The only way you can maximize your winnings while playing online roulette is for you to calculate the odds. Calculating roulette odds will help you to decide how much each strategy can yield for you per spin. Odds change from one variation to another and also applies to the strategy you will be using at that particular time.
For instance, playing the American variation has a house advantage of 5.26% while playing the European variation has a house advantage of 2.63%. This means that playing the American roulette is not as favorable as playing the European roulette. Another factor is that the American variation takes away all bets when the ball falls on zero while the European variation takes away half of your bets.
Therefore, you certainly need to calculate your odds so as to select which type of bets to use on each variation as well as selecting the variation of best choice.
Let’s take a look at the odds for various types of bets in the American variation
| Bet | Pays | Probability | Win House Edge |
| Any one number | 35 | 2.63% | 5.26% |
| Split (2 numbers) | 17 | 5.26% | 5.26% |
| Street (3 numbers) | 11 | 7.89% | 5.26% |
| Corner (4 numbers) | 8 | 10.53% | 5.26% |
| First five (5 numbers) | 6 | 13.16% | 7.89% |
| Sixline (6 numbers) | 5 | 15.79% | 5.26% |
| 1 to 12 | 2 | 31.58% | 5.26% |
| 13 to 24 | 2 | 31.58% | 5.26% |
| 25 to 36 | 2 | 31.58% | 5.26% |
| Red | 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| Black | 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| Odd | 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| Even | 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| 1 to 18 | 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| 19 to 36 | 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
Looking at the chart above, it shows us that playing outside bets have a higher probability at which the chances of you wining or losing are even. Thus, understanding the odds of each type of bet, you are able to mix these bets to increase your probability of winning during game play.
You can increase your win probability by mixing the bets, for example, placing chips on outside bets – 1 to 12 and 13 to 24. By playing this type of bet, you will be having a wining advantage of 63.16% and your probability of losing on such a bet is low given that the ball will rest on 25 to 36. However, by playing such a bet does not guarantee that you will certainly win effectively but it helps you to reduce the chances of losing.
Therefore, by understanding the betting odds, you will be able to come up with your own unique strategy that will help you to win effectively. All you have to do is thoroughly understand the roulette odds before you place your bets on the table. The only way you can have a winning edge while playing online roulette is to mix your bets and reduce your probability of losing to a minimal.