Playing roulette with a 'free bet' is an excellent way to play strategically at the table. On the web, the concept of analysing the table is essentially the strategy of making a 1 credit wager on both red and black simultaneously. The benefit of this approach is akin to hitting an offline casino, watching the spins with hawk like eyes and then joining in when the table looks to be to your advantage.

For example, if you have a roulette strategy you could simply load-up a game of online roulette and start wagering straight off. However, if you only start wagering for real when you see trends emerging – then you could potentially get an edge. Placing 1 unit on each colour is the cool way to achieve this goal and essentially tricks the table to spinning without placing a bet.

Now – what kind of bets can you use to take advantage of this roulette approach?

Well, let's start with something very basic and assume you're either going to bet with the table flow (or alternatively against it).

> Go with or against the flow of winning colours
> Go without or against the winning dozen trends
> Bet on hot single numbers or go against the table flow

This isn't a sure-fire winning approach – but it illustrates the kind of analytical edge it can potentate.

Progressing the concept can also be useful when using online roulette strategies such as the infamously risky Martingale strategy

>1 credit on red or black
>Spin – if you win quit but if you lose double your stake and re-spin on the colour
>Keep repeating until you win or reach a max loss limit

With the free-spin approach, you can opt to implement the system only after a number of qualifying spins have occurred (for instance after 3 or 5 winning reds or blacks, bet on the opposite colour). In theory this removes some of the risk of losing.

In Vegas the roulette table is one of the most magnificent sites on a night out in the casinos, but the game has developed a cult following on the web too. The combination of cool betting options, strategic gaming and sheer instant, graphically rich playability makes it a hard one to beat in terms of all-round appeal. However, the key to roulette is thinking about the range of odds and the probability and chance of them winning.

The famous roulette bets

Odd, Even, Red, Black, 1-18, 19-36: 1 to 1 1 to 12, 13-24, 25-36: 2 to 1 6 numbers: 5 to 1
0, 00, 1, 2, 3 combos: 6 to 1
4 number combs: 8 to 1
3 number combos: 11 to 1
2 number combos: 17 to 1
1 number: 35 to 1
Now, many roulette gamers attempt to place strategic bets by looking for patterns and betting 'with' or alternatively 'against' the table's flow.

Take a look at a few examples:

With the flow:
> Bet on the same colour on the next spin after two consecutive red/black spins
> Bet on the low dozen section after 2 winning low sections
> Bet on even numbers after 3 in a row

Against the flow:
> Bet the other colour after 3 spins of the same colour
> Bet on the high section after 5 spins without it winning
> Bet on evens after a run of odd numbers

The main question is is either of these approach the right one? Well, primarily the odds of every potential outcome do not change after each spin; for example, even after a run of 4 winning reds, its statistical chance do not change (meaning in theory there is no edge in betting with or against the table). However, logically you can argue against this 'fact' – because patterns do seem to emerge in roulette. The 'best bet' (pardon the pun) is to start playing the game, experiment and use monitor the results.