Why the “best number to bet on roulette” is a myth only a gullible marketer would sell
First off, the idea that 17 or 32 could somehow tilt the odds in your favour is about as useful as a free “gift” of a toothbrush after a night at a casino – it won’t stop the decay.
Cold arithmetic over colourful myths
Take a European wheel: 37 pockets, a single zero. Betting on 17 yields a 1/37 chance, roughly 2.70 %. Even if you stack 20 chips on 17, the expected value stays at -2.70 % because the house edge remains 2.70 %.
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Contrast that with betting on a split of 5‑6, a double‑chance covering two numbers. You now own 2/37, about 5.41 %, but the payout is only 17:1 instead of 35:1, so the edge barely shifts.
Bet365’s roulette tables illustrate this perfectly – the zero never moves, no matter how many “VIP” tables you sit at, and the mathematics stays stubbornly unchanged.
Practical example: the “martingale” illusion
Imagine you start with £10 on 23, lose, double to £20, lose again, then £40, and so on. After five losses you’re on £310. The probability of five consecutive losses is (36/37)^5 ≈ 86 %. Your expected bankroll after the streak is still negative.
Even the most volatile slot, Gonzo’s Quest, which can swing a £2 stake to £500 in seconds, is a controlled chaos – you cannot replicate that randomness on a deterministic wheel.
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- Bet on a single number: 1/37 chance, 35:1 payout.
- Bet on a column: 12/37 chance, 2:1 payout.
- Bet on red/black: 18/37 chance, 1:1 payout.
William Hill’s live dealer rooms make the roulette wheel look shiny, but the statistics stay the same, and the “best number” claim is just marketing fluff.
Now, consider a scenario where you place a £5 bet on 8, then a £5 bet on 19, and a £5 bet on 27 – three separate single numbers. Your combined chance is 3/37 ≈ 8.11 %, still far from any meaningful edge.
The only “edge” you can engineer is variance control. If you love the adrenaline of Starburst’s quick spins, you’ll find the roulette wheel’s slow spin oddly calming – but that’s psychological, not statistical.
Why “best number” sells more than it solves
Promotional emails from 888casino will highlight “bet on 13 for extra luck”, but the extra luck is a marketing term, not a mathematical one.
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Players who chase the myth of a “lucky 7” often ignore the simple law of large numbers: over 1,000 spins, every number will appear roughly 27 times, give or take a few.
Take the example of a high‑roller who insists on always playing 32 because “the gods love thirty‑two”. After 200 spins his win‑loss record will mirror anyone else’s – the variance smooths out any personal superstition.
And the casino’s “free spin” on a slot is, in reality, a tiny fraction of the expected loss – a free lollipop at the dentist, pleasant but inconsequential.
Calculating a pseudo‑edge
If you decide to bet £1 on 9 and £2 on the red colour simultaneously, you’re committing £3. Should 9 hit, you win £35, netting £32 profit. Should red win, you gain £2, but lose the £1 stake on 9, netting £1. If zero hits, you lose the whole £3.
The expected profit per spin = (1/37 × 32) + (18/37 × 1) – (18/37 × 3) ≈ 0.86 – 1.46 ≈ -0.60. Even this contrived combo drains your bankroll.
The only “best” number is the one that fits your bankroll constraints, not some mystical digit.
Real‑world tactics that don’t involve fantasy numbers
One pragmatic approach: limit each session to 100 spins, stake no more than 1 % of your bankroll per spin. If you start with £200, each bet should be £2 max. After 100 spins the most you can lose is £200, keeping risk bounded.
Another tactic: switch tables when the minimum bet jumps from £1 to £5, because higher minimums force you into larger variance without adding any statistical advantage.
Betting systems like the “Fibonacci” sequence (1,1,2,3,5…) look clever until a long losing streak forces you to climb the ladder, and the cumulative bet can quickly exceed your bankroll – a simple arithmetic overflow.
In my experience, the only time I’ve seen a player “win” by picking a specific number is when they walk away after a single lucky hit on 27, then stop playing – a self‑fulfilling prophecy of quitting while ahead.
The cruel irony is that most online platforms, including Bet365 and William Hill, display a “statistics” tab showing the exact frequency of each number after thousands of spins, yet players still cling to the notion of a “best number”.
Even the most sophisticated RNG engines behind the roulette wheel can’t be gamed by choosing 14 over 25 – the algorithm treats them identically.
Lastly, be wary of “VIP” loyalty programmes that promise exclusive tables with “better odds”. The odds are identical; the only difference is the veneer of exclusivity.
And that’s why I’m fed up with the tiny font size on the “terms and conditions” pop‑up – you need a magnifying glass just to read that the casino can change the wheel layout on a whim.