In this article I’m going to explain why roulette is the king of casino table games. And why I think players could feel like casino kings if they master the predictive skills of roulette games. 

But after reading, I want you to decide if the game of roulette should be crowned the king of casino table games.

What is the game of roulette all about?

Most casino card games including blackjack rely on luck and to some degree skill. Roulette on the other hand is all about your predictive powers. 

“No one can predict where the roulette ball is going to land!” I can hear the blackjack army and many of you say. 

But prediction is what the game of roulette is all about, i.e. to predict where the ball might land. 

Go into any casino and read the rules or ask casino staff how to play the game. They’ll say, in order to win at roulette, you have to predict where you think the ball might land. And you’ll find out the same about roulette online too.

Why roulette is different from other casino games?

Apart from poker games played against other players, roulette is the only casino game where any player can place bets once the game has started. As the ball is spinning around the roulette wheel you can use your predictive skills to decide where you think the ball might land. 

You may not be right on every game and a jumpy ball could work for or against you. But you only have to be correct slightly — albeit consistently more than your average Joe — at predicting the outcome to have an edge over the house. And if you bet big by increasing your stakes on some roulette games and continue to call it right, you could be quids in!

Is it possible to predict where the roulette ball might land?

That's fine you might say, but with the moving parts, (the ball spinning in one direction and the wheel rotating in another) you’d have to be superhuman or a time traveller to guess the drop zone. Moreover, the landing into a pocket probably won’t be a smooth transition because of all those deflectors and dividers. 

Roulette prediction questions include:

  • How is it possible to predict where a roulette ball might land? 
  • Surely only in fiction … like a James Bond movie, right?
  • By using computer technology perhaps?

Before I get into the details of how to predict roulette outcomes, I’ll go over some points about why roulette is the most popular casino game.  

I want to point out that if you visit any casino, you’ll probably find a lot more players on roulette live tables than blackjack tables. This is my experience of visiting many casinos over the years, especially at peak times. 

And then there are gamblers using terminals in land-based casinos to wager on casino table games. They’re betting on roulette games about 95 percent of the time with baccarat accounting for most of the remaining percentage.  

Thus, it’s clear to me that the game of roulette is more popular than blackjack. And this holds true in online casinos too i.e. I think the majority of internet players flock to roulette tables including:

  • live online roulette
  • roulette air wheels
  • roulette with computer generated random outcomes

But the above information alone doesn’t mean that roulette is the king of casino games.

Roulette table

The two great casino games on the battlefield for the throne

I think you’ll find blackjack and roulette armies fighting it out to be crowned the king of casino table games. Very different games, right? Most people think the contest boils down to the decision-making skills of blackjack. 

This 21-casino game has a low house edge — that’s even possible to reduce somewhat—versus; the sheer luck of roulette outcomes as many people believe you can only win at roulette if you’re lucky.

Two points to consider about house edges and luck:

A lower house edge is not enough for a game to be regarded as king of casino table games. The best blackjack players are not always likely to win more times than averagely good roulette players. 

  • Roulette is a physics problem thus winning isn’t based on pure chance. Roulette strategy can be very important.
  • The reality about advantage players betting on blackjack  

I know blackjack has a huge card counting following. I don’t look to diminish the hype, (that still exists in a strong form) on the internet among card counting fans who think of ‘beating the casinos.’

However, with card counting results not always guaranteed to deliver an advantage in blackjack, the same holds true playing basic strategy especially when:

  • There are more decks in use.
  • Casinos use constant shuffle machines. 
  • Players get paid lower amounts on blackjack winning outcomes.

The things that can go wrong for players in blackjack include:

  • The decisions of other players can mess things up for you.
  • You bust trying to gain a higher value hand.
  • The dealer beats your hand.
  • Draws with your high value hand.

But suspend judgement because the lines are blurred and if you read on, you’ll find out why I suggest there are more practical decision-making skills involved in roulette. 

Oh, and about that mysterious thing they call luck — I say this, “luck is the camouflage of random outcomes you bet on resulting in a win or a loss.” 

Why roulette should be crowned the king of casino table games

Since to win at roulette players should predict where the ball might land the obvious conclusion is to ask how this is done. 

How to predict where the roulette ball might land explained 

1. The roulette predicting human gadget 

That’s right, no lasers or microcomputers nor any other nonhuman technology. To beat roulette the player must use only human abilities i.e. mental intuition.  

2. Roulette quantum thinking and the flashpoint explained 

When trying to predict the outcome of a roulette game using quantum thinking, it’s the “flashpoint” the mind figures out the drop zone to be. Your eyes and brain are doing the mental focus. A bit like how a digital SLR camera operates the mechanical shutter mechanism that regulates light reaching the sensor. And at the moment a picture is taken is what I call the flashpoint.

3. How to predict where the roulette ball might land 

The method of predicting where a roulette ball might land involves predicting three things.

(a) Ball and ball track

When the ball is spinning around the ball track, as it slows with still about five or 10 passes left, I try to estimate how many more revolutions it will make before it leaves the ball track. 

(b) Wheel rotor

I clock where the wheel rotor is in relation to the ball. I focus on the ball and on the numbers at the outer edge of the rotor. Where I think the ball will leave the ball track in the future is at a point where I think certain numbers on the rotor will be. 

(c) Human gadget roulette outcome predicting flashpoint 

Then I have my flashpoint. That number will stand out in my mind where I think in that future event the ball will land onto.

Roulette numbers

Betting on roulette numbers after the cerebral clocking process 

It’s best to bet on neighbors of the flashpoint number. Neighbors by 5, meaning the target number plus 2 numbers each side of it. But it’s always best to wager a bit more on the target number and bet on a wider area of that sector of the wheel as a back-up bet should you get close, but not close enough. 

There’s some margin of error, I might be a few pockets off, but sometimes I hit on the target number.

By hedging my bets somewhat — mitigating against a near miss — I could recover losing target wagers.

So, is roulette the king of casino table games? 

It’s possible to predict where the ball might land and be consistent at calling it right. Niko Tosa (not his real name) did it and won big (£1.3m) in 2004 in the Ritz casino in London starting with only a few thousand pounds. 

Predicting roulette outcomes is done by practice and focus. Aside from Tosa, others do it too, but it’s a secret world where you don’t want casinos to know you’re good at it. Alas, I’ve just blown my cover! 

Because of Tosa, roulette game manufacturers redesigned some wheels so that balls travel more on the rotor and or bounce more.   

It’s possible to have the ability to practice and master this skill. And you can still find the traditional-style wheels in use. To be good at predicting where the ball might land in roulette you have to be a consistent winner. That’s the only way you know you are good at it.

If this article interests you, explore other topics at 888casino like How to Play Roulette.

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.