is the worst because it features a 5.26% house edge. The problem with American roulette is that its wheel has 38 numbers, including a zero and double zero pocket (both house friendly). French and European roulette give you the best opportunities to win with this game. But they still feature a house edge, which makes it difficult to earn major profits. If you’ve ever dreamed of winning $1 million in roulette, then you’ll need to seek alternative ways to doing so beyond just choosing the best games. That said, I’m going to discuss multiple avenues that you can take to try to win a fortune through roulette.

High-Stakes Roulette

The simplest way to earn $1 million through roulette is by playing for high stakes on the best games. The combination of big bets and a low house edge increases your chances of winning big. Of course, you’re still relying on luck in this situation. Even with the 1.35% French roulette house edge, you need to get hot in order to continue winning. But it’s not totally outside the realm of possibility. It’s especially possible to earn huge profits if you’re playing up to $20,000 stakes. Las Vegas’ Bellagio, Mirage, and Wynn all allow you to bet this much on each spin. If you’re a huge whale, they may set up a private table and let you wager even more. Casinos welcome whales who are willing to make big bets because the house still holds the edge. However, they’re also taking a greater risk when dealing with a high roller. You’d certainly want to have the type of bankroll that allows you to play for high stakes and avoid being financially crushed if you lose. After all, $10k to $20k wagers can bankrupt plenty of high rollers. But if you have a bankroll worth $1-$2 million, then you could comfortably make these wagers while only risking 1% of your roll on each round. The best thing about trying to win seven figures through high-stakes roulette is that you won’t need an elaborate plan. Instead, you simply need to make a special request for French roulette rules. This gives you the best possible chance to win using basic strategy. The rest is up to Lady Luck.

Martingale System

Roulette is one of the most popular casino games in terms of systems. Every player has their own reason for using a system, but the commonality here is that roulette’s simplistic strategy leads gamblers to search for more in-depth ways of winning. You can use a number of systems on this game, including the D’Alembert, Labouchere, Martingale, and Paroli. The Martingale is particularly popular because it’s easy to use. It is important to note, however, that none of these systems — including the Martingale — overcome the house edge. The Martingale calls on you to double your bets following every loss. You’ll win back your losses plus a small profit as long as you’re continually successful. Here’s an example of how the Martingale plays out.
  • You bet $10 and lose (net loss of $10)
  • You bet $20 and lose (net loss of $30)
  • You bet $40 and lose (net loss of $70)
  • You bet $80 and lose (net loss of $150)
  • You bet $160 and win (net win of $10)
Despite losing four consecutive bets, you still end the sequence with a small profit. Now imagine if you add some winning streaks into the equation. You’ll of course need to bet high stakes while using the Martingale. Otherwise, it would still take a ridiculous amount of time to win $1 million with this system. The other aspect worth mentioning is that your chances of failing with the Martingale increase as you continue using it because you’re still up against the house edge. You can easily continue a losing streak and bust your bankroll by doubling bets every time. Just as concerning is that roulette tables have maximum betting limits. You can only continue doubling your wagers for so long until hitting the table max. Therefore, you’d need to find a high-stakes roulette table that enables you to better use the Martingale. Here’s how this could play out on a high-stakes table.
  • Table limit is $20,000
  • You bet $500 and lose (net loss of $500)
  • You bet $1,000 and lose (net loss of $1,500)
  • You bet $2,000 and lose (net loss of $3,500)
  • You bet $4,000 and lose (net loss of $7,500)
  • You bet $8,000 and lose (net loss of $15,500)
  • You bet $16,000 and win (net win of $500)
You’d never be able to double your wagers up to $16k on a normal table. Therefore, high stakes give you a stronger shot at betting big without hitting the table max. Evidence suggests that the Martingale can work long-term if you get extremely lucky. Charles Wells, a British conman who lived in the late 19th century, experienced an incredible winning streak with this strategy. He conned investors out of £4,000 and took the money to Monte Carlo to play roulette. He then proceeded to “break the bank” multiple times en route to winning a fortune. Wells returned to Monte Carlo and had another highly successful session. This trip earned him international fame and the nickname “The Man who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo,” which eventually became a song. Wells pressed his luck with the Martingale, though, and ended up losing everything on a third trip. Worse yet is that, despite winning so much money, he continued conning people. Wells would spend the rest of his life in and out of prisons, and he died broke and penniless. Regardless of how Wells ended up, his story proves that you can win major profits with the Martingale over a lengthy period of time if luck is on your side.

Wheel Bias

Everything I’ve covered so far involves playing roulette without an advantage, meaning you need some luck to win. But there are techniques that can help you gain an edge over the house. Wheel bias is one such strategy. This technique involves watching wheels over a long time period and recording spins. The hope is that you eventually find a wheel that favors certain pockets (a.k.a. shows a bias). Of course, the wheel must be faulty in some manner for this to happen. Some roulette wheels become imbalanced over time due to various defects, including worn-down frets (pocket dividers) and/or a broken wheel shaft. However, it’s nearly impossible to spot these defects with the human eye. This is where recording spins comes into play, because you want to collect enough data that allows you to spot biases. You can then analyze the data and try to see if the wheel favors certain numbers. You can observe the wheel with one of two goals in mind.
  • Watching for section bias
  • Watching for number bias
Section bias refers to looking for a certain section(s) of the wheel that’s favored. You typically only have to watch a wheel for around 500 spins to tell if there’s a biased section. Number bias refers to looking for wheels that favor specific pockets. The downside to this technique is that it takes around 5,000 spins to determine biased pockets. The upside, though, is that number bias helps you win more profits. After all, you can make single-number bets (36:1 payout) on specific pockets and win big when they come through. Whatever your preferred method, you can be sure that wheel bias is a legitimate advantage play method. Roulette legends such as Joseph Jagger, Billy Walters, and Gonzalo García Pelayo have all won millions of dollars by spotting biased wheels. The only problem is that these players recorded their feats decades ago. Gonzalo is the latest roulette legend, but his big wins came in the 1990s. Modern casinos now use what’s called a Starburst wheel, which has metal frets and is sturdier than the old wooden wheels. The Starburst wheel is less likely to break down and show bias due to its improved design. Your chances are much lower today of finding biased roulette games, but that’s not to say doing so is totally impossible, especially if you find an older wheel.

Dealer Signatures

Roulette dealers try to make games go as quickly and efficiently as possible because the casino makes more money this way. But the act of speeding up games forces some roulette dealers to unconsciously spin the ball the same way each time. This leads to what’s known as a “dealer signature.” A signature essentially means that the dealer spins the ball in a predictable pattern. This predictability often leads to the ball landing 6-10 pockets away from the last winning number. Knowing this information doesn’t mean that you’ll automatically win. But spotting a dealer signature can give you a long-term advantage over the house. Three things that you want to look for with regard to dealer signatures include the following.
  • Distance (number of pockets) where the ball lands versus the dealer’s release point
  • The velocity at which the dealer spins the ball
  • The velocity at which the wheel moves each round
The distance between where the dealer launches the ball and where it lands is the most important factor. If the dealer consistently releases the ball at 9 o’clock and it lands at 12 o’clock, you can make bets on the 12 o’clock range every round. Monitoring the ball’s velocity involves counting how many revolutions the ball makes around the wheel before landing. Noticing a consistent number of revolutions is another piece of evidence that helps spot a signature. Watching the wheel’s velocity is the same concept as monitoring the ball’s velocity because you’re trying to notice a consistent pattern in the number of wheel revolutions. The goal is to put all this information together so that you have a good idea of which section the ball will land in. You don’t even need to be right all the time in order to make money from signatures. Here’s an example to illustrate this.
  • You see that most of the dealer’s spins land in the 9 o’clock section of the wheel
  • You make $5 wagers on each of the nine pockets in this section ($45 total)
  • You receive a 35:1 payout for a single winning bet ($175)
  • You win one number every four rounds
  • This means you earn a $175 payout versus $135 in losses (three losing bets) every four spins
  • $175 winnings – $135 losses = $40 profit
Chances are that you’ll be thrilled with winning one out of every four spins when you’re booking a $40 profit. What’s more is that you can use dealer signatures to work your way up to $1 million in profits within a year under perfect conditions. Here’s the math on how.
  • You make $40 in profits every four spins
  • You see an average of 50 roulette spins per hour
  • 50 / 4 = 12.5 wins per hour
  • 40 x 12.5 = $500 profit per hour
  • You play five times per week (292 days out of the year)
  • Each of your sessions is seven hours long
  • 500 profit x 7 hours x 292 days = $1,022,000 profit
Anybody would love to win $1 million in roulette in just one year. But the jury is out on whether dealer signatures truly work. Some roulette players swear that they make consistent money by spotting signatures. However, there’s a lack of evidence in the gaming world to back these claims. We don’t have any famous stories about dealer signature players destroying the house like we do with Billy Walters or the MIT Blackjack Team. Instead, we only have anecdotal accounts from those who claim to win big through signatures. Adding to the difficulty is that casinos use a number of tactics when they feel that a player is consistently beating them. These tactics include the following
  • Changing the wheel position
  • Rotating dealers at the table when they’re losing
  • Asking winning players to leave if all else fails
Certain forum users claim that dealer signatures work. And they usually point to these tactics as a reason why. Whether this is casinos actually believing in signatures or just trying to switch their games up is unclear. Regardless, some players attest to their success when using signatures.

Using Electronic Devices

One controversial technique that you can use to beat roulette games includes employing electronic devices. Players have used mini-computers and other devices to win consistent roulette profits in the past. A roulette team known as the “Eudaemons” became the first to successfully beat roulette with a mini-computer. The team developed complicated gadgets that tracked the wheel’s motions and fed potential winning pockets to the team. They quickly placed their bets while the wheel was spinning after being alerted to the numbers. This allowed them to make $10,000 in profits while playing at Vegas casinos in the 1970s. The problem with the Eudaemons’ technique, though, is that most casino jurisdictions have outlawed using electronic devices to win. Anybody who’s caught using electronics at a roulette table will be arrested for cheating. Nevertheless, there are still people who are willing to brave the consequences in order to gain an advantage over the casino. Two Serbian men and a Hungarian woman used a phone with a laser device to detect winning roulette numbers. The trio won £1.3 million at a London casino in just two sessions. However, their scam was uncovered, and they were all arrested. Assuming you could pull off an identical caper without being caught, you’d win over $1 million in just two sessions! The obvious risk, though, is that you’ll more than likely be busted.

Conclusion

Roulette is far from the easiest way to earn seven figures, but you could possibly accomplish this feat with a combination of luck and the right techniques. Wheel bias is the best way to win $1 million in roulette from an advantage play standpoint. Some players have famously earned millions of dollars using wheel bias. However, the major problem is that wheel bias is no longer feasible in the vast majority of casinos. Gaming establishments now use Starburst wheels, which are sturdier and less likely to break down. Nevertheless, you can make a fortune through wheel bias if you’re able to find a faulty roulette wheel. Dealer signatures may or may not be a good way to win big profits through roulette. Assuming signatures actually work, then you can potentially use them to make hundreds of dollars in hourly profits. It’s difficult to say whether dealer signatures are really valid. We don’t have any hard evidence that signatures work, as opposed to other advantage gambling methods like card counting, hole carding, and shuffle tracking. Using electronic devices is a good way to collect guaranteed roulette winnings. The problem here, though, is that you risk violating the law and being arrested. High-stakes play in a European or French roulette game is another way to win major profits. Just be aware that you’ll need a hot streak in order to win because the house holds the edge against players. Using a system like the Martingale can also help you earn big profits during a hot streak. Again, though, you’re at the mercy of fate since these kind systems cannot overcome the house advantage. You can see that there are several paths towards getting rich through roulette. It’s up to you to decide whether or not any of these strategies are worthwhile. And, whatever you do, you’ll never be able to GUARANTEE profits at roulette. I suggest that you go with an advantage play technique like wheel bias or dealer signatures. You may not ultimately conquer the house with these strategies, but at least you have a chance to gain the long-term edge. Realistically, the best way to play roulette is to just enjoy it for a bit of fun and an outside chance of winning money.  The game is available at pretty much ever land-based casino, and the majority of the top online casinos.
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Kevin
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Kevin Roberts, previously published under the pseudonym Noah Davis, is one of the more diverse writers at GamblingSites.com. Like many of his colleagues, he's a huge fan of both football and basketball. But he also writes about box office records, TV show prop bets, DFS, and all kinds of other subjects. When it comes to the NFL, Kevin's favorite team is the Green Bay Packers. He enjoys cheering them on with his wife and daughter.
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