Index → Bankroll
Roulette bankroll management, with numbers
The house edge decides what roulette costs over a year. The bankroll decides whether you are still at the table at the end of tonight. Two players with the same stake and the same bet can have identical expected loss and completely different experiences, because one brought enough money to ride out the swings and the other did not. This page is about bringing enough.
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Expected loss versus what actually happens
At £5 on red for 100 spins the expected loss is £13.50. Almost nobody finishes at minus £13.50. Roughly a third of sessions finish ahead, a third finish between zero and minus £40, and the rest are worse. The spread is what a bankroll has to cover. The average is what the year costs.
Bust probability by bet
Start with £100 and play 100 spins at a fixed stake. The chance of running out before the 100th spin, from simulation:
| Bet | Stake | Chance of busting | Typical finish if not bust |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | £5 | about 7% | minus £15 |
| Red | £10 | about 40% | minus £30 |
| Straight-up | £5 | about 75% | wide spread |
| Straight-up | £2 | about 30% | wide spread |
Same edge in every row. The difference is entirely variance against bankroll. A £5 straight-up with £100 behind it is 20 units, and 20 units at a 1-in-37 bet is not enough to expect a single hit, let alone a run.
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A staking rule that holds up
For even-money and dozen bets, stake 1% to 2% of the session bankroll. For numbers, 0.5% to 1%, or spread the same money over fewer spins. On £100 that means £1 to £2 on red, 50p to £1 on a number. It sounds small, and it is, because the bankroll is small. The alternative is a session that ends by running out, which is the one ending that cannot be improved by anything that happens afterwards.
To keep the bust chance near 5% on £100 at red over 100 spins, the stake works out at about £4.40. Call it £4 and you have a session that lasts.
Systems and bankroll
Every progressive system needs more bankroll than flat betting at the same base, because it will at some point ask for a bet many times the base. Martingale from £5 needs £635 to survive seven losses, which is a 127-unit bankroll for a 1-unit target. Fibonacci and D'Alembert need less but still more than flat. Paroli needs no more than flat, because it only escalates after wins and the escalation is paid for by the table. If the bankroll is limited, the system should be too.
Separating the money
A session bankroll should be money set aside, deposited once, with no reload and a deposit limit on the account that enforces it. Winnings go out the same day. The next session starts from the same place. That structure does more for long-run results than any choice of bet.
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Asked and answered
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How much bankroll do I need for roulette?
For outside bets, 50 to 100 times your stake survives most sessions of 100 spins. For single numbers, 100 to 200 times. Less than that and running out before the session ends becomes the likeliest outcome.
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Should I raise my stake when I am winning?
Only within a plan decided beforehand, such as Paroli's three-step ladder. Raising stakes because you "feel hot" is the same mistake as raising them to chase a loss, in a better mood.