Discipline and patience are essential to winning at the gaming tables. Last time I wrote about how most staking systems require players to chase losses by aggressively increasing stakes. Sure – some days, perhaps many days, this can work but on the disaster visits, the losses may well destroy all the past wins and much more on top. Believe me I’ve been there as I wrote in my book Roulette-Playing to Win. It was part of a learning curve that shaped my present winning philosophy.

If getting rich quick is your ambition, then playing roulette or other table games is not the answer. Poker, national or state lotteries can make you a millionaire overnight, roulette is highly unlikely to do so. Playing roulette, the art is to win most visits and on the bad days to lose less than on the winning ones. But players still come to the tables with exaggerated hopes and expectations.

Put $10 on number 5. If it wins first spin, then, receiving $350 is fantastic. It won’t happen often nor, sadly, often enough even after the first spin to be a regular money-spinner – and that is the aim for players who want to win rather than simply to enjoy the action. Winning at roulette is easy. Losing is easier. Your aim must be to win consistently and arriving with $50 and hoping to leave with hundreds is unrealistic on nearly every occasion. The way to win consistently is to be modest in your percentage targets for winning.

Roulette is a percentage game. The odds of over 5% against you every spin on the 00 wheel mean that you should be grateful for winning even a 10% return on your playing money. It is beyond the scope of this article how I play to win a greater percentage than 10% but it is fully explained in the book. Here is the truth: If you play with $100 and win $10, then you have done well! I suggest that your win target should be no more than 25 or 30% - say $30 if you play with $100. The lower your target, the better the chance of reaching it. 10% is safe and sensible.

“You crazy? Get real!” you tell me. “Winnin’ ten lousy bucks? Sure as hell, that ain’t no fun.”

“Agreed,” I reply. “So play with $1000 and win $100. Play with $10,000 and win 10%. Would a win of $1000 please you? That’s only ten percent. Would you think you had done well? Won enough for a trip to the Caribbean or Hawaii?” Most people would think taking home $1000 profit from Las Vegas was a victory. A high-rolling friend of mine brings $50,000 to the Mirage Hotel each trip. He expects to win $15,000 and has won each time on his past five visits and been comped on a full RFB basis too. His target is 30% which is not overly ambitious. But even a 10% target of $5000 would have left him with a profit big enough to make a difference to his life. Isn’t that the aim?

It really is that simple. Using the techniques explained in this series of articles and in the book, winning 10% is likely most times. If 10% does not satisfy you, don’t aim to win 100% or 200% or even 50%. Starting with one hundred dollars, don’t expect to win hundreds. Save up a larger fighting fund so you can start with more money. Practice your skills on free websites and then aim to play modestly but with more money to use. Then set a low percentage as the profit target. It works – believe me. Most people lose in the casino because they play with too little money and with too big and greedy plans to get rich.