Although there is no such thing as the perfect Roulette Strategy or Roulette System, having your own methodology for playing can certainly make the game more interesting. Roulette systems have been around for as long as the game itself, and people are inventing new ones all the time. The most important thing to remember is that roulette is a game of chance. Just because the roulette wheel result has been red for the last ten times, doesn't mean that the next spin will be black. The chance of it being red is still around 47%! There is no such thing as the perfect roulette system.

The Martingale system is one of the most common systems in use; when on a good run, it can be very effective - but when it all goes wrong it can be very costly. The way it works is this:

1. Pick a colour (red/black).
2. Place a bet on that colour ($1)
3. Spin the roulette wheel - if it wins, you get $2 back (your $1 stake, and $1 profit).
4. If you lost, double your last stake ($2)
5. Spin the wheel - if it wins, you get $4 back - that's a profit of $1
6. If you lost, double your last stake ($4)
7. Spin the wheel...

The idea of the Martingale is that it's a slow burn - you'll keep wining although only your original stake. There are no quick wins on Roulette. It also helps promote the thought that it's a 50/50 bet on red/black - although that's not true! The chances of it being red/black are actually around 47%, with the remainder being green. It's also worth noting that you could go an infinate amount of spins without landing on your chosen color! Although a properly balanced roulette table should statistically eventually land on every number/colour combination, that's over an infinate amount of spins!

You'll also need a large bankroll - as the following table shows, using the Martingale system can cause debts to mount really quickly:

Spin..Stake..Bankroll..Win...Profit
.1......1.....1.......2.....1
.2......2.....3.......4.....1
.3......4.....7.......8.....1
.4......8.....15......16.....1
.5......16....31......32.....1
.6......32....63......64.....1
.7......64....127.....128....1
.8.....128....255.....256.....1
.9.....256....511.....512....1
.10.....512...1023....1024....1
.11....1024...2047....2048....1
.12....2048...4095....4096....1

An alternative system, based on the same principle, is the one-in-three method. Using this method, your bankroll doesn't need to be as large. To use this system, pick one of the 2-1 bets (i.e. Column 1, 2, or 3, or first 12, second 12, or third 12) and stick with it. Again, you place a single bet - if you win, fine, if not, then using the following table, you'd increase your bet the appropriate amount:

Spin..Stake..Bankroll..Win...Profit
.1......1.....1.......3.....2
.2......1.....2.......3.....1
.3......2.....4.......6.....2
.4......3.....7.......9.....2
.5......4.....11......12.....1
.6......6.....17......18.....1
.7......9.....26......27.....1
.8......14....40......42.....2
.9......21....61......63.....2
.10.....31....92......93.....1
.11.....47....139.....141.....2
.12.....70....209.....210.....1

As you can see, the amount you need to bet does not increase as rapidly as with the martingale. It is worth remembering, however, that your chance of a winning spin has increased - so it may take slightly longer between winning spins.

As with all betting though, whatever system you use you can always loose. Neither of these two methods are guaranteed wins, but at least you'll be able to see where your money has gone if it all goes wrong!