Roulette Blanket Betting: Don’t Do It!
Have you ever strolled through a casino, glanced over at the roulette table, and noticed how some players will almost compulsively spread their chips over every conceivable square on the number board? You can easily spot such players, because their chips form a blanket of color that almost covers the green felt from top to toe. They wager a mixture of straight-ups, streets, corners and splits. They play almost every playable combination. Funnily enough, these self-same players also shift nervously from one foot to another as the wheel spins toward a round result. It really is funny, because in actual fact these players have no need to worry about where the white ball will land. Rather, they should be concerned with their own bad tactical game play and their inherent misunderstanding of the payout versus odds ratio at the roulette table.
Sounds harsh? It is, and for good reason. Losing money isn’t pretty. Imagine placing a $1 chip on every inside bet on the roulette table. On a European table, that’s 37 squares (including zero); on an American table that’s 38 (this table has both a single and double zero, so it’s one extra square). You’ve just outlaid $37-$38, but the very best payout on a straight-up is $35. You’ll end up spending more money trying to cover the board than you will in actual casino payouts.
So how do I bet?
You need to remember than roulette is in no way conducive to a strategic approach. The house advantage will remain constant no matter how you bet and no matter what numbers have come up in previous rounds. Don’t fall into the gambler’s fallacy trap that suggests, erroneously, that a number/color combination which came up in a previous round has less of a chance of coming up again. Roulette really is a game of chance and the most creative you can get in arranging your chips in some pre-ordained order is via some French bets like Thirds of the Wheel, Orphans, and Neighbors of Zero.
When you see a player making blanket bets, there’s a very good chance that he’ll get a hit. But the cost of such a bet will tend to outweigh the winnings. So a prudent approach in any blackjack game is to stake your bet on a variety of squares using a combination of betting options without covering the entire the board. If you were going for a small payout on each round and wanted to bet straight-up wagers only, then you shouldn’t put out more than, say, 25 chips. Using any more will make your payout incredibly small and probably isn’t worth the risk of the bet in the first place.
Next time you’re tempted to insure yourself against the risk of wagering on a losing number/color combination, remind yourself that a win is only really a win when you leave the table with more chips than you arrived. Blanket betting will leave you penniless, and you can’t take that to the bank.
Placing bets on the roulette table can be tricky. Enjoy our helpful tips.
Tags: Gambling, gambling tips, roulette advice, Roulette blanket betting, roulette strategy, roulette tips
