Constant Bet Roulette Strategy
The Constant bet strategy has a special place amongst all of the strategies I mentioned in the main roulette strategies article. It’s unwittingly used by many roulette players who just want to have fun and don’t really think about how they should play the game to maximize their chances to leave the casino with more money than they came in with.
The Constant Bet strategy consists of placing the same bet over and over again. It’s a simple strategy, but it’s also crucial to choose the best type of bet and the optimum bet size in order to maximize your chances of winning. Keep on reading to find out which is the best type of bet and bet size to use, all supported by computer simulations.
Keep reading this article and find out:
- Which is the best type of bet to place?
- What bet sizes should you use to maximize your chances of winning?
- What are your chances of winning big by placing the same bet over and over again?
- How the Constant Bet strategy works
- Simulations of the Constant Bet strategy
- Conclusion and recommendations
How the Constant Bet strategy works
I hesitated at first about calling the Constant Bet strategy a "strategy", because it’s just one of the basic ways to play roulette. I’ve decided to include it in my analysis, however, as it can be used as a benchmark to compare all other strategies.
What’s more, while the base idea of the Constant Bet strategy is very simple, the expected results vary hugely depending on the type of bets you place and the percentage of your initial bankroll you wager during each game. Fundamentally, the Constant Bet strategy is about finding a compromise between two "polar" options:
- Low volatility and a low possibility of winning big, against the possibility of playing roulette for a longer period of time
- High volatility and the chance of winning big, against the high probability of losing everything very quickly
To achieve high or low volatility (or something in between) you can alter two factors that influence the way you play the game, as well as your expected results:
- The type of bets you place
- The size of your bets
I will use two examples to demonstrate the two polar opposites I mentioned above.
EXAMPLE #1
A player walks into a casino with $100, sits down at a Roulette table and starts betting $1 on red or black (this might not be possible in brick-and-mortar casinos because of the bet size limits, but let’s ignore that for now). That person can stay at the table and play for hours or even days, but their chance of winning a bigger amount of money is virtually non-existent.
EXAMPLE #2
A player walks into a casino with $100, sits down at a Roulette table and starts betting $50 on a specific number. This player will most likely lose everything after their first two spins, but they will also have a chance, albeit a small one, of leaving the casino with a really big win.
Which approach is the best? Well, the optimal use of the Constant Bet strategy is somewhere in between, of course, but it’s virtually impossible to uncover its finer details just by thinking about it. That’s exactly why I used my own simulation software to discover the best type and size of bet to use when playing roulette, according to the Constant Bet strategy.
Simulations of the Constant Bet strategy
Now, we’re getting into the interesting stuff. I have run simulations to try and figure out the optimal combination of bet types and bet sizes to achieve the best overall results for a given scenario.
Methodology and used variables
I think it’s important to disseminate all of the details about each simulation so that you can interpret the results correctly and get a clear picture about the advantages and disadvantages of this strategy, as well as understand all the combinations of bet types and bet sizes.
All simulations were run using my own simulation software, including probabilities and payouts for a single zero roulette without any special rules in place.
The first important thing to mention is the behavior of the players during each of the simulations. The players started with a bankroll of $100 and followed the Constant Bet strategy until:
- They lost their entire bankroll.
- They managed to "survive" 100 roulette spins, at which point they got up from the table and left the casino, regardless of how much money they may have lost or won.
Regarding the types of bets, I took all of the alternatives into account and decided to use the following in my simulations:
- Color – Red or Black (chance to win: 18/37, payout: 2x)
- Corner – Four numbers that share one corner (chance to win: 4/37, payout: 9x)
- Straight up – One specific number (chance to win: 1/37, payout: 36x)
As for the size of each individual bet, I decided to spread the numbers out across a range of $1 to $50, which covered all of the interesting scenarios in my opinion.
Note: I used a bankroll of $100 and bet sizes from $1 to $50. The thing that really matters, however, is the percentage of the bankroll wagered during each round. A $1 bet from a bankroll of $100 is equivalent to a bet $10 from a bankroll of $1,000. As long as the ratio between the bet sizes and the initial bankroll remains the same, the results should be the same. I am not considering bet size limits for this strategy, however, as they generally shouldn’t be an issue due to the constant bet sizes.
The number of players simulated in each simulation was 1,000,000, aimed at ensuring pretty accurate results. There will still be some statistical deviations, however, that won’t significantly influence the results or change the overall outcomes of the simulations.
Bet type analysis
Before getting to the more specific simulations and different bet sizes, let’s first take a closer look at how the Constant Bet strategy works with a fixed bet size of $4 and variable bet types, and get a better idea of how the bet type could change the expected results.
| Bet type (payouts) | % of total winners | Winners leaving with $100-$200 | Winners leaving with $200-$500 | Winners leaving with $500-$1k | Winners leaving with >$1000 | Average cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Color (2x) | 35% | 35% | 0.27% | 0% | 0% | $10.8 |
| Dozen (3x) | 41% | 37.7% | 2.8% | 0% | 0% | $10.5 |
| Six line (6x) | 45% | 32.2% | 12.4% | 0.001% | 0% | $9.5 |
| Corner (9x) | 37.2% | 18.7% | 18.5% | 0.04% | 0% | $8.9 |
| Street (12x) | 37.4% | 19.7% | 17.3% | 0.27% | 0% | $8.5 |
| Split (18x) | 35.8% | 10.6% | 24.3% | 0.77% | 0.0001% | $7.5 |
| Straight up (36x) | 30% | 10% | 15.5% | 4.6% | 0.037% | $6 |
| Bet type (payouts) | Players losing everything before finishing 30 spins | Players losing everything before finishing 50 spins | Players losing everything before finishing 75 spins | Players losing everything before finishing 100 spins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Color (2x) | ~0% | 0.06% | 0.65% | 2.3% |
| Dozen (3x) | 0.02% | 1.17% | 4.74% | 9.42% |
| Six line (6x) | 1.2% | 10.8% | 20.4% | 28.16% |
| Corner (9x) | 5.7% | 17.6% | 30.6% | 39.5% |
| Street (12x) | 12.1% | 29.1% | 39.7% | 46.9% |
| Split (18x) | 24.9% | 38% | 46.2% | 56.4% |
| Straight up (36x) | 50.4% | 50.4% | 63.4% | 70% |
As you can see, almost all of the players betting on Color get to play through each of their 100 game rounds. They have virtually no chance of making a significant profit, however, as their balance tends to stay close to the initial bankroll. Almost all players who manage to make a profit leave with less than double their initial bankroll, except on very rare occasions. Players lose $10.8 from their bankroll on average, which is the most from any of the different bet types used in these simulations.
The possibility of playing through all 100 spins and leaving with a significant profit increases with more volatile bets, but with the chance of losing everything increasing rapidly as well. Over 50% of players betting $4 on a specific number (Straight up) lost everything before enjoying a single winning game round, as these players lost 25 rounds in a row. When playing live roulette, this adds up to about 45 minutes of play time.
Bet size analysis and simulations #1: Color (red or black)
The first type of bet we’ll look at in more detail is a bet placed on a red or black color. I’ll use a very similar table layout to the one used before, but instead of having different bet types, there will now be various bet sizes in individual lines on the tables.
| Bet size | % of total winners | Winners leaving with $100-$200 | Winners leaving with $200-$500 | Winners leaving with $500-$1k | Winners leaving with >$1000 | Average cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | 35.6% | 35.6% | 0% | 0% | 0% | $2.7 |
| $2 | 35.6% | 35.5% | 0.0001% | 0% | 0% | $5.4 |
| $5 | 35.6% | 34.1% | 1.5% | 0% | 0% | $13.2 |
| $10 | 33.9% | 22% | 11.9% | 0.0008% | 0% | $22 |
| $15 | 29.2% | 14.2% | 14.9% | 0.15% | 0% | $26.2 |
| $20 | 24.3% | 7.3% | 15.6% | 1.4% | 0.0004% | $28.5 |
| $50 | 10.9% | 0% | 3.8% | 5.6% | 1.4% | $33.3 |
| Bet size | Players losing everything before finishing 30 spins | Players losing everything before finishing 50 spins | Players losing everything before finishing 75 spins | Players losing everything before finishing 100 spins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | ~0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| $2 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| $5 | 0.018% | 0.64% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| $10 | 8% | 19.8% | 32% | 40.5% |
| $15 | 25.3% | 40.2% | 51.6% | 59.3% |
| $20 | 41.2% | 54.6% | 63.7% | 69.9% |
| $50 | 74.8% | 81.5% | 85.9% | 88.3% |
Let’s take a look at the results. As one might expect, players betting $1 or $2 on red or black will definitely get to play the full 100 game rounds, but won’t have much of a chance to at least double their bankrolls.
That slightly changes when we get to $5, where the possibility of being in the profit after 100 spins is pretty much the same as when betting $1 or $2, but there is also a 1.5% chance of winning more than $100. This means, however, that an average of 4.3% of players won’t make it through all 100 spins.
There is a huge difference, however, between players betting $5 per round and players betting $10 per round. While the percentage of winners drops only slightly, the percentage of players who were not able to make it to 100 rounds increased almost tenfold, to 40.5%. This is because the number of players who "survived" the 100 spins with less than the initial $100 is much smaller when using the $10 bet.
This trend continues all the way to the last row of the table. The chance of winning a big amount gradually increases, but with the percentage of players losing everything within 30, 50, 75 and 100 spins also rising as the bet size increases. In terms of the maximum tested bet size of $50, only 25.2% of players made it through the first 30 spins, which is understandable as they only started with enough money to cover two bets.
As you can see in the tables, the average cost of using this strategy increases with higher bet sizes. This makes logical sense, as the players statistically lose a percentage of their bankroll each time they place a bet. The total wagered amount is higher with bigger bets, which also increases the average overall cost.
Best bet size to use
The ideal bet size to use with this specific strategy is $20 (or 20% of your initial bankroll) in my opinion. The best bet size for you personally could be quite different, however, but I believe that betting 20% of your initial bankroll on red or black brings a nice balance between the chance of winning big and the likelihood of enjoying the game of Roulette for an extended period of time.
By betting $20 you’ll have a 24.3% chance of making a profit after 100 spins, with a small 1.4% chance of winning five to ten times your bankroll. You’ll have a 54.6% chance of playing at least 50 spins, and the average number of spins you’ll play will be somewhere in the region of 45, which amounts to around 80 to 90 minutes of play in a live Roulette game.
Bet size analysis and simulations #2: Corner Bet (four numbers)
Let’s now take a look at the results of my simulations for players using the Constant Bet strategy and wagering their money on a Corner Bet.
| Bet size | % of total winners | Winners leaving with $100-$200 | Winners leaving with $200-$500 | Winners leaving with $500-$1k | Winners leaving with $1k-$5k | Winners leaving with >$5k | Average cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | 39.6% | 39.6% | 0.035% | 0% | 0% | 0% | $2.8 |
| $2 | 39.6% | 35.6% | 4% | 0% | 0% | 0% | $5.2 |
| $3 | 39.2% | 27.2% | 11.95% | 0.0011% | 0% | 0% | $7.4 |
| $4 | 37.2% | 18.7% | 18.5% | 0.04% | 0% | 0% | $8.9 |
| $5 | 34.24% | 16.65% | 17.1% | 0.47% | 0% | 0% | $10.1 |
| $10 | 21.9% | 4.4% | 12% | 5.3% | 0.09% | 0% | $11.2 |
| $20 | 11.8% | 0% | 4.2% | 5.5% | 2.1% | 0% | $13.1 |
| $50 | 4.8% | 0% | 0% | 1.5% | 3.3% | 0.03% | $14.2 |
| Bet size | Players losing everything before finishing 30 spins | Players losing everything before finishing 50 spins | Players losing everything before finishing 75 spins | Players losing everything before finishing 100 spins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | ~0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| $2 | 0% | 0% | 2% | 6.3% |
| $3 | 0% | 5.4% | 15.7% | 24% |
| $4 | 5.7% | 17.6% | 30.6% | 39.5% |
| $5 | 19% | 32% | 43% | 49% |
| $10 | 53.6% | 63% | 70.5% | 73.7% |
| $20 | 74.4% | 80.4% | 84.8% | 87.2% |
| $50 | 90.8% | 92.8% | 94.2% | 94.8% |
The difference is noticeable right from the start. Players betting $1 now have a chance to at least double their initial bankroll, albeit a very small one (0.035%). Additionally, the percentage of winners increased by about 10% in comparison to players betting $1 on Color.
Players betting $2 in a single spin have a better chance of finishing with at least $200 after 100 spins, or more specifically a 4% chance. 6.3% of players didn’t make it through all of the 100 spins, however, as a direct consequence of the higher overall volatility caused by placing riskier bets.
When we take a look at the other end of the table with $20 and $50 bets, it’s clearly visible that these are a bit too risky for players who’d like to have a realistic chance of spending more than just a couple of minutes at the roulette table. Only 25.6% and 9.2% of players make it through the first 30 spins respectively, with a lot of the players losing everything without even experiencing one winning game round.
$10 bets are less risky than $20 and $50 bets, obviously, but are still quite risky as more than 50% of players run out of money within the first 30 spins.
Best bet size to use
For the reasons mentioned above, the best bet size for this specific strategy is somewhere between $3 and $5. Players betting $3 in one round have quite a good chance of more than doubling their initial bankrolls (11.95%) but only a very small chance of finishing with more than $500 (0.0011%). They are sure to play at least 33 game rounds, with the possibility of playing through all 100 spins also being very high, at 76%.
Jumping to $4 bets, the chance of achieving a bigger overall win increases, but the chance of ending up with more than $500 is still extremely low (0.04%). These players have a high likelihood of playing more than 30 spins, as they only need one winning spin in order to do so. Players betting $4 get roughly 82 spins on average, which amounts to a pretty nice playing time. On the other hand, almost 40% of these players don’t make it through all 100 spins.
Players betting $5 in each game take an even bigger risk. More than half of them (51%) don’t even get to play the full 100 spins. That being said, their chance of ending up with more than $500 increases significantly in comparison to the previous two groups, but it’s still only 0.47%.
If I had to choose one of the bet sizes out of the options I’ve experimented with in my simulations, I’d most likely pick $4 for its best risk-to-reward ratio. That being said, you’d do just as well betting $3 or $5 in each game round.
Bet size analysis and simulations #3: Straight Up (one number)
Finally, let’s take a look at bet sizes for the most volatile use of the Constant Bet strategy and the most volatile roulette bet type in general – the Straight Up bet, on one of 37 numbers available on the Roulette table and the Roulette wheel.
| Bet size | % of total winners | Winners leaving with $100-$200 | Winners leaving with $200-$500 | Winners leaving with $500-$1k | Winners leaving with $1k-$5k | Winners leaving with >$5k | Average cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | 50.9% | 45.5% | 5.4% | 0% | 0% | 0% | $2.7 |
| $2 | 46.28% | 33% | 13% | 0.16% | 0% | 0% | $4.7 |
| $3 | 37.3% | 13.7% | 21.8% | 1.8% | 0.002% | 0% | $5.6 |
| $4 | 30% | 10% | 15.5% | 4.6% | 0.037% | 0% | $6.1 |
| $5 | 24.6% | 7.4% | 7.8% | 8.8% | 0.5% | 0% | $6.5 |
| $10 | 12.8% | 3.1% | 0% | 7.1% | 2.6% | 0% | $7.2 |
| $20 | 6.48% | 0% | 1.4% | 2% | 3% | 0.018% | $7.9 |
| $50 | 2.6% | 0% | 0% | 0.54% | 1.45% | 0.62% | $8.6 |
| Bet size | Players losing everything before finishing 30 spins | Players losing everything before finishing 50 spins | Players losing everything before finishing 75 spins | Players losing everything before finishing 100 spins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | ~0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| $2 | 0% | 0% | 25.5% | 38.6% |
| $3 | 0% | 40% | 53.7% | 54% |
| $4 | 50.4% | 50.4% | 63.5% | 70% |
| $5 | 57.9% | 57.9% | 69.8% | 75.4% |
| $10 | 76% | 84% | 84% | 87% |
| $20 | 87% | 92% | 92% | 93.5% |
| $50 | 94.7% | 96.6% | 97.4% | 97.4% |
Note something strange right at the beginning of the table. The possibility of ending up with more money than you started with is higher than 50%. In my simulations, 50.9% of players who bet $1 ended up with more money than they started with. This occurred due to the specific conditions of my simulations and, more specifically, due to the number of spins being locked at 100.
To be in a profit after 100 spins, players only needed to win three or more of their spins. A big portion of players achieved this result, and ended up winning $8. In summary, a lot of players managed to win a small amount, therefore pushing the number of overall winners above 50%, while the RTP of this strategy is still, of course, lower than 100%.
The higher bets ($10, $20 and $50) all seem too risky to me. Of course, betting $50 Straight Up with just a $100 bankroll is a bit too risky, but 0.62% of the players who did this managed to win more than $5,000. On the other hand, 94.7% of them lost everything in the first two game rounds. It’s a similar situation with $20 and $10 bets, with winners winning less on average but managing to achieve slightly more play time.
$5 bets are quite interesting, but I still think they are a bit too risky for players who want to enjoy more extensive playing time. With this bet size you have to win at least one of your first 20 spins or you will run out of money. If you do manage to win one of your first 20 spins, there’s a pretty good chance you will make it through the entire 100 spins, but this only happens in roughly 42% of cases.
Best bet size to use
The optimum bet size for this specific strategy is somewhere between $2 and $4, in my opinion. It offers a good balance in terms of a decent play time and a reasonable chance of winning big.
If you want to have a good chance of playing through your entire 100 spins, and if smaller winnings are sufficient for you, the $2 bet size might be the best option. You have a 61.4% chance of playing through the full 100 spins, and a 13.16% chance of finishing with more than $200 after 100 spins.
If you would like to have a decent chance of winning more, the $3 or $4 bets are a better option. You have a 1.8% or 4.6% chance of finishing with more than $500 after 100 spins, respectively, and there is even a chance that you’ll increase your initial bankroll by a factor of 10 or more (0.002% for the $3 bet and 0.037% for the $4 bet). This also means you’ll play less game rounds on average and your chances of making it through the full 100 spins will be much lower.
Conclusion and recommendations
All things considered, the Constant Bet strategy can be interesting for players who want to enjoy the game for a decent period of time while also having a reasonable chance of winning a more substantial amount of money. There are better strategies in terms of RTP, or the possibility of winning big sums of money, but strategies that are as easy to use as this one are really hard to find.
I strongly advise that you check out the other strategies explained in the Roulette strategies article, as strategies exist that can bring you better results.
If you decide to use the Constant Bet strategy, it wouldn’t hurt to utilize a good bet type and bet size combination. For players starting with $100 and seeking to play a maximum of100 rounds, the following options are the best:
- Color Bet - $20 bet per round (20% of the initial bankroll)
- Corner Bet - $3 to $5 bet per round (3% to 5% of your initial $100 bankroll)
- Straight Up Bet - $2 to $4 bet per round (2% to 4% of your initial $100 bankroll)
The best combination might be different depending on your personal preferences , but these are the ones I personally prefer. Remember that these are the best options specifically for the Constant Bet strategy. You can achieve better results by using other strategies, which is why I recommend that you to go back to the main article and check them all out.
