You have to control the amount that you bet in roulette or else you risk losing everything!

In fact this applies to all casino games, if you want to put big bets on a single outcome, remember there is always a chance you will lose.  For example you are playing roulette and you see the ball land on black a few times, then you decide right now its going to be red…. you just have a feeling….  you just know it has to be red this time….

So what do you do?  You of course push a whole lot of chips onto the board and this time you are going for red…

Forgetting that there is still only a 50% chance that red will come up…. We forget about common sense and good reason…. forget there is still a 50% chance of it not being red and that the ball will end up on black again!

If you want to put large bets on a single outcome, then you must be able to accept losing all your chips - you are then gambling for fun and do not need the money if you lose.  With big bets you may win more money if you are lucky… bigger risk… bigger gain… not for the faint hearted.

If you want to try and prolong your game or make a steady profit then it is better to exercise caution and use control bets or control the amount you bet, to minimise your loss.  So you analyze the situation and bet accordingly.

It doesn’t matter whether you are playing at a real life casino or a web casino, you still have to control your betting amounts.  In fact online it is even harder because you don’t physically see the chips or the money.  Your chips are just numbers on the screen and when they run out then you reach for the credit card and top them up…

To put it simply – if there is a small chance of winning, then bet smaller amounts.  Bigger chance of winning then bet bigger.

Another great method for placing bets is by using the Kelly Criterion, check this formula:

Formula: (odds x estimation – 1)/(odds – 1)

Example:
Betting capital: $1000
Odds: 5,00
Estimation: 0,25 (25 %)
(5,00 x 0,25 – 1) / (5,00-1) = 0,0625 (6.25%)

The recommended amount to bet is 6.25% of your capital, which would be $62.50.  An easy to remember and calcualte formula that helps you work out the optimal amount to bet.