Understanding Roulette Column Bets

Love playing roulette but tired of betting on red/black or odd/even? Column bets might be just the thing you need. And when you know that betting on columns in a certain way can give you close to a 66% chance of winning, it becomes an even more attractive option.

Column Bets

To bet on a column in roulette is to place an outside bet on the twelve numbers contained in one of the long columns of numbers that stretch across the table. If the ball lands on one of those numbers, your bet pays 2 to 1. So, if you place a column bet of 5 C$ you'll get 10 C$ plus your original stake of 5 back.

You can bet on or against column streaks by rebetting winnings, or a small portion of them if you're playing it safer, in the hope that numbers from your chosen column will keep appearing. On the other hand, some players like to wait for a few spins (usually three or more) landing on numbers outside of their chosen column then start betting aggressively on it.

However foolproof such actions may appear, you should always remember that previous spins have no bearing on what will happen next!

Column Play Strategy

The 3:2 strategy is built around placing a bet on a column and a colour, in one of the following ways:

• Bet 2 units on the 2-35 column and 3 units on red
• Bet 2 units on the 3-36 column and 3 units on black

You won't win every time, but this system helps you to offset some of your losses and maximise your chances to win by covering much of the wheel; even when you lose your column bet, you have a decent chance of getting your colour bet back.

In a land-based casino, this is a decent strategy for making your bankroll last and getting some free drinks out of the casino!

"Canuck roulette comes with many different betting strategies, but can be learned fast, though it takes long to master advanced strategies and gameplay."

Betting On Multiple Columns

When you bet on red or black, the odds of winning are fairly close to 50/50. When you switch to column betting, the probability of a win drops to 32.4%. This can be hard for players to swallow, as it means that they'll see fewer wins. Because of this, some players choose to bet on multiple columns.

Place a bet of 5 C$ on two columns and, if any of those 24 numbers come up, you'll get your original stake back plus 5 C$ winnings. The reward may be lower than betting on a single column, but so is the risk. Betting on two columns means that you should win just shy of 65% of the time.

There's still the risk of an unlucky streak hitting your bankroll hard, but betting on multiple columns can be a good way to slowly build your bankroll without the risk associated with inside bets.

Risks Of Column Betting

We've already seen above that, if you're betting on a single column, the odds of winning are lower than even money bets. On the other hand, when you're betting on multiple columns, a loss will hit your bankroll harder.

Betting systems that involve doubling up bets after a loss might seem appealing but they're often undone by the betting limits on roulette tables. Having said that, you're more likely to have success with them on column bets–especially when betting on multiple columns.

Column betting isn't necessarily the next step up from betting on red/black or even/odd, but it can be a slightly riskier or less risky–depending on whether you bet one or two columns–bet that many Canadian players take a shine to!