The Randomness of Results in Roulette
One of the key traits of roulette is that it is subject to the so-called law of independent trials. This is not the case with other iconic casino games like blackjack where each hand you play (as well as your decisions how to play it) affects the outcome of subsequent hands. For instance, imagine you are dealt two Aces in a single-deck game. The chances of receiving another Ace if you hit are somehow reduced by the fact you are already holding two out of four Aces.
This, however, is not the case in roulette where all outcomes are actually independent of one another. This means that each outcome is neither affected by previous results nor does it influence any results that follow. That is to say, there is no way for players to obtain any handy information from previous spins that would enable them to predict correctly the results on subsequent spins.
The randomness of outcomes in land based roulette results from the random arrangement of the numbers on the wheel, which are not ordered sequentially. Such is the case in online roulette as well. The conclusion is that each of the 37 numbers on a European roulette wheel has equal chances of being spun as the rest. The odds of hitting any individual number would always be 36 to 1 as there are 36 ways to lose the bet and only a single number which guarantees a win. Similarly, if you have won with Black on the last round, the probability of hitting black again on the very next spin will remain the same despite this – 19 to 18.
Meanwhile, it is of equally great importance for players to understand that the spins in roulette are statistically related to a certain extent. While it is not impossible for Black to hit a thousand times in a row, this is highly unlikely to happen from statistical point of view. It all has to do with how much you play and how many outcomes are factored in.
This is called the Law of Large Numbers (also known as the Law of Averages) and it dictates that the frequencies of events, which have the same probability of occurring, tend to even out provided that enough trials are at hand. When it comes to probability, enough trials equals millions of times, though. Thus, if you play one million spins betting on Red/Black, roughly half of the time, you will get Red while the other half, you will hit Black. This will not be the case if you play only ten spins in roulette.
Some people tend to mistakenly use an insignificant number of trials to illustrate the Law of Averages, which is known as the Gambler’s Fallacy. For instance, one such person would win with an Odd number bet four times in a row which would lead them to believe they are supposed to bet on Even next time because an even number is “due” to come. They falsely assume the frequencies of Odd/Even outcomes have evened out. This is far from being true because each spin of the ball is an independent event and therefore, the actual probability of the Odd/Even outcomes will remain equal for the next spin and the spins to follow.
However, if that person bets on Odd/Even enough times (say one or two million times), the Law of Averages would have its say and the number of the two outcomes will become very close to equal, but not entirely, because of the additional zero pocket. Unfortunately, one will need quite a sizeable bankroll to undertake this experiment.