The pleasure of roulette gambling can only be beat by one thing… the thrill of winning. The motivation to play is lost on many gambling fans, as they don't comprehend the hectic and open nature of the game. Many blackjack players prefer to not dabble in roulette, not for fear of a house edge they cannot alter, but mainly because they don't truly enjoy the chance that makes gambling thrilling. Roulette gambling is a symbol of gaming worldwide, for a simple reason. Roulette embodies what chance is; the marble around the wheel, the finite possibilities, the random result. Roulette fans enjoy the pure chance, and being able to see that chance in front of them is part of the fun. The math behind the game is fairly straightforward, and people can see clearly the chances they have of winning. This makes it easy to experiment with different strategies and combinations of bets. The best way to test out any hunches you have though is with a game that lets you play without putting your money at risk. We offer great roulette gambling, all for free, with an in-browser shockwave game. It includes bankroll tracking and a chat feature built in. With these extras, you can test your systems or strategies without ever risking your bankroll, and compare strategies with fellow players. Vegas casinos certainly wouldn't let you strike up too many serious conversations about roulette systems before excusing you from their establishment.

Outside Bets

The outside bets on a roulette board are simply the bets that reside 'outside' of the main playing area of 38 (yes, sometimes 37) numbers. There are no winning outside bets for 0 or 00 results. This is what gives the casino the majority of its house edge; people love to play the outside bets because they often seem like a 50/50 chance, when in fact they are slightly less than a 50/50 chance.

Red or Black - You can choose to bet on the outcome either being a red number, or a black number. Place this bet right in the area with the words 'red' or 'black' in them, which should be easy to reach from beside the table. Don't fall into the classic mind trick of assuming that if 5 blacks were spun, there is a better than 50% chance the sixth spin will be red. This is not logical and the reason why is described in more detail on the roulette system page. The Red/Black bet is paid even money, meaning if you bet $5, you win $5.

Odd or Even- Similar to the Red/Black bet, this even money bet is based on whether the number will be odd or even. Since 0 does not count as either, there are 36 numbers, an even count between odd and even. Place this bet by putting your chips in the middle of the square marked 'even' or the square marked 'odd', which will usually reside on either side of the black / red betting area.

Low or high - This bet lets you predict whether you think the next number to come up will be part of the range from 1 to 18, or part of the range from 19 to 36. This is an even money bet. To place this bet put your chips in the boxes with the associated number range printed in them.

Columns - At one end of the set of 38 numbers are boxes with the words '2 to 1' written in them. Each box is part of a column of numbers (if you extend a line up the body of the inside of the betting area) If a number from within the column you are betting on comes up you win, and you're paid 2 to 1.

Dozens - a bet very similar to the columns bet, dozens lets you place a bet on either the first dozen numbers (1-12), the second dozen (13-24), or the third dozen (25-36) To place this bet find the rectangular areas located in between the first outside bets (red/black, odd/even, etc) and the inside board spread. These will usually be labeled with the words 1st 12, 2nd 12, and 3rd 12. The bet pays 2 to 1.

The website for English Harbour appears very comprehensive especially on security and banking issues which is encouraging. It does stress that it is only compatible with Windows systems however. Two different downloads are offered depending on the number of games that you want to play which we think is a useful feature, especially for those of you with slow download capability.

Unfortunately, we don't think that the casino itself lives up to the expectation caused by the website. English Harbour are no longer with Microgaming and have opted for Odds-On as their software provider. We are not aware of the reasons for the move but can only assume it was for cost concerns as the new playing interface is far less impressive than the standard Microgaming interface, in our opinion. The slots are simple and dull and only offer one 5-Reel machine. The lack of bonus features becomes tedious very quickly. The triple slots function is novel and allows you to play three slots of your choice simultaneously. They are still dull however and we could not get excited by it.

The email support is non-existent in our experience. Having asked specific questions of the support team, we received a non-relevant auto-responder and some months later, still haven't received answers to our specific questions.

It is not however, all negative. If you can put up with the average playing interface, English Harbour do offer some great competitions and prize draws. These would typically include holidays to Vegas, a sports car and various cash prizes.

Remember, what we said in our introduction to Roulette, there is no beginning or end to a casino game. Casinos want you to play forever because, in the long run, they have the advantage. It is up to you to set up the criteria to make the game a real game with achievable goals and distinct rules on when the game is done. With measurable objectives, you will be able to track your results better and decide whether your strategy is working. With this feedback, you can adjust your strategy to optimize your gain when you are winning. So, here are some guidelines to use in preparing for your next gambling adventure:

• Establish your gambling pool
  Decide how much you are going to take with you. Separate the money you will use to gamble with from the rest of the money you will need for meals, entertainment, gas for returning home, etc.
• Establish how many sessions you will have
  Divide your gambling pool into equal parts for each session. Physically separate the money and only take one part with you to each session.
  
• Establish your bet start amount
  The driving force behind establishing your bet start amount will be the betting system you use. In addition, you should consider how long you want to play and how much risk are you willing to take. Of course, you could buy in at the table and bet the entire session amount on your first spin. If you lose, then you will be spending the rest of the night watching others gamble. A good rule of thumb for your initial bet amount is 1/10 to 1/20 of the session start amount.