People often make the mistake of thinking roulette is purely based on luck. It’s not. That’s because all the games the gambling world has to offer are based on math. With that said, here are some smart strategies for making the most out of any chance you get to sit down at a real or online roulette table.

First, set yourself a budget and stick to it. There’s no reason to think your chances will go up just because you spent a bunch of money and didn’t win yet. Your odds stay the same no matter whether you just won a million dollars or lost a million. Don’t risk more than you can afford.

Next, pick your table carefully. American roulette tables actually pay out at about half the rate of their European counterparts, so it makes sense to go Euro in this case. The odds aren’t great on either continent, however, so don’t think this is going to guarantee a bigger return on your investment. European casinos average a little over 5 percent while American casinos hover more comfortably a little above 2.5 percent.

After picking your table, you clearly need to get to know the rules. American tables often have something called the “Surrender” rule, which allows you to get half your money back on even-money bets that end up on 0 or 00. European tables will sometimes have the “En Prison” rule in effect, which means if the ball lands on 0 then you get a second chance at getting your money back on the next spin; if you hit your number you won’t make money but you’ll get all the money from the previous one back.

There are also various ways that people try to cheat the system, but that’s really not something you want to get into. They likelihood of getting caught is tremendously high, and it takes the fun out of the game anyway, making it purely a business. If that’s what you’re looking for you ought to just switch sides and work for the casino.

Roulette is a numbers game, and if you play enough the odds say you’ll lose and lose heavily. But, there’s no reason you shouldn’t have fun playing the game when your pocket affords you the opportunity and while you’re there you might as well make the best out of it by learning tricks of the trade. After all, someone has to win, why shouldn’t it be you?