As the ball spins round so fast, you may feel as though you don't have a prayer of being able to determine where it lands or whether or not your bet will be a winner. But you never know until you play the game, and playing the game without knowledge is a great way to lose lots of money very quickly. No one wants to be a loser! But what strategy could there possibly be for a game that seems so clearly random and chaotic as roulette?

But roulette, like anything else, has certain strategies that can put you ahead of the house and ahead of the ball. By knowing the odds and placing your bets accordingly, you stand at a great advantage to use the ball to your advantage. Here are five great roulette books for your casino gaming library that are sure to give you the tools and insight you need for your strategies to make a difference:

1. Beating the Casinos at Their Own Game: A Strategic Approach to Winning at Craps, Roulette, Slots, Blackjack, Baccarat, Let It Ride, and Caribbean Stud Poker by Peter Svoboda: This book has a long title, and an even longer list of strategies for a variety of different casino games that will aid you not just in your roulette game, but in many other risk games as well. While the information is spread out fairly evenly, that does not mean any one topic is slighted as Svoboda's work spends adequate time covering tips, tricks, and strategies.

2. Casino Gambling: A Winner's Guide to Blackjack, Craps, and Roulette by Robert J. Hutchinson: Expert author Hutchinson isn't as all over the place with game variety as Svoboda, but he is just as good at providing solid information for anyone looking to succeed in three of the biggest casino games. His section on roulette is particularly compelling as he takes what appears to be a game of absolute chance and clearly and succinctly lays out how there is more to it than meets the eye.

3. Gamble to Win: Roulette by R.D. Ellison: Ellison's book is more in-depth than the previous two selections on this list because it takes an adequate amount of time and page content to go beyond the basics to some of the more advanced strategies that will show you how you can, in fact, win at roulette, and not be at the mercy of a spinning wheel and a chaotic ball.

4. Gambling Times Guide to Roulette by Scott Lang: Lang's prose presents a very matter-of-fact account of how to play roulette and how to succeed at it. He has a great comfort level with the material, and while there is some retread information here, it is a worthy addition to the popular Gambling Times series of books.

5. Get the Edge at Roulette: How to Predict Where the Ball Will Land! By Christopher Pawlicki and Frank Scoblete: Pawlicki and Scoblete's manual focuses on the odds of the game and puts the player at a better advantage than any of the other roulette books. While they are all helpful in learning the basics of the game and strategy, this is the one that will put the wheel and the ball at a disadvantage!

These roulette books are some of the only ones you'll ever need. But they can't win for you. The rest is up to you.