While many casino aficionados enjoy slots, others are keener on placing their wagers on classic table games. Casino classics usually include games such as blackjack, poker, baccarat and, of course, roulette variations. While some prefer card games where they can apply various strategies, other players choose the thrill of spinning the wheel in roulette.
While you can find various roulette strategies online, you should bear in mind that this is a game of chance and you cannot influence the outcome in any way. Even if you employ betting strategies that are supposed to minimise your long-term losses, the house edge of the game means the casino will always win in the long run.
When some players are betting on roulette at a land-based casino, they might suspect that the venue is using tricks to fool customers and beat them in the majority of spins. The truth is that the house always has an edge over players and does not need any other tricks to prevail in the long run.
While it is extremely unusual for brick-and-mortar casinos to cheat, they most definitely utilise an array of legal practices designed to keep your wins to a minimum. Although you cannot do anything about these methods, you can at least feel prepared the next time you bet on roulette at a casino.
Roulette Wheel Settings that Ensure the House’s Advantage
There are various practices and settings that give the house an advantage. The roulette wheel can be configured in several ways to ensure that the casino is guaranteed to profit in the long run. Moreover, such settings make it impossible for players to gain an edge over the house.
All of the wheel setups and the casino practices that we will review are legal and you cannot complain about them. That said, they may explain why you sometimes feel cheated when the casino wins so many spins of the roulette wheel.
Randomised Speed of Rotor
You will often notice that many roulette tables at land-based casinos allow you to make late bets while the wheel is still spinning. The reason casinos permit late bets is to appear to speed up the gaming process and generate even greater revenue thanks to the additional wagers of other players.
Some players might try to predict the winning number by calculating the wheel’s speed, using a roulette computer. Of course, the casino has surveillance equipment to keep track of players who may be using such tools to secure consistent wins. However, it can be difficult to detect every instance in which a roulette computer is employed.
To avoid mistakes and stop players taking advantage of the wheel’s speed, casinos tend to use random rotor speeds (RRS). The RRS mechanism ensures that once bets are closed, the speed of the spin is altered. By accelerating the rotation, the potential winning number changes and roulette computers cannot accurately predict the result.
While the RRS eliminates the player’s edge only when a roulette computer is used, the change in spin speed is obvious to other players, especially if they spend several rounds at the same table. That is why many roulette fans may suspect the casino of cheating by changing the speed of the wheel.
Typically, the RRS is used more on automated roulette wheels, as the rotor speed is unnatural from the outset. Meanwhile, when a real dealer spins the wheel, a casino will rarely use an RRS because it could still cost the house money in the long run. The optimal solution would be for casinos to deploy the RRS mechanism only when they suspect professional players are using a roulette computer. However, sudden changes in the wheel’s speed will be even more obvious to the rest of the players, who may decide to leave the table because they fear the casino is tricking them.
Interchangeable Rotors
Often, something as simple as a small defect in the rotor or the bowl (the other part of the wheel) may give players an edge over the casino. While physical flaws can appear in both components, biased results are typically caused by imperfections in the rotor. That said, it is often a combination of a faulty bowl and rotor that may lead to a biased wheel.
To avoid biased wheels, land-based casinos use modern roulette wheels with interchangeable rotors. This means that whenever the casino suspects bias, the rotors between different bowls can be swapped. While this solution may eliminate bias on one wheel, it can also make another roulette wheel in the casino extremely biased.
Another point worth mentioning is that biased wheels are not easy to discover, with casinos using software to analyse roulette spins. To determine whether there is an issue with the rotor, the software needs to analyse about a thousand spins. That gives expert players a considerable advantage, as they might detect a biased wheel long before the casino software does. If you notice that most spins seem biased, make sure to take advantage before the casino changes the rotor.
Roulette Wheels Moved to Different Tables
This is yet another method casinos use to prevent expert players from gaining an advantage. If a wheel always stays at the same table, it is easier for players to analyse. That is why casino staff tend to move roulette wheels around, with every wheel regularly being placed at different tables.
Usually, casinos move their roulette wheels about once a month. While repositioning has little effect on advantage-play techniques, it is inconvenient for players who analyse wheels, as they need time to find the same wheel elsewhere in the casino.
While brick-and-mortar casinos move wheels to hinder data collection, the practice is also burdensome for the casino itself. Each time a wheel is moved, it needs to be relevelled. If the wheel is not levelled correctly, the ball may land in certain sockets more frequently. However, if the staff level the wheel perfectly, it will be free of bias. The irony is that if a wheel is perfectly level, its position in the casino is irrelevant.
If a wheel is not levelled perfectly, it tilts slightly to one side, making the ball more likely to land in certain sockets. Nevertheless, the difference between sections on the wheel is rarely large enough to have a major effect on the game. In conclusion, moving roulette wheels around does not stop players from winning but rather slows them down, as they might need to play more sessions to locate the specific wheel they are seeking.
How Speeding Up the Roulette Rotor May Affect the House Edge in Roulette
As already mentioned, one method casinos use to curb player wins is to speed up the rotor. Interestingly, casinos in Europe tend to spin roulette wheels much more slowly than those in US casinos. Ask professional players which option is better and they will tell you that slower rotors are much easier to analyse.
When the roulette wheel spins faster, the ball bounces far more, making it difficult to track. The only case in which faster rotors may be advantageous for players is when the wheel is biased. Because the ball bounces more on a fast wheel, it will come into contact with any defects more often, leading to more biased results.
Players using ballistic methods will struggle to analyse faster wheels. You may be wondering what is considered a fast spin in roulette. Generally speaking, any spin quicker than three seconds per revolution is deemed fast. You can also spot a faster rotor simply by watching the wheel, as the ball will almost fly into the rotor section.
To understand how different rotor speeds affect the player’s edge, you can look at estimates generated by roulette computers:
| Correlation Between Rotor Speed and Player’s Edge | |
|---|---|
| Rotor Speed | Player’s Edge |
| 8 seconds per revolution | 17.00% |
| 7 seconds per revolution | 21.00% |
| 6 seconds per revolution | 26.00% |
| 5 seconds per revolution | 35.00% |
| 4 seconds per revolution | 43.00% |
| 3 seconds per revolution | 31.00% |
| 2 seconds per revolution | 18.00% |
| 1 second per revolution | 10.00% |
Additional Measures Taken by Casinos to Prevent Frequent Player Wins
No matter how small the advantage players might gain from imperfections in the set-up of a roulette table, casinos strive to eliminate any factor that could tilt the scales in favour of the player. From using special tools to level tables to forbidding certain types of bets, casinos take various steps to stop you from winning.
Auto-Levelling of Roulette Wheels
Human error is inevitable in any industry, and casino staff may not be able to level every wheel perfectly. However, casinos are unwilling to risk giving players a bigger advantage, so they employ special tools to ensure roulette wheels are set up correctly.
As already mentioned, incorrect levelling forces the ball to fall more frequently into specific sockets (diamonds). This is known as establishing “dominant diamonds” and is quite common, especially when casinos frequently move wheels. To avoid biased wheels caused by poor levelling, casinos use self-levelling tools.
The equipment used for self-levelling tracks where the ball lands after leaving the ball track, and then adjusts the tilt of the wheel so that all diamonds are hit evenly. While this may seem like a perfect solution, the casino may overlook the fact that dominant diamonds are often caused by imperfections in the ball rather than the wheel.
If the problem lies with the ball and not the wheel’s levelling, one side of the rotor will sit slightly lower when the ball strikes at the end of a spin. This means the ball is more likely to land in the diamonds on the lower side. Expert players can quickly spot the numbers into which the ball falls most often and exploit the casino’s oversight. This situation is similar to having a biased wheel, except that here the wheel is flawlessly level yet still grants players an advantage.
Not Allowing Late Bets
One way players try to gain an edge over the casino is using visual ballistics or roulette computers. To benefit from these techniques, you need to spot the dominant diamonds. This is done by collecting data from multiple consecutive spins to observe where the ball first hits the rotor and where it usually bounces off.
If the dominant diamonds on a wheel are obvious, once the ball hits the rotor you have a fair idea where it will land. Thanks to the late-bets option that some tables permit, you can quickly place your wager while the ball is still spinning and improve your chances of winning.
Professional players who can spot trends and act quickly can exploit the late-bets option. You might wonder why casinos allow such a feature when it gives players an advantage. The truth is that very few roulette players can detect dominant diamonds and react swiftly enough to place successful late bets.
When dealers notice professional players making consistent profits via late bets, they are instructed to close betting earlier than usual. Dealers continue closing bets progressively earlier until professional players can no longer exploit diamond dominance. That said, if players are discreet, they may still enjoy multiple profitable sessions. Moreover, casinos allow late bets because they make much higher profits in the long run, even if a handful of professionals use the option to their advantage.
Switching Dealers at Roulette Tables
One of the most common practices casinos use to prevent players from winning too frequently is changing the dealers at roulette tables. The longer a dealer controls a table, the easier it is for players to analyse their behaviour. Habits such as spinning the rotor and releasing the ball within the same speed range are very noticeable when the dealer remains at the wheel for an extended period. Such traits are known as the “dealer signature”, and many professional roulette players exploit these patterns.
To thwart this strategy, casinos frequently rotate their dealers. You could collect enough data to identify a dealer who offers you the greatest edge and wait for them to return to your table. However, you may need to be patient, as casinos typically use several dealers in rotation and it could take some time for your preferred dealer to return.
While this is a common practice, dealer rotation does not greatly affect the player’s edge. Despite the change of personnel, the physics of the wheel stays the same. Instead of focusing too much on dealer signatures, remember that over time the deceleration rate of the roulette ball will change. By considering this and other factors, you can gain a much larger advantage than that offered by identifying a dealer’s signature.
Conclusion
If you enjoy roulette, always remember that it is a game of chance, with outcomes determined by pure luck. Of course, professional players have discovered ways to exploit different factors and tilt the balance in their favour. However, brick-and-mortar casinos are well aware of these techniques.
To ensure they always have an edge over players, land-based casinos employ various techniques and tools that make the game less favourable for players. All of the practices we have covered are legal and very common at most brick-and-mortar casinos. Even though these measures are intended to prevent players from gaining a significant edge, professional players can still spot biased wheels and capitalise on the situation.
