Earth Icon
LANGUAGE & LOCATION

What are Dominant Diamonds and How They Affect Roulette Outcomes?

Round Head IconUpdated May 23, 2022 - CasinoBloke

Roulette is known as one of the true games of chance, with the general belief that the outcome is calculated by using the abstract units of luck and good fortune, rather than any concrete data that can help you precisely determine the results. However, physicists and mathematicians teach us that every action can be described and predicted through a formula. Roulette spins are not an exception; a fact well known to the wheel designers, who are constantly in pursuit of the “perfect” wheel. One hitch in all that is known as Dominant Diamonds in roulette. Let’s look at what that entails.

While this has inevitably resulted in the production upgrade and constructions of the roulette wheels that are advertised as impossible to predict, the laws of physics have remained unconquered. Creating new patterns of probability and constantly proving that there is no randomness in our universe. The main principle of roulette spins predictability is a phenomenon called Dominant Diamonds.

What are Dominant Diamonds?

Dominant Diamonds are certain sections of a roulette wheel that affect the ball in different ways. If used correctly, they can be a factor in trying to predict roulette outcomes.

Each wheel consists of 5 basic elements: Base, Pockets, Rotor, Ball Track, and Diamonds. The Diamonds are metal parts located in different areas of the wheel that can affect the final position of the ball. Not all Diamonds are equally effective in disrupting the ball, but the ones that have the highest level of interference are called Dominant Diamonds.

Taking a closer look at the ball during the spins, one will notice that it tends to hit some Diamonds more that others – an effect virtually impossible to avoid mostly due to ball track damage caused by friction. In most cases, the wheel will have two Diamonds that will “communicate” with the ball more than others.

The most important factors relevant to Dominant Diamonds are:

  • Wear and tear of the ball track
  • Wheel angle
  • Dealer signature
  • Dominant Diamond and ball bounce

Dominant Diamonds and Ball Track

The ball track in roulette is the part of the wheel on which the ball spins before it settles into the pockets. It is very closely related to the Dominant Diamond effect.

Usually made out of plastic coated wood, the track is susceptible to damage caused by the ball, regardless of the level of wheel maintenance. Delicate fractures in the wood are bound to occur even if the wheel is rotated on a regular basis.  Every such imperfection will inevitably influence the ball and direct it to a certain Diamond. Of course, the ball track damage will occur much faster if the wheel is used sporadically, however, frequent usage will not prevent the damage from occurring, although it will postpone it. The casinos are well aware of that, which has lead to an increased demand for a more resistant ball track, such as Velstone ball tracks.

The wheel does not even have to be used to have imperfections that can “de-tour” the ball. Although precision is imperative when it comes to roulette wheel design, manufacturing defects are inevitable and even the slightest of lines can make a world of difference. This effect is known as a “biased wheel” and a careful spotter can take advantage of it even before the casino software catches it.

Needless to say, the effects of the physical wheel on roulette ball movements are related only to live dealer roulette if you’re playing online.


Click here to check out 888 Casino, one of the best sites to play live dealer roulette!


Dominant Diamonds and Wheel Angle

The angle of the wheel table also counts and any steep surface, no matter how delicate, can lead to Dominant Diamonds. According to some official studies conducted by government laboratories, the skew of the surface beneath the wheel can only be one millimetre to cause certain Diamonds to become dominant.

Over time, the shaft supporting the rotor of the wheel (spindle) can bend, which will also affect where the ball ends up – the two above described occurrences are very easily missed and practically impossible to prevent.

Dealer Signature

The human factor is usually the weakest link when determining the pressure points of a system. As most of the wheels are operated by croupiers, dealer signature became one of the most commonly exploited advantages by roulette enthusiasts. For this to actually work, one has to come across a perfect combo of a dealer and the wheel.

More often than not, the dealers tend to use the same speed when rotating the wheel; the speed will further affect how the ball behaves, and considering that we can actually determine the final position of the ball according to the bounce, speed is one element of the equation you do not want to ignore.

There are of course limitations to using this method – the accuracy rate on modern wheels is below 3% and rotating the dealers makes it extremely difficult to make this a lasting strategy.


See how the best dealers in the world work at LeoVegas!


Dominant Diamonds vs Ball Bounce and Scatter

Interestingly enough, the way the ball bounces and scatters away will also result in a certain degree of predictability. If we decide to monitor the behaviour of the ball after it falls from the track in the course of 50 spins, we are likely to notice patterns emerging. To keep the records, you may divide the ball falls into several types and differentiate them according to letters. Type A, for example, will occur on 15 spins, where the ball hits the Dominant Diamond and rests approximately 5 pockets away from the number directly beneath the Diamond in the moment of contact.

Type B comes on 10 spins after the ball briefly brushes against the Dominant Diamond and hits a new Diamond, ending up 10 pockets further.  With Type C that occurs on another 12 spins, the ball will ricochet of a non-dominant Diamond while Type D is where the ball misses all the Diamonds on a total of 10 spins. Finally, 3 times out of 50, the ball will fall out of the track completely and run over the rotor before resting in one of the pockets, which can be categorized as Type E.

Even if some of the types result in an outcome different than expected, statistical data collected in the selected number of spins will outweigh the deviation from the pattern. This also means that you may not be able to accurately predict the winning number on 50 spins, but the chances of doing that are significantly higher on 15 spins.

If you are looking to give online Roulette a chance, check out our selection of best Roulette online casinos.

Again, though – all of this only applies to live dealer roulette. After all, the peculiarities of the roulette wheel do not apply to computer-generated numbers. Click here to find the best live casino sites online!

Casino Bloke highly recommends Drake Casino for US players and Mr Green for non-US Roulette lovers.

Round Man Blue

About Casino Bloke

The team behind CasinoBloke consists of casino experts united in their desire to spread knowledge to a wider audience. The aim is, and always has been, to help even the most inexperienced players gain their footing in this exciting industry. The enthusiastic members dedicate time and energy to the creation of potent and insightful content. With years of experience in various fields of this industry, our expert authors know precisely what to look for while searching for casino quality.