Roulette Strategy

• Every bet on a single-zero roulette wheel has the same 97.3% RTP, so your bet choice only changes variance
• The even-money bets on the bottom row of the board are the lowest-variance way to wash SC
• Skip American roulette: the extra 00 nearly doubles the house edge

Roulette looks complicated, but for washing SC, roulette strategy comes down to a few facts. You can ignore most of the board.

Every Bet Has the Same 97.3% RTP

A European wheel has 37 pockets: 1-36 plus a single 0. Payouts are priced as if the 0 didn't exist, so every bet returns 36/37 of what you wager: 97.3% RTP, a 2.7% house edge.

• A single number wins 1 spin in 37 and returns 36 units (35:1 plus your stake): 36/37 = 97.3%
• Red wins 18 spins in 37 and returns 2 units: 36/37 = 97.3%

No bet is cheaper than another. The only thing you control is variance: how far your balance swings on the way through playthrough.

The Bottom Row: Even-Money Bets

The highlighted bottom row holds the six even-money bets: 1-18, Even, Red, Black, Odd, 19-36. Each covers 18 numbers and pays 1:1, the lowest variance on the board. Here's 100 SC of playthrough at 1 SC a spin:

Same cost, very different ride (the swing is one standard deviation). Even money usually finishes between down 13 and up 7. Single numbers range from down 61 to up 56, and about 1 time in 15 you miss all 100 spins.

How to Bet It

• Bet only the bottom row. Most versions, like Iconic21's tables, limit how much of the board you can cover, so you can typically hold two even-money bets at a time. I typically choose Black and Even.
• One bet or two changes nothing for RTP and next to nothing for variance. Two just finishes playthrough in half the spins.
• Bet the table minimum. More spins is a bigger sample, and a bigger sample hugs the expected 2.7% loss. That same 100 SC in 10 SC bets swings ±32 SC instead of ±10.
• Stop the moment playthrough clears. Every extra 100 SC wagered costs another 2.70 SC. Overwashing is wasted money.

Blackjack returns more, but it needs a strategy chart and a decision every hand. There's also an advanced play, cross washing, that bets opposite sides at two casinos. I don't recommend it, and that guide explains why.

Avoid American Roulette

As much as this Greenie loves America and its sweepstakes laws, American roulette is trash. It adds a 00 pocket, making 38, and pays exactly the same:

• European: 36/37 = 97.30% RTP, 2.70% house edge
• American: 36/38 = 94.74% RTP, 5.26% house edge

One extra pocket costs 2.56 points of RTP and nearly doubles the house edge. Washing 1,000 SC costs about 27 SC on single zero and about 53 SC on double zero. If a casino only offers double zero, wash on a different game there.

FAQ

What is the best bet in roulette?

By RTP there isn't one: every single-zero bet returns 97.3%. For washing, even money wins because it swings the least. One exception: a French table with la partage refunds half of an even-money bet when 0 hits, lifting those bets to 98.65%.

Do betting systems like Martingale work?

No. Martingale is mathematically for losers. Every spin carries the same 2.7% edge however you size your bets, so doubling after a loss only makes bets bigger, and bigger bets mean more variance.

Is roulette good for playthrough?

At 97.3% it matches a good wash slot with far smaller swings. Some casinos exclude table games from playthrough, so check the bonus terms first.

Find a casino with single-zero roulette on the casino list, and log your wash sessions in the profit tracker to see what playthrough really costs you.

Last updated: 2026-09-19. Written by Greenie. Questions about a specific table? Ask in the SweepsCoinTracker Discord.

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