Roulette Columns Strategy Explained: A Complete Guide

Roulette has been a popular casino game for over two hundred years, and in that time, players have devised many ways to bet on the game.

The layout is divided into sections that include different numbers, different colors, different areas of the wheel, and a whole host of different ways to cover some of the bets on the table.

Today we’re going to look at the European wheel and do a deep dive into the Roulette Columns, a section of the wheel that is included in the ‘Outside bets’, which essentially means that you are betting on several numbers at once.

Many folks like to think that the Columns and the Dozens are slightly different versions of the same bet – both pay 2 to 1, and both have a total of 12 numbers that the player can cover with a bet in one place.

But a little closer observation will show that it’s not quite that simple, and in my opinion, the Roulette Columns Strategy offers a better bet than the Dozens wager.

The reason is because the columns aren’t completely congruent.  More on this later.

Once you have completed this article, you will know what the columns are, how to bet them, the odds of winning and how you can include the columns as part of an overall betting strategy.

Let’s get started!

What Are the Column Bets?

The Columns are three areas that allow you to bet on 12 numbers on a roulette layout. 

Like the Dozens, a winning bet pays 2 to 1.  

The Columns include the following sets of numbers

1st Column = 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34

2nd Column = 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35

3rd Column = 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36

As you might expect, when you make a roulette column bet, the 1st Column includes 6 Red and 6 Black numbers. 

What’s interesting is that the 2nd and 3rd Columns do not have an equal number of Black and Red numbers.

The 2nd Column has 4 Red numbers and 8 Black numbers, and the 3rd Column has 4 Black numbers and 8 Red numbers.

If the player is betting the columns as part of an overall strategy that requires her to bet two columns like the two Dozens in the Romanovsky System (go here for more details about the Romanovsky Roulette System), or the 24+8 System, the odds change because she’s changed the amount of numbers she’s betting on from 12 to 24.

Betting two of the three columns will give the player a 64.86% chance of hitting a winning number on a European wheel (and a 63.16% chance of hitting a winning number on an American wheel).

There is one strategy that doesn’t seem to get much coverage, and it’s one I think you may be interested in.  

It includes betting on two columns, plus uses the additional red numbers in the over-weighted 3rd column, or additional black numbers in the over-weighted 2nd column to increase the potential winnings in the player’s favor.   

I’ve never seen it in this format, but I suspect it’s probably out there, and you may have seen it yourself. 

And as always, be aware that no system has ever been shown to overcome the House Advantage on Roulette.

And I’m sure that the ‘Nairn Strategy’ won’t either. 

What it will do, however, is allow you to play for a long time and it will also help you build up a solid complimentary value.  You may actually get lucky and cash out with a decent winner.

Here’s how to place the bets for the Black-heavy 1st and 2nd columns bet, along with the results for 10 spins using this system:

Black-Heavy 1st and 2nd  Column Betting Results Table

Spin	Number that hits	Returned to player	Net Win/(Loss)
1	5 Red	Red pays $12. 1st column loses $6, 2nd Column wins $12          Win $18	+ $18
2	35 Black	Red loses $12.  1st Column loses $6, 2nd Column wins $12         Lose $6	+ $12
3	17 Black	Red loses $12.  1st Column loses $6, 2nd Column wins $12         Lose $6	+ $6
4	13 Black	Red loses $12, 1st Column wins $12, 2nd Column loses $6          Lose $6	Even
5	3 Red	Red wins $12, 1st Column loses $6, 2nd Column loses $6                 Push	Even
6	33 Black	Red loses $12, 1st Column loses $6, 2nd Column loses $6         Lose $24	- $24
7	1 Red	Red wins $12, 1st Column wins $12, 2nd column loses $6            Win $18	- $6
8	10 Black	Red loses $12, 1st Column wins $12, 2nd Column loses $6          Lose $6	- $12
9	14 Red	Red pays $12. 1st column loses $6, 2nd Column wins $12          Win $18	+ $6
10	36 Red	Red wins $12, 1st Column loses $6, 2nd Column loses $6                 Push	+ $6

You can also make it into a Red-heavy bet by changing the column bets into the 1st and 3rd columns, with a bet on Black instead of Red for the same amount of coverage.

Here’s how to place the bets for the Red-heavy 1st and 2nd columns bet with the expected results:

Red-Heavy 1st and 3rd Column Betting Results Table

Spin	Number that hits	Returned to player	Net Win/(Loss)
1	5 Red	Black loses $12.  1st column loses $6, 3rd Column loses $6          Lose $24	-$24
2	35 Black	Black wins $12, 1st Column loses $6, 3rd Column  loses $6 Push	-$24
3	17 Black	Black wins $12, 1st Column loses $6, 3rd Column  loses $6  Push	-$24
4	13 Black	Black wins $12, 1st Column wins $12, 3rd Column loses $6 Win $18	- $6
5	3 Red	Black loses $12, 1st Column loses $6, 3rd  Column wins $12 Lose $6	- $12
6	33 Black	Black wins $12, 1st Column loses $6, 3rd Column wins $12 Win $18	+ $6
7	1 Red	Black loses $12, 1st Column wins $12, 3rd column loses $6 Lose $6	Even
8	10 Black	Black wins $12, 1st Column wins $12, 3rd Column loses $6             Win $18	+ $18
9	14 Red	Black loses $12.  1st column loses $6, 3rd Column loses $6 Lose $24	$6
10	36 Red	Black loses $12, 1st Column loses $6, 3rd  Column wins $12 Lose $6	$12

As you can see, the strategy is a simple one to execute. 

Using the same results from a free roulette practice game I found online, using the Black-heavy betting strategy game gave me a win of $6, vs. the Red-heavy betting strategy’s loss of $12.

These results of 10 spins in a row demonstrate the low-risk nature of this strategy.  With a standard bet of $24, the strategy offered a very low risk and win/loss outcomes whichever way you decided to bet.

The reason it did so well is because it covers a large part of the layout, so you’re ‘betting on the favorite’ which means you win or break even most of the time.

When you do lose by hitting the zero or one of the four non-‘Heavy’ numbers, it means you lose your entire $24 bet. 

This is why you should try to find and play a European table that pays the ‘La Partage’ or En Prison’ rebate if you can. It means that the $24 loser is reduced to an $18 loser. 

It’s most important to play this strategy on a European wheel because even though the odds of hitting the numbers change by only a small amount, when you see that the American wheel has double the

amount of ‘lose everything zeroes’, it makes perfect sense to avoid that extra zero as much as you can.

On an American wheel, there are 6 numbers out of 38 that ‘lose the entire bet’, which is 15.79%. 

On the European wheel, there are only 5 numbers out of 37 that ‘lose the entire bet’, which is 13.51%, a better bet by more than 2%.

An added plus is that the Columns ‘Nairn’ Strategy is completely scalable, so you can adapt it to fit your budget easily. 

Pros and Cons of the Strategy

The Pros are obviously that it’s a very simple system to play and covers a large part of the available numbers.  Which nets out to a low risk game to play. 

There are only 5 numbers that cause a complete loss. 

The Column bets have a 64.86% chance of winning, and the Red/Black bet has a 48.65% chance of winning. 

When looked at together, there are 32 numbers that win something, so the odds of winning something on a per spin basis are 86.48%. 

Popular Columns Betting Systems

This is where it gets interesting and here’s where I differ from most of the guys who write about patterns forming out of chaos.  

Patterns in a casino are the ones in the ugly carpets and that’s about it.

Trying to find patterns in a game that is deliberately designed to not have any patterns is a fool’s errand.  They simply don’t exist, no matter how hard you try to make your case.

So if you’re reading an article about patterns forming?  They don’t.  They just don’t.

There is no pattern to a roulette ball landing in a number on the wheel. 

There is no pattern to a Baccarat shoe that appears to be forming into the Cockroach Pig or the Big Eye Boy.  You can read my Baccarat Strategy article that talks about the 5 trends to get a better idea.

The dice on a crap game don’t know that they just hit 2 x 12s in a row, and the odds of hitting a third one are exactly the same as the first one, and the second one.

I used to post a list of the hot slot machines on my casino floor.  And the cold ones, too. 

They were genuinely hot and cold – some hadn’t paid out in a while and others were paying out like a dump truck. 

But that doesn’t mean that there was a pattern there, although we humans love to identify and bet on the patterns that we think are there.

Even though they’re not.

Some Popular Column Bets That You May Have Seen

There is a way to bet that has the player betting on one column and setting the order of his bets so it may be column 1, then 2, then 3, and then back to 1 and so on.

Another way to play is to select the two columns that didn’t hit last spin and bet on them.  Increase your bet if you lose, and bet on those other two columns again, with double the bet.  Keep doing it until you win.

Then go back to the beginning again.

Combining Column Bets with Other Strategies

I believe that adding the Martingale or Fibonacci to the Columns strategy isn’t the best way to go because it just eats into your bankroll faster.

The philosophy of the Columns strategy is to play for a long time, taking advantage of the low risk that is built into the system. 

Using one of the ‘increase your bet when you lose’ strategies is the opposite of what the Columns strategy seeks to do.

Having said that, I’m a big fan of the Paroli system.  I don’t go to the casino to pass the time. 

If I go to play, I go to win.

Adding the Paroli is a way to do that, but it also increases the amount of risk you’re taking on.

The philosophy becomes win or go home. 

Wouldn’t it be better if it was win and go home.

Here’s how that might look.  Make the first $24 Column/Red bet and if you win, bet it all back on the same bet.  And if that wins, bet it all back again.  And if that wins, then you have:
 

	First bet	If it wins, bet	If that wins, bet	If that wins, you have
Red Bet	$12	$24	$48	$96
Column Bets	$6	$18	$54	$162

For a total win of $258 from a $24 bet.  And you still only have $24 of your money in action.

The Columns and the Dozens are similar bets. 

Some folks prefer the Dozens bets and like to play the Romanovsky and the 24+8 using them. 

I prefer the Columns using ‘the Nairn Strategy’, but that’s just me. 

The Nairn Strategy/Columns is a good bet to play with minimal risk, because it allows you to play for a long time, building up good comp value and possibly being able to leave with a small win. That may not be the case if you combine it with the Paroli or another riskier system though. 

It isn’t a great system to play if you want to take a shot at winning a large amount.  It develops slowly and doesn’t really offer the major return you’re looking for that may come from the other systems like the ‘Bond, James Bond’, or the ‘Reverse Martingale/Paroli’ system. 

Practical Tips

I like the system I listed above because it’s a way to play low risk and possibly have a reasonable chance to win. I wouldn’t add in the Paroli/Reverse Martingale or the Fibonacci because they become morehigh-risk as you bet more. 

Of course, money management is a big part of how well you’re going to do playing the Columns system. 

I would make sure my bankroll is sufficient to cover the bets I want to make.  With a $24 bet per spin, you should take a minimum bankroll of $480 to the casino. 

That should allow you a couple of hours of playtime on a moderately busy game.

Conclusion

The Columns strategy is similar to the Dozens in that it is usually played in a similar fashion.  Both allow you to bet on either 12 or 24 numbers with similar odds.  The bet on two of the Columns gives you a 64.86% chance of winning, which means you are betting on the favorite. 

The Nairn System I included above is a good one to bet as it is low risk and will give you the opportunity to play for a long time and experience a lot of small wins.  It is ideal for a beginning player as you will become familiar with the roulette game, and once you’re comfortable, you will be able to expand your strategy into the more challenging parts of the game.

The Columns strategy does not overcome the House Advantage because no system can do that, but it is a simple and easy to understand system.

 And good luck.