Lightning Roulette Strategy: Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

Evolution Gaming had already established itself as the leading provider of live dealer casino games long before Lightning Roulette debuted in 2018. The launch of this game established an entirely new mechanic in live casino games (the Lightning feature) and pushed other developers to produce more innovative and exciting titles. Lightning Roulette is most certainly that.

The ability to boost your wins by up to 500x a stake (as opposed to the 35:1 payout in conventional roulette) is immediately appealing. However, any perk such as comes with a counterbalance, and in Lightning Roulette, that offset is a lower paytable for conventional wins.

What does this mean for Lightning Roulette players? Find out as we explore Lightning Roulette in this strategy guide.

About Lightning Roulette

Evolution Gaming calls Lightning Roulette “an electrifying game,” and we’d concur in more ways than one. The Lightning mechanic adds spice to conventional roulette gameplay, and while it isn’t a side bet per se, it does alter the RTP rate of the game and adjust the prizes you can win. More on that in a moment, though. First, let’s run you through the basics of the game.

Lightning Roulette can be played with stakes ranging from $0.20 up to $2,000 a spin. It is mobile optimised and has a base RTP rate of 97.3% - the joint lowest of any “Lightning game” in Evolution’s portfolio. Many games are live-streamed from Latvia, but the game can be played in over twenty languages, and streams do occur from elsewhere. 

How to Play Lightning Roulette

On the face of it, Lightning Roulette looks like any conventional live roulette game. It is based on the European Roulette variant, with a digital user interface woven with a live video stream, where a human croupier takes control of the action.

Betting windows in Lightning Roulette are short – roughly twenty seconds or so, and you’ll have the usual array of suspects at your disposal regarding roulette bets. These include:

• Outside Bets: Red/Black, Odd/Even, High/Low, Column, and Dozen bets.
• Inside Bets: Straight-Up, Split, Street, Corner, Line, and Zero.

As touched on, you’ll be able to bet anything from $0.20 up to $2,000 a game or the equivalent in South African rand, euros, British pounds sterling, or any other currency you might fancy playing with. As a globally popular game, there are several. Now, onto the important part.

Before each round, a lightning mechanic kicks into gear. This does “electrify” between one and five numbers on the wheel. Known as Lucky Numbers, these will be “struck” by multipliers that stretch from 50x up to 500x.

• Winning with the Lightning Lucky Numbers: If the roulette ball lands in a pocket (number) that is struck by lightning, and you’ve wagered on the same number, you’ll pocket the multiplier associated with that pocket. With this feature, you must have a Straight-Up bet in play to bag a multiplier cash prize. Any other bet will only pay conventional winnings.

Once the ball lands in a pocket, the game ends, and prizes are rapidly paid out before the betting window opens.

Payouts and Prizes

You’ll find that the outside bets in Lightning Roulette feature the same payouts you would want to see in any European Roulette game. You’re looking at the following prizes:

• Red, Blacks, Odds, Evens, Highs, and Lows: 1:1
• Columns and Dozens: 2:1

Things get interesting when we look at the inside bets. Straight away, you will notice that the top prize for a conventional Straight-Up bet is different than you would expect in European Roulette, or even American and French roulette games, for that matter. This is because of the Lightning multiplier. The rest of the payouts for inside bets remain as normal, like so:

• Straight-Up: 30:1
• Split: 17:1
• Street: 11:1
• Corner: 8:1
• Line: 5:1
• Zero: 1:1

Remember, if you want to pocket a multiplied cash prize, you will have to wager on at least one Straight-Up bet. Multipliers associated with those numbers include 50x, 100x, 200x, 300x, 400x, and the grand prize of 500x.

The Truth About Lightning Roulette Strategies

We’ve seen many attempts to make a strategy guide for Lightning Roulette. Most fail because they merely rehash the same strategies used in other roulette games, such as the Martingale System. As you’re probably aware, there is great danger associated with these betting systems if you go on losing streaks. Moreover, they aren’t unique to Lightning Roulette.

Are there any strategies you can use to land a win on Lightning Roulette? Sadly, no. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that you can do or information you should obtain to improve your odds of success. That’s what we aim to do here.

We’re not going to tell you there is a surefire way to guarantee wins on Lightning Roulette because there isn’t. However, there are definitely ways in which you can become a better player. Let’s explore some of these in the next section.

There is a case to be made for trying your hand at XXXtreme Lightning Roulette. This sequel (of sorts) shares plenty of similarities with the original game. However, this game also provides Chain Lightning and Double Strike Multipliers. They offer the following:

• Chain Lightning Rounds: The same lightning mechanic will occur after the betting window closes. However, up to nine Lucky Number spots may be struck this time.
• Double Strike Multipliers: Any Lucky Number that a lightning multiplier has already struck may receive a second – ramping up what can be won by up to 2,000x a bet.

Any player with a penchant for Evolution Gaming’s Lightning Roulette may find that XXXtreme Lightning Roulette is a game they wish to have a crack at, to further their experience. However, we recommend that first-time players stick to the original game initially. 

Where to Find Lightning Roulette Online

As one of the most popular games in Evolution Gaming’s portfolio, you’ll find this release at any online casino that supports the software provider’s live dealer casino range. As an industry leader (arguably the top of the totem pole) when it comes to live casino games, Evolution Gaming has a broad foothold in most major casinos, so you shouldn’t run into any difficulties finding this game online.