One of the things you shouldn’t take for granted in column betting in roulette is that you will be able to win at least once each three spins of the wheel. It would be ideal if your win-to-lose ratio doesn’t drop below three to one – but no strategy can ever guarantee you that. With that being said, we’d like to introduce you to not just one particular roulette strategy for columns but a complete guide on the subject matter.
What Is a Column Bet?
There are three columns in total, each of which includes twelve numbers from the 37 possibilities in roulette. We will never get tired of this – the zero is not included in any of the three columns. It is the factor that works under the hood to spoil the odds of roulette bets. It’s not as grim as it may sound. Here are the numbers in the three columns on the betting layout of any roulette game:
- Column 1️⃣: 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34
- Column 2️⃣: 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35
- Column 3️⃣: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36
Every roulette strategy guide starts with a short definition to serve as a future reference, so here’s a little bit more about what a column bet is. ‘Column’ is an outside bet from the outline with possible wagers. It becomes active when you put chips on the rectangle with the label ‘2 to 1’. This is how much a winning column bet pays in roulette. You get 2 to 1 plus the amount you staked.
Where to Start?
Since all games allow for this kind of wager, the only thing that can make a difference would be where you play. One of the good roulette sites with a UK licence can really make it a worthwhile experience for you with their bonuses and remuneration systems. We say this because you are bound to make mistakes no matter what roulette column strategy variation you may choose, so it will be easier to take a hit when there’s a good bonus supporting your bankroll.
A tone more things come into play when you are speculating on the outcome of the next spin of the wheel, but if you’ve got a handle on the basics, you will at least be able to put into motion a roulette column betting strategy.
The things we infer are the mathematical odds, the odds the casino gives you, and the betting limits of the table. You should look at all these separate components one by one and determine if your strategy is worth it, or you can switch it up with something like a roulette corner betting system, for example.
Roulette Column Strategy Approaches
There’s not just one but at least two roulette column strategy types you could try, depending on how big of a risk you are willing to take. You have the most traditional – one-column bet, and then you have the two-column betting system. Each bet has its pros and cons, but what the two share in common is that both of them are designed to give you a chance to build your bankroll steadily.
One-Column Bet
This is the option most players opt for. The majority of the time, roulette players take their odds and pick one of the three columns. But this is just a mathematically derived number. Please always allow for the possibility of a losing streak. Here’s more information on the one-column roulette strategy:
| *️⃣ Covered Numbers | 12 |
| 💰 Payout | 2 to 1 |
| 🌍 European Roulette Odds | 32.4% |
| ⭐ American Roulette Odds | 31.6% |
The odds of winning differ according to the roulette variant you are playing. With this wager, European Roulette pays you 32.4% of the time and American Roulette about 31.6% of the time.
Two-Column Betting Strategy
You might want to increase your chances of winning by covering more than just 12 numbers. How about staking a bet on more than one column, then? This is a two-column betting roulette strategy. With it, you have to keep in mind that the payout changes to 3 to 2. If you staked an equal amount on both columns and one of your columns hits, your profit will be equal to the amount of just one of the bets.
| *️⃣ Covered Numbers | 24 |
| 💰 Payout | 3 to 2 |
| 🌍 European Roulette Odds | 64.8% |
| ⭐ American Roulette Odds | 63.1% |
Can You Bet on All Three Columns?
This is always a possibility, but it’s not very sensible because then the house edge will simply eat away at your bankroll because you wouldn’t have included the pesky zero in the winning numbers. So, the stunt is destined to fail no matter how you look at it. Not that the house edge doesn’t do that to all strategies in the long run, but with this one, you are setting yourself up for a situation you can’t possibly monetize in any perceivable way.
There’s no point in covering all three columns unless you just want to try it for curiosity’s sake. It’s one of those things you might want to have in your arsenal of gambling stories as “a conversation piece”, but nothing more than this. Our advice is don’t bet all three columns at the same time in roulette – it won’t do you any good.
Column Roulette Strategy – Know Your Odds
Let’s cut to the chase. As a bet whose statistical probability of winning is 3 to 1, it comes as no surprise that it pays 2 to 1 on your stake. Don’t be fooled by the numbers game like most newbies. You bet 1 unit, you get two units in winnings plus your initial wager of 1 unit. That makes three units in total return to your bankroll.
The blissfully ignorant punter might think to themselves, ‘I’ve only got to win one in every three spins to make this work, but that’s not it. The zero pockets are where any roulette column strategy falls apart. In other words, you have to make a separate wager to cover a 0 or 00 outcome, which makes the odds not worth taking.
Sensible Stake Sizing
It’s when you want to think up a good betting plan that math comes in handy. In this case, we’ve got a six-round betting system that will allow you to make a small profit if your single-column bet wins any of the six rounds. You should stake an amount equal to or multiple of the following amounts:
- 1st bet – $5
- 2nd bet – $5
- 3rd bet – $6
- 4th bet – $9
- 5th bet – $13
- 6th bet – $20
If, after six rounds, you still haven’t won, you either have to pack up and leave or proceed with bets of higher order. As proponents of responsible gambling, we’d suggest the former. Six lost column bets are not that uncommon when you think about it. As a whole, we’d like to leave you with this – don’t take this or any strategy out of boundaries of reasonable.
FAQ
Column betting in roulette is a topic exciting both for players and strategists. It would be naïve to think we can exhaust the topic with a single article because new information derived from practical experience gets published all the time. In regard to that, we scoured the web and identified what players are interested in the most. Read below; you might find exactly what you wanted to ask.