Column betting isn’t the first choice for most offline and online roulette players. However, if you’re serious about winning you shouldn’t overlook these three, 2:1 pay-out betting options. Look at the three sets of 12 numbers relating to each of the columns below. 

1st Column: 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34
2nd Column: 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35
3rd Column: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36

If you wager $10 on one of the Roulette columns, (disregarding the single zero for the time being…I’ll address that later) you have a 1 in 3 chance of winning. A win will return you $30 of which $10 is your recovered wager and $20 is your profit. When you select one column there are 24 numbers from the two remaining columns that can cause you to lose. (2 to 1 against your wager winning).

If you bet one column 9 times and won 3 outcomes, you would be at the breakeven point. Win one more outcome beyond the 1/3 division and you’ll be making a profit of two units. Roulette column betting seems like a decent game given the potential of winning two units against standing to lose one unit each game, even though there are two columns against your one. 

But knowing what Roulette column to follow, or what column to switch to betting is where the real game begins. If 1 in every 2 decisions, you make are correct, you’ll be making money. But if you only win 1 in 4 you’ll be losing money. 

If you want to find out how good your Roulette prediction skills are, column betting is the game for you. And if you’d rather follow the rules of a logical Roulette strategy, then read on because I’m going to show you why COLUMN BETTING can be just as exciting as betting on a random set of 12 INDIVIDUAL ROULETTE NUMBERS.

ROULETTE BETTING SYSTEM 1: COLUMN RANKING

During the process of testing and improving my betting methods, I discovered a bias in how well each set of column numbers are connected on a wheel.

In live Roulette a dealer sets the games in motion:

New live Roulette games begin from the numbered pocket a ball last landed in. A dealer picks up the ball and rotates the wheel in the opposite direction it turned in the previous game. At almost the same time the dealer flicks the ball into the ball track causing it to spin against the direction of the wheel.

Ball-wheel relationship:

From my research there’s around a 70% chance a ball will ultimately end up landing in a pocket close to where it last settled (Home pocket connections) or almost directly opposite the wheel within the distance of a few pockets (Away pocket connections) despite the journey and drama (spins, knocks and bounces) of a ball on its way to one of the 37 pockets.

Randomness:

You might say order can’t be formed out of randomness and Roulette is a random game of chance. Whilst Roulette is a random game of chance you can try winning using logic as a means of combating the problem of randomness.

For instance, divide the wheel into quarters (from any point of the wheel) so that a ball must come to land in one of four quarters. 

  1. So, a ball will either return to the same quarter OR
  2. Land opposite the previous winning pocket within the distance of a few pockets OR
  3. Land in one of the other two remaining quarters.

Though regarding point 3. Even when a ball doesn’t result in Home or Away connecting column pockets, the other two quarters also contain numbered pockets belonging to the same set of column numbers of the previous winning result. (Occurring in approx. 30% of outcome to outcome results)

Thus, there’s a stronger likelihood one of the numbers from the previous column winning outcome will repeat. Indeed, a (Direct) repeat in my view is most likely to occur than a number belonging to a column from an outcome seen before the latest (One Before last) or a number belonging to a column in a (Crossover) outcome; from the earliest to appear to the most recent to appear.  

Look at the illustrations below. Each one relates to the connecting Away numbers of all 3 columns.

1st Column: 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34 Away connections

1st Column away connections

2nd Column: 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35 Away connections

2nd Column away connections

3rd Column: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36 Away connections

3rd Column away connections

Probability:

I believe not all Roulette columns are equal when it comes to Home and Away pocket connections. I have ranked the three columns based on how connected they are. The closer the Home and Away column numbers are on the wheel, the stronger the likelihood of reoccurring wins.

Power of pocket connections:

Based on my scoring for each of the 36 numbers that makeup the three columns, one column is better connected over the other two. Though the column in second place is not far behind. All three columns do have strong pocket Home and Away connections, but of the three the 2nd column is the best.

In my book, Gold Mining the Roulette Wheel, I provide a complex breakdown of how I score each column based on both Home and Away connections.

ROULETTE BETTING SYSTEM 2: AUTOMATIZED PREDICTING METHOD (APM)

This APM System is a process of betting different columns based on previous outcomes. A Roulette player can take advantage of outcomes forming into patterns.

From spin outcome to spin outcome there are three possibilities. These are;

  1. (D) Direct repeats. Numbers from the same column appearing one after the after. Example: x-x-x / y-y-y / z-z-z
  2. (OB) Outcome Before last. A number from a previous outcome before D or before C or any series of Direct repeat or C outcomes. / D Example: z-x-x-y-y-x the ‘x’ was the outcome before the Direct repeat double ‘y’ so it occurred One Before the double Direct y-y. / C Example: z-x-x-y-y-x-z-x the ‘x’ was the outcome before ‘z’ so it occurred One Before the ‘z’.
  3. (C) Crossover. A number that brings the earliest seen column to the latest column. Example: z-x-x-y-y-x-z the ‘z’ represented a Crossover, thus if the next outcome after the ‘z’ is a ‘y’ this would be a Crossover too.

System 2 works in the following way. You remember the D, OB, C abbreviation indicators and assign one to each new outcome as they appear. Proceed in the same vein as in the illustration below and how I’ve explained it above. PURE LOGIC!

This APM method will inform you what column to bet on next. It’s an excellent Roulette Betting System if you can’t decide what column to bet on. It works! (not all the time, but it’s powerful) Login to your 888casino account to give it a try.

It’s not always going to be 100% correct, but don’t forget the pay-out is 2:1 which means this System will keep you in the game and you’ll stand a good chance of going into profit.

Note: Where you see ‘?’ this means there isn’t enough information to start betting. This only occurs at the beginning of a set of outcomes. Number 36 gives us all the information we need to begin betting.

Roulette automatized predicting method

You continue assigning order to the outcomes. When you see two or more of the same indicators in a row this represents two or more wins. Underline the winning connections as you continue to allow the APM to do its logical thing.

I have noted the Wins and Loses (W/L) under the D / OB / C connected and unconnected column indicators. As you can see, I would have begun betting from #14. 

In total I wagered 16 times. I lost 8 and won 8. Assuming I lost -16 times, and my flat unit wager per game is $10 this amounts to -$160. Now I’ll calculate my returns. I won 8 times, 8 x $30 = 24 ($30 because the pay-out is 2:1 so $20 is the win and $10 represents the return of each of my winning wagers. 

Subtracting -$160 my total flat betting outlay, from my $240 returns, I won = +$80. Though at game result #15, I was in fact winning +$90. In short when you lose, you’re losing -1 and when you win, you’re winning +2, thus up +2 or down -1

ROULETTE BETTING SYSTEM 3: POWER OF THE REPEATER

After I’d discovered strong column connections, I then established that ‘Direct column connections’ are most likely to repeat. So, for instance if Roulette #18 was the last outcome you would then bet the 3rd column. And continue betting this column until you lose. Then you’d simply switch to betting the column that caused you to lose. In my experience, the Direct [D] option has an edge albeit a slight one.

The stop loss and win target for all three systems:

It’s important to note that whether you play any one System or a combination of all three Systems, although you can go into profit you can also lose your winnings, as losing outcomes follow winning outcomes. So, it’s important to try and exit a game in a day or session say by +5 unit wins in profit. 

There’s no point winning and then losing what you’ve won because you didn’t stop. Or losing and winning back what you’d lost only to carrying on betting and losing all over again. Regarding how to win at roulette: Winning back what you’ve lost in a session in my book is classed as a win. 

In my System 2 example I didn’t stop betting when I took a hit on the 5 losses in a row. I could ride it out because I’m on a 2:1 pay-out. And as you see, I ended up in profit. However, you still must have an overall stop loss of -10 per session just in case you encounter a bad set of outcomes.

TIP: Here’s how you can use all 3 Roulette Column Systems to your advantage. If you use System 1, you can factor in the power of System 2 so that if System 2 indicates that the 2nd column is due, (if you decide to follow the 2nd column) whether due from a D, OB, or C, you could add 50% of your initial wager for the following outcome and moreover for a D repeat that represents System 3 coming into play you could add an additional 30% of your initial wager. So, if $10 is your initial wager, 50% is an extra $5 and 30% and extra $3 total max bet size = $18. This will mean Systems 2 and 3 (or both) will be informing you that the probability of System 1 occurring is more likely. Thus, you don’t need to bet the 2nd column every spin if you don’t want to. You can be super selective in allowing the Automatized Predicting Method of System 2 to help guide your Roulette column betting decisions. If System 2 informs not to bet System 1, then don’t or if you still do, then reduce your wager.

Dealing with the Zero:

When a zero result occurs (European Roulette wheels contain a single zero) players lose half their wager when betting on even chances: RED/BLACK, HIGH/LOW, ODD/EVEN whereas players lose all their playing chips betting on any 2:1 options such as columns, but column betting has advantages that outweigh a few zero appearances here and there.

If you’re going to bet very briefly say within 10-20 outcomes, then cover the zero just enough to back up your bet on one column OR to cover any increases to your column wager if you add whatever percentage you deem appropriate.

If you’re going to mostly flat bet and play over 50-100 results, then forget covering the zero because this will eat into your bankroll. For instance, if the zero results say three times in 100 spins and you hadn’t covered the zero, you would’ve lost just three units. NO BIG DEAL!

Whereas if you had covered the zero to protect your $10 flat column bet: say by 30c you would have lost $30 (100 x 30c) and won (including your 30c x 3 stakes back) = $32.40 (so only winning $2.40 when considering your x3 $10 column losses of $30) Because don’t forget when the zero appears you still lose your three column bets. 

It therefore isn’t worth covering the zero in my view, unless you’re going to BET BIG and just for a SHORT TIME; over a limited number of outcomes i.e. you’re going to go for it! Profit or Loss! or All or Nothing!

Also consider if the zero doesn’t result within 50-100 results or shows up only once, you’d be losing even more by covering it.

Online casino Roulette can be fun and rewarding. More so if you can adjust your column betting decisions using one or more of the Systems I’ve shared with you today, so that you can try to win like a true Roulette  Pro!

Stephen R. Tabone is an English Writer from Great Britain. He is a casino games professional pattern player and outcomes systemiser. He is the Author of Bestselling Baccarat books, ‘The Ultimate Silver Bullet Proof Baccarat Winning Strategy 2.1’ and ‘The Ultimate Golden Secret Baccarat Winning Strategy 3.0’.

In 2011, Mr. Tabone earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in Creative Writing and Philosophy from the University of Greenwich, London. And holds qualifications in Law and in Business.