AIBU to rely on roulette as income

[Glucose95]

NC’d as I post my 4am thoughts…

Recently, I have become a rather frequent player of roulette.

i have tried various different approaches, and have found that on four occasions lately I have won over £50 in profit from these FOBTs through one particular strategy.

I put a small initial amount in the machine, maybe £10, and then bet perhaps £3 on red or black. The maximum stake is £2 so if I place £3 on red or black then the spin bar (red or green) will offer a 66.6% chance of activating the roulette feature. More often than not, I have been successful in placing a winning bet on red or black which increases my credit to £16 or £18.

I then consider the £6 to £8 “profit” I have made as “free bets” where I can take riskier bets without worrying about losing the original £10 “capital” I staked.

My strategy has always been to place between £1 and £2 on 0 or 00.

I feel that these machines will more frequently return 0 or 00 as it is these that give the “house edge” to the bookmakers.

I have played this strategy five times in the last two weeks on roulette FOBT’s in various different bookmakers and service stations (when I have been out and about) and on four of the five occasions I have been successful and placed a winning £72 bet on 0/00.

On average, I have only put £30 into the machine before I achieve this payout, resulting in a £40 profit each time.

I did lose £25 yesterday in Ladbrokes (I never seem to have much luck on their machines), but overall my strategy has paid off and I would say that I am in profit generally.

Has anyone else been successful on these machines (the ones in the bookmakers) using a similar strategy? Can you share your tips?

I feel that my strategy pays off more often than not, and having staked a few hundred pounds on these machines in the last few months I think I am in profit still, which is a good achievement.

Does my strategy/playing approach make sense?

I feel that 0/00 are more likely to come up on these machines as it is these numbers that give the house its advantage For instance, if 0 or 00 come up, all bets on red or black/odd or even automatically lose, so the bookmakers are more incentivised to have 0/00 come up more often on these machines?

AIBU to continue playing these machines frequently and consider roulette as part of my income?

i feel that if my strategy continues to work I will be able to use roulette as a way to increase my income by about £100 per week.

I am quite a conservative player and can quit when I realise when my strategy is not working. For example, yesterday, I left the bookmakers when I lost £25. I had another £50 in my purse that I could have kept putting into the machine but I realised that it wasn’t my day and walked away. Last month I lost £100 after I emptied my purse, but this was before I worked out how these machines worked and developed my 0/00 strategy.

Since then, I have won my £100 back and slightly more through my 0/00 strategy. I would say that despite my £25 loss yesterday, I am still marginally up through the previous wins I have had.

Does anyone else who plays these roulette machines feel that 0/00 will come up more likely, and have you had success in betting this way on roulette?

The RTP (return to player) percentage of online roulette is about 95%, OP over time you will lose money.

I do actually make a fair amount of money from online casinos, but I have a subscription to one of the matched betting sites and all the value comes from the offers of free spins/cash back etc. The actual wagering is loss-making.

The fact that you’re in profit at the moment is nothing more than the variance. I do dozens of these offers a month, and have walked away with larger than expected profits from small offers and lose money on offers that should be more profitable theoretically, just because that’s how the random nature of online casino works. The way you actually see what’s going on is by doing hundreds of them and looking at the value over time. If I just sat and wagered roulette (with whatever strategy - the bet size affects the variance, not the RTP) I’d have lost thousands.

I thought gambling winnings were tax free as you didn't have to earn them, why would anyone be telling HMRC about them?

You are correct! Thank you. I was totally wrong, so have learnt something today (hastily joins every conceivabale betting site...)
😄

OP, you need help. Ultimately you will lose.

@Glucose95 the only real winner is the casino!! how do you think they manage to survive?? I actually know a person who lost two houses to gambling!!

In the nicest possible way, you need help. This isn't normal thinking

I feel this is a slippery slope you are going down. Mindfully upgrading your gambling "hobby" to a form of "income" really crosses a line.

Your post sounds like you are justifying why you are doing it, even pointing out that you don't take to much risk but you are taking enough risk to think of it as income. I would say you breaking in the early stages of addiction and need to get out ot it.

You started a thread when you lost over £100 because you couldn’t stop. You were told to get help, you haven’t and now think you have a winning strategy. This is an addiction. And it’s does sound regular if you’re using these machines in all the place you say and also going into betting shops, so not just opportunistic while you’re in a pub or something. You’re going out for a specific trip to gamble. You’re going to lose.

Do you have a partner? Someone you can tell? You need to stop this now, give someone else you trust implicitly access to your bank account and an allowance of what you actually need each week for bills and food. No other access to money until you get help and can be trusted.

Please please stop. Gambling ruins everything. I speak from experience. What starts as a few quid here and there turns into thousands. You end up lying to cover your back and explain losses. Stop now. Seek help.

I feel that these machines will more frequently return 0 or 00 as it is these that give the “house edge” to the bookmakers

You have completely misunderstood how the house edge works. You're not more likely to win by betting on 0 or 00 because these are special numbers that come up more frequently and therefore tip the odds in your favour.

Think about it logically. Do you not think someone would have figured out such a massive loophole before you, if this was true.

You're just gambling.

I would be fascinated to read your AMA

I heard Victoria Coren Mitchell ( presenter/ex poker player) talking about this briefly he other day. Basically poker takes skill and effort but games like slots and roulette are at best chance and at worst loaded against the gambler it's not impossible to win against the 'house'.

Please stop. You cannot use the possibility of winning back small amounts on betting machines as part of your income. Gambling will drain what ever other income you do have. You'll have nothing left to show for any of it.
I've seen people on the brink of suicide and destitute who started out just like you, thinking they've got a 'system'. Like the person who says they only use heroin on weekends...

I love a bit of roulette but in a real casino, once or twice a year, 50 quid max, I know it's like throwing money down the drain, but in a fun way.

Occasionally you come off up, but never put it back on.

I seem to recall real casinos in the UK only have a single O, if it also has a double 0 that doubles the odds in favour of the house. I might be wrong.

If it was possible to beat the house, everyone would be doing it.

Roulette seems to attract punters who are convinced they know how to beat the house.

Friend of ours would be there all night and have to get the first bus home in the morning as he had no money left (£400 a night!), he did this hundreds of times, yet he had a system to beat the house.

Yeah you’re being unreasonable to think you can make a income. I thought I could make a income from it , now at 28 I’m back at mums unemployed because I lost my mortgage and my job so yeah don’t gamble it’s bad

This way madness lies.

Can't amend pp, but I meant it is not possible to win against the house!

OP if you've got netflix you may like to watch Cleaning Up. The illegal forays into the stock market are really the side story to the way a woman is ruining her life and that of her children's by gambling on online roulette. Honestly you need to stop now.

Look into Matched betting as a couple of PPs have said. It takes real work once the initial offers have worn thin but there are people who do it as their main income. But it's a full time job, not a hobby that pays well.

By the sounds of it you are well on your way to having a full blown gambling addiction, so please please please stop now while you still can.

If it was possible to make a profit playing roulette, casinos wouldn’t offer roulette.

Roulette is a game of chance, not skill. There is no “strategy” that works - lots of gamblers think they have one but it’s simply not possible.

If you think that it will be additional income then that will, over time, lead you to playing more and taking higher risks in order to “make income.”

I’m sorry OP, I think you are on a slippery slope. I am not even against gambling per se, but enjoying an occasional night out in a casino or a bet here or there is a totally different mentality to thinking you can beat the house on a long term basis. I think if you continue with this mindset and on this trajectory, you may find yourself in difficulties. Yes you left the shop when you were losing the other day, but I think soon you’ll find yourself putting more in to recover the losses because you have to make your “income” and that’s when it starts getting very dangerous.

If gamblers could consistently make money out of gambling then the industry would not exist. The business model works fantastically well and that tells you all you need to know.

I know people who do it as a hobby but they tend to go for lower risk such as horse racing. They say they break even over time but I suspect they actually lose money.

You are not cleverer than the bookies.
Just imagine them saying "give us your house"

Oh OP you've been sucked in. Get some help from Gamblers Anonymous ASAP.

Can't you see how utterly ridiculous your premise is? No mathematics, just Thinks and Feels?

You haven't even got accurate records of how much you've put in - no problem gambler ever does, because they want to keep up their gambling and the true figure of losses would make them see that they are LOSING money overall.

You are literally fooling yourself !

After all that, you think you’ve made a marginal profit?

If it really was a reliable strategy there’d be no need for ‘realising that it’s not your day’. Either it works or it doesn’t.

Anyway, if this really is a thing they will soon notice a pattern and correct it.

Play for fun by all means, but don’t count on winning. Mentally including gambling wins in your monthly income is a very unwise way of framing your gambling habit.