Betting Strategies for Roulette · Coverage · 7 min

Spread Betting and Hedging for Roulette

To bet against yourself so you go “cover” di results dey feel safe. Na di same 2.70%, wey you dey pay on more chips.

Short answer

Hedges like red plus di third column, two dozen plus zero, or red plus black dey change how di result of one spin dey spread, but dem no dey ever change im expected value. If you cover more numbers, you go hit more often and di payout go reduce for exact di same proportion.

EV of any combination
−1/37 of di total stake
red + black
e dey lose only on zero, e no dey ever win
cover all di 37
sure −1 unit (3 dozen + zero)
wetin hedging dey change
di shape, no be di price

Di Idea Wey Dey Behind One Hedging Strategy for Roulette

One player bet redbetRedEven-money bet on di 18 red numbers. For French: rouge.Read di whole tin → and e dey worry about di blackbetBlackEven-money bet for di 18 black numbers. For French: noir.Read di whole tin → numbers wey dey di third columnbetColumnTwelve numbers for one column of di layout wey stand from up to down, e dey pay 2:1.Read di whole tin →, so e add one chipmoniChipToken wey stand for one fixed amount, wey you put on top di layout to make bet. Dem also dey call am: check.Read di whole tin → there: now 26 numbers dey win sometin. Anoda person bet two dozenbetDozen1–12, 13–24 or 25–36, e dey pay 2:1.Read di whole tin → and add zerowheelZeroDi one green pocket wey no even-money, dozen or column bet dey cover; na im be di source of di house edge. Dem also dey call am: single zero, 0.Read di whole tin → as insurance. Anoda one, for one example wey popular of dis kind tin, bet red and black togeda. Each move dey cover more of di wheel and e dey feel like sey e dey reduce risk. For di side of variancemathsVarianceOne measure of how wide di results dey spread around di expected value. E high for straight up, e low for even-money bets.Read di whole tin →, e dey reduce am; for di side of expected lossmathsExpected lossExpected value times di total moni wey you bet; di average amount wey you go lose for one session or one period.Read di whole tin →, na moni you dey pay for second bet.

Two hands dey stake red and black togeda while anoda hand dey add one chip on zero.

Di Arithmetic

Expected valuesmathsExpected valueDi average result for each bet for di long run. −1/37 of di stake for every standard European bet.Read di whole tin → dey add up. Red na −1/37 of im stake; di column chip na −1/37 of im stake; togeda dem be −1/37 of di total. Di hedge don buy hit rate wey high pass and net payoutmoniPayoutWetin bet wey win dey return, wey dem dey quote as “X to 1” on top di stake wey dem return.Read di whole tin → wey low pass for each hit, for exactly di fair exchange rate minus 2.70%. Di Bet Builder tool dey list all 37 results for any set of chips and e dey show how di results dey spread and di EV (wey no dey change).

combinationstakep(net win)di best wey fit happendi worst wey fit happenEV
$10 on red$1048.6%+$10−$10−$0.27
$10 on red + $5 on column 3$1554.1%+$15 (red for col 3)−$15−$0.41
$10 on two dozen + $1 on zero$2167.6%+$15 (zero)−$21−$0.57
$10 on red + $10 on black$200%$0−$20 (zero)−$0.54
$10 × 3 dozen + $1 on zero$312.7% (zero)+$5−$1−$0.84
Every row na 2.70% of im stake. Di last two rows dey show hedging wey reach im end: you dey pay moni so dat you no go ever win.

Red Plus Black

Dis na di extreme case. Every spin except zero dey return di stake; zero dey lose both. Di expected value na −2.70% of di total, and di upside na zero. Na di only roulette combination wey no get any point at all, and pipo dey put am more often pass wetin you go think, usually person wey dey hedge one system for di middle of di cycle.

Hit rate against net payout when you win, $30 total stake
straight up
2.7% · +$1,050
red
48.6% · +$30
two dozen
64.9% · +$15
red + column 3
56.8% · +$10–30
James Bond spread
67.6% · +$12–24
three dozen + zero
97.3% · −$1
048.6597.3% · −$1
More coverage, wins wey dey come more often, wins wey small pass. Di last row dey “win” 97.3% of spins and e dey lose $1 each time. Every row get EV of −$0.81.

One System Wey Get Name: Bohemia (1959)

For 1959, di Cuban magazine Bohemia print one system wey John Scarne later report and scatter: one unitmoniUnitDi base stake wey system or player dey work with. Dem dey describe progressions in units so dat dem go fit work for any table.Read di whole tin → on black and one on di third column, wey get eight red numbers and only four black ones (6, 15, 24, 33). Di pipo wey dey sell am promise profit of 4 units every 38 spins of one double-zero wheel; if you count am honestly, di same wheel dey give loss of 4. Count di results for one European wheel. One black number for di third column dey win both bets, +3; one red one dey win di column and lose black, +1; any oda black dey win black and lose di column, 0; di oda ten reds and di zero dey lose both, −2. For 37 spins, dat one na 12 + 8 + 0 − 22 = −2 units on 74 wey you stake, 2.70%, like for every combination. Di system dey win or break even for 26 spins out of 37, and na dat one make am look like sense. Bollman (2024) add one three-two version, 3 units on black and 2 on di column, for di same price.

where di ball landnumbersblack, 1 unitcolumn 3, 1 unitnet
black for column 34+1+2+3
red for column 38−1+2+1
oda black14+1−10
oda red, or 011−1−1−2
European wheel. Average for each spin: (4 × 3 + 8 × 1 + 14 × 0 − 11 × 2)/37 = −2/37 of one unit, on 2 units wey you stake.

To Hedge One Progression

Players wey don enter deep for one MartingalestrategyMartingaleProgression wey dey double di bet afta every loss. Check di Strategy section to see wetin e dey do and wetin e no dey do.Read di whole tin → dey sometimes divide di big bet between red and one dozen, or dem add zero, so dem go “protect” am. Di protection dey cost 2.70% of imself and e dey change which results go recover di cycle. E no dey change di probabilitymathsProbabilityDi chance of one outcome, from 0 to 1 or from 0% to 100%. One number: 1/37 = 2.70%.Read di whole tin → sey di cycle go end badly; e dey change how bad e go be, for both direction. One rule to stop dey cheap pass and e dey work.

When Di Pattern Dey Cost More: One Dealer Sector System

For one double-zero wheel, one cover dey cost more pass di rest. Bollman (2021) describe one system wey one Las Vegas dealer recommend, wey dey target two arcs of di American wheel: di eight pocketsequipmentPocketOne of di 37 small boxes wey get number for di rotor. Dem also dey call am: slot, cup.Read di whole tin → 2, 0, 28, 9, 26, 30, 11, 7 and, for di opposite side, 1, 00, 27, 10, 25, 29, 12, 8. For dat wheel, di two arcs just happen to fall inside blocks of di layoutequipmentLayoutDi betting grid wey dem print for di table. Dem also dey call am: table, felt, cloth.Read di whole tin →, so three chips dey cover dem: one on di five-number bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3), one on di six linebetSix lineSix numbers for two rows wey dey near each oda, e dey pay 5:1. For French: sixain.Read di whole tin → 7–12 and one on di six line 25–30. Dat one na 17 numbers, di two arcs plus 3, for three chips. Di catch na di first chip. Di layout no get bet on 0, 00, 1 and 2 alone, and di five-number bet na di only American bet wey dem price for 7.89% instead of 5.26%. E dey pull di whole pattern go −7/38 of one unit on 3 units wey you stake, 6.14%. For one American table, any cover wey no include di five-number bet dey cost 5.26%; dis one dey cost more becos e include am.

where di ball landnumbersnet, 3 chipsprobability
one six line12+331.58%
di five-number bet5+413.16%
any oda place21−355.26%
expected value−0.184 units6.14% of di stake
American wheel. Six lines dey pay 5 to 1 and di five-number bet dey pay 6 to 1.

Roulette Dealer Fit Hit Number Wey E Want? Di MythAmerican Roulette: Di Wheel and Di Rules

When E Make Sense to Cover

When na di shape you want: high hit rate for one long, quiet session, and you understand sey di price no change. Di James Bond spread and di two-dozen play na honest versions of spread betting for roulette. Di version wey no honest na any pamphlet wey tok sey one cover pattern “no fit lose”; di arithmetic tok sey every pattern dey lose 2.70% of wetin e stake.

Questions wey pipo dey ask

Any combination dey wey fit beat 2.70%?

Only even-money betsbetEven-money betRed/black, odd/even, high/low. 18 numbers, e dey pay 1:1.Read di whole tin → for one French table, for 1.35%. If you add oda bets to dem, di mixed edge go rise.

Covering dey reduce variance?

Yes. Na dat one e dey buy, and na di only tin.

Why casinos dey allow red and black togeda?

Na two bets wey each get EV of −2.70%. Dem dey happy well well.

Small laugh

Covering dey change di shape. Di price dey on every chip.

Covering dey change di shape. Di price dey on every chip.

Sources

  1. RouletteDoc. Overview of roulette strategies. https://roulettedoc.com/strategy
  2. Roulette77. Overview of roulette strategies. https://roulette77.us/strategies
  3. Ethier, S. N. The Doctrine of Chances: Probabilistic Aspects of Gambling. Springer, 2010. Chapter 13, roulette.
  4. Bollman, M. Mathematics of the Big Four Casino Table Games: Blackjack, Baccarat, Craps, & Roulette. CRC Press, 2021. Chapter 2, roulette.
  5. Bollman, M. Basic Gambling Mathematics: The Numbers Behind the Neon, 2nd ed. CRC Press, 2024.
  6. Epstein, R. A. The Theory of Gambling and Statistical Logic, 2nd ed. Academic Press, 2013.
  7. Scarne, J. Scarne’s Complete Guide to Gambling. Simon & Schuster, 1961.
we check am 2026-09-28model: European wheel, single zerohow we work am ↗where we get am ↗