While roulette is generally considered to be a relatively simple game, there are some casino based differences that can throw the unfamiliar player off. While only one of the rule variations significantly alters the outcome of the game, all of them have the potential to result in poorly placed or mistakenly placed chips or bets. Graphic courtesy MGM Grand, AU Rules and how to play Roulette: Roulette was first played in France back in the 17th century. It is now one of the most popular European gambling games and Monte Carlo in Monaco is a well known and famous casino centre for playing roulette. At American tables, the '00' slot increases the casino's advantage even more. On a roulette table with a single zero, the casino has an advantage of 2.7%. On a roulette table with a double zero, the casino has an advantage of 5.26%. Some French tables will employ rules that generally help out the players.
Roulette is probably the simplest game to understand in the internet casino but it also has one of the worst odds in casino gaming. If you are looking for a game that is easy to understand, but you are willing to sacrifice on the house edge, then roulette might be your game. Let's start with a short explanation of what the game Roulette really is.
What is Roulette
Roulette is a casino and gambling game named after the French word meaning 'small wheel'. In the game, a croupier spins a wheel in one direction, then spins a ball in the opposite direction around a tilted circular surface running around the circumference of the wheel. The ball eventually falls onto the wheel and into one of 37 (in European Roulette) or 38 (in American Roulette) coloured and numbered pockets on the wheel.
The Roulette Wheel
The main pockets are numbered from 1 to 36 alternating between red and black, but the pockets are not in numerical order around the wheel, and there are instances of consecutive numbers being the same colour. There is a green pocket numbered 0, and in American Roulette, there is also a second green pocket marked 00.
Roulette Table Layout
Players can place a variety of ‘inside' bets (selecting the number of the pocket the ball will land in, or range of pockets based on their position), and ‘outside' bets (including bets on various positional groupings of pockets, pocket colours, or whether it is odd or even).
The payout odds for each type of bet are based on its probability. There are usually posted rules for table minimum and maximum bets, and these rules usually apply separately for all of a player's ‘inside' and ‘outside' bets for each spin.
Progression of the Game
In Roulette, the first thing that has to be done is a bet has to be placed, that is, the amount of money that you are going to wager, and where you want to place the bet, i.e., which number or combination of numbers.
The dealer will spin the wheel, which will spin multiple times until the ball finally chooses a slot to drop into, which will become the winning number.
How To Play In Casino Roulette
Players can bet on an individual number, any combinations of numbers, red or black and odd or even numbers. If a player bets on an individual number and the number is where the ball drops, then the payoff is 35 to 1.
Players can also choose to bet a combination of numbers if they wish as well. For instance, a player may want to bet on four numbers and can't decide which one so he may place the bet in the corner of all four numbers. For example, 10-11-13-14 corner and if one of the numbers is the winning number on the spin, then the wager will pay off at an 8 to 1 payoff.
The Roulette wheel's bets payoff anywhere from 2 to 1 all the way up to 35 to 1.
Most online tables will indicate what the table minimum is as well as reinstate the rules of the game through the help function.
Roulette Betting Types
Inside Bets
- Straight Bet: a single number. The chip is placed entirely on the middle of a number square.
- Split Bet: a bet on two adjoining numbers, either on the vertical or horizontal (as in 14-17 or 8-9). The chip is placed on the line between these numbers.
- Street Bet: a bet on three numbers on a single horizontal line. The chip is placed on the edge of a line of a number at the end of the line (either the left or the right, depending on the layout).
- Corner Bet (or square): a bet on four numbers in a square layout (as in 11-12-14-15). The chip is placed at the horizontal and vertical intersection of the lines around the numbers.
- Sixline Bet (or ‘sixaine'): a bet on two adjoining streets, with the chip placed at the corresponding intersection, as if in between where two street bets would be placed.
Nba draft prop bets 2019 printable.
Outside Bets
- Even Money Bets: a bet on 18 numbers. This is placed in the box representing the attribute (black/red/low/high/even/odd) that you wish to bet on.
- Group Bets: a bet on the first, second, or third group of twelve numbers.
- Column: a bet on all 12 numbers on any of the three vertical lines (such as 1-4-7-10 on down to 34). The chip is placed in the space below the final number in this string.
Advanced Betting Options
Once you have mastered the basics of the roulette wheel, why not take a look at some of the more advanced betting options available to you.
Many casinos have an Advanced Betting section that allows you to place 1 bet which will place chips of an equal value on numbers relevant to that type of bet.
This is best in French roulette, which has 1 zero as opposed to American roulette which has 2. The odds are, therefore, better. We would always advise steering away from American roulette when you have the option.
A lot of players who enjoy roulette feel that the advanced bets available in French roulette, and often on European roulette online too, enhance the chances of winning as you cover a particular area of the wheel as opposed to random numbers. They feel that in a land-based casino if the dealer spins the ball in the same direction and at the same speed each time, it will finish an equal number of slots away as the previous spin, and by covering this area they maximize their chances of getting a win. This doesn't apply to a casino website which uses a random number generator to provide results, but many players follow this type of bet online too.
Some players also feel that rules, known as En Prison and La Partage in French Roulette, give an enhanced payout as well. Many people attribute the introduction of these to the increasing interest in Roulette both online and offline as more and more players decide to try the game.
The bets mentioned above are Call Bets but are often referred to by players as Special Bets. They back a set amount of Straight numbers as opposed to Even Chance Bets or Corner Bets, so the payouts are reasonably high despite the number of bets used.
Voisins du Zero, Tiers du Cylindre, Orphelins in Plein and Orphelins en Cheval are the 4 most common Special bets found in casinos both online and offline. These are all French terms although English speaking players are better off using the relevant translations in order to better understand how these Special Bets work.
Voisins du Zero
This means essentially ‘Neighbours of zero'. This is a bet which covers all the numbers adjacent to zero on the wheel.
When we mention a Neighbours bet, we are referring to all the number either side of the relevant number, including the number itself, as you will see from the image above.
See the above table layout for detailed instructions on how to play. Normally, of course, you will just select this bet from the expert menu if you are playing online roulette, or you will just call it out to the croupier.
The Voisins Du Zero is a 9 chip bet that covers 16 numbers on either side of the zero. Including 0 itself, it covers 17 numbers. The further away you get from Zero, the fewer chips are bet.
Starting from 22 on a wheel, it covers 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26, the number zero, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2 and 25.
9 chips are on split bets, the trio, and a corner bet. (or multiples of 9, if you were to bet 18, for example, it would double the amounts bet on the below example)
On the above example, we have bet
10 chips on the 0,2,3 trio
5 on the 4/7 split
5 on 12/15 split
5 on 18/21 split
5 on 19/22 split
10 on 25/26/28/29 corner
5 on 32/35.
Although it looks complicated and time-consuming when viewed as above, especially as there is often little time between spins, it should be noted that there is normally an Advanced option when playing online which will automatically allow you to bet the above with one click. Similarly, if you ask a croupier to place a Voisins Du Zero bet in a land-based casino, they will be able to do so in double-quick time.
Players can also choose to bet a combination of numbers if they wish as well. For instance, a player may want to bet on four numbers and can't decide which one so he may place the bet in the corner of all four numbers. For example, 10-11-13-14 corner and if one of the numbers is the winning number on the spin, then the wager will pay off at an 8 to 1 payoff.
The Roulette wheel's bets payoff anywhere from 2 to 1 all the way up to 35 to 1.
Most online tables will indicate what the table minimum is as well as reinstate the rules of the game through the help function.
Roulette Betting Types
Inside Bets
- Straight Bet: a single number. The chip is placed entirely on the middle of a number square.
- Split Bet: a bet on two adjoining numbers, either on the vertical or horizontal (as in 14-17 or 8-9). The chip is placed on the line between these numbers.
- Street Bet: a bet on three numbers on a single horizontal line. The chip is placed on the edge of a line of a number at the end of the line (either the left or the right, depending on the layout).
- Corner Bet (or square): a bet on four numbers in a square layout (as in 11-12-14-15). The chip is placed at the horizontal and vertical intersection of the lines around the numbers.
- Sixline Bet (or ‘sixaine'): a bet on two adjoining streets, with the chip placed at the corresponding intersection, as if in between where two street bets would be placed.
Nba draft prop bets 2019 printable.
Outside Bets
- Even Money Bets: a bet on 18 numbers. This is placed in the box representing the attribute (black/red/low/high/even/odd) that you wish to bet on.
- Group Bets: a bet on the first, second, or third group of twelve numbers.
- Column: a bet on all 12 numbers on any of the three vertical lines (such as 1-4-7-10 on down to 34). The chip is placed in the space below the final number in this string.
Advanced Betting Options
Once you have mastered the basics of the roulette wheel, why not take a look at some of the more advanced betting options available to you.
Many casinos have an Advanced Betting section that allows you to place 1 bet which will place chips of an equal value on numbers relevant to that type of bet.
This is best in French roulette, which has 1 zero as opposed to American roulette which has 2. The odds are, therefore, better. We would always advise steering away from American roulette when you have the option.
A lot of players who enjoy roulette feel that the advanced bets available in French roulette, and often on European roulette online too, enhance the chances of winning as you cover a particular area of the wheel as opposed to random numbers. They feel that in a land-based casino if the dealer spins the ball in the same direction and at the same speed each time, it will finish an equal number of slots away as the previous spin, and by covering this area they maximize their chances of getting a win. This doesn't apply to a casino website which uses a random number generator to provide results, but many players follow this type of bet online too.
Some players also feel that rules, known as En Prison and La Partage in French Roulette, give an enhanced payout as well. Many people attribute the introduction of these to the increasing interest in Roulette both online and offline as more and more players decide to try the game.
The bets mentioned above are Call Bets but are often referred to by players as Special Bets. They back a set amount of Straight numbers as opposed to Even Chance Bets or Corner Bets, so the payouts are reasonably high despite the number of bets used.
Voisins du Zero, Tiers du Cylindre, Orphelins in Plein and Orphelins en Cheval are the 4 most common Special bets found in casinos both online and offline. These are all French terms although English speaking players are better off using the relevant translations in order to better understand how these Special Bets work.
Voisins du Zero
This means essentially ‘Neighbours of zero'. This is a bet which covers all the numbers adjacent to zero on the wheel.
When we mention a Neighbours bet, we are referring to all the number either side of the relevant number, including the number itself, as you will see from the image above.
See the above table layout for detailed instructions on how to play. Normally, of course, you will just select this bet from the expert menu if you are playing online roulette, or you will just call it out to the croupier.
The Voisins Du Zero is a 9 chip bet that covers 16 numbers on either side of the zero. Including 0 itself, it covers 17 numbers. The further away you get from Zero, the fewer chips are bet.
Starting from 22 on a wheel, it covers 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26, the number zero, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2 and 25.
9 chips are on split bets, the trio, and a corner bet. (or multiples of 9, if you were to bet 18, for example, it would double the amounts bet on the below example)
On the above example, we have bet
10 chips on the 0,2,3 trio
5 on the 4/7 split
5 on 12/15 split
5 on 18/21 split
5 on 19/22 split
10 on 25/26/28/29 corner
5 on 32/35.
Although it looks complicated and time-consuming when viewed as above, especially as there is often little time between spins, it should be noted that there is normally an Advanced option when playing online which will automatically allow you to bet the above with one click. Similarly, if you ask a croupier to place a Voisins Du Zero bet in a land-based casino, they will be able to do so in double-quick time.
Tiers Du Cylindre
This is a similar kind of bet to the Voisins Du Zero bet but covers 12 numbers on the opposite side of the wheel.
Starting at the number 33, it covers all numbers round to 27.
The range is 33, 16, 24, 5, 10, 23, 8, 30, 11, 36, 13 and 27.
These are all Split bets of equal amounts. The total bet is 6 units and returns 18 units, including your stake if any of the numbers come in.
This is the 2nd most popular Special Bet behind the Voisins Du Zero and comes in 32% of the time.
Orphelins
You may have noticed that the Voisins du Zero and Tiers du Cylindre bets cover a lot of numbers between the remaining numbers, 8 in total, are covered by another bet, the Orphelins. This literally translates to the Orphans bet.
It covers 2 sections on the wheel, from 17 round to 6 (17, 34 and 6) and on the other side, 9 round to 1 (9, 31, 14, 20 and 1).
There are 2 different types of Orphelins bet which differs in terms of the chips and types of bet, although the numbers are the same in both.
The most common is the Orphelins en Cheval bet. It covers 8 numbers with 5 chips using a combination of Split and Straight Up bets.
The only Straight Up bet covers the number 1 with 4 Split bets covering 6 & 9, 14 & 17, 17 & 20 and 31 & 34.
Orphelins en Cheval bet layout
The main difference between this and the other Orphelins bet, the Orphelins en Plein bet, is that this one uses only Straight Up bets. It does cost more but the rewards are greater on all except the 1 (which is covered as a Straight bet in Orphelins en Cheval) and the 17 (this is covered twice as a Split bet in Orphelins en Cheval).
Orphelins en Pleit layout
As with the other Special bets, there will be a section in the Advanced Options when playing online to place either of these with one click, or in a land-based casino, the croupier will be happy to help place the bet/s quickly for you.
The next strategies are much easier to learn and we recommend them to our beginner players.
Roulette is a game that is easy to understand, but most of the time the easier the game is to understand the greater the house edge and with roulette, this is no different. Ever since the roulette wheel was invented in the 17th-century people have been trying to beat the house edge with their betting systems. While betting systems can increase the fun level of gambling and might give you an edge, do not expect to get rich on them. You can win in the short term but it has been proven the casino usually wins in the end. With our roulette strategy we will show you:
- Two strategies that work
- How to use every edge to increase your odds
- A good short-term Roulette strategy
Roulette Rules
As you can see, roulette is not all about picking a number or a section, giving your chips to the dealer and just standing there watching what will happen. There are some rules that you need to follow which will be explained below:
Rule #1 – How to get chips?
The roulette chips in most casinos differ from the chips used for other table games. In fact, roulette chips are in several colours and can be of any denomination you want. You need to sit at the roulette table and show the dealer the money you want to play with. Tell the dealer how much you want the chips to be worth. The dealer will correspondingly give you your chips with the same value you wanted.
Rule #2 – How to determine the value of the chips?
The common denominations of chips for other table games are $1 (white chips), $5 (red chips), $25 (green chips) and $100 (black chips).
Now, roulette chips are the coloured chips which can have the denomination you want. The thing is, each player at the table can have a different denomination for, say, the red chip. This may get confusing at times, especially for the dealer who needs to keep track of every player's chip colours and values all the time. One idea is to mentally label them going from your less favourite to your most favourite colour. Make the less favourite colour $1, say, then continue to your favourite colour which will be $100. Whichever strategy you choose to memorize them, make sure you remember the denominations and not get confused, since the dealer will only know the amount of bet you want to place from the colours of the chips you're selecting.
How To Win On Casino Roulette
Rule #3 – When to bet?
You cashed in and now you are waiting for the betting time to begin. A small object on the table called a 'puck' or a 'buck' indicates the last number that was hit. When the dealer removes it from the object, you may start betting. If you cannot reach the section or number you intend to bet on, the dealer will help you out.
Rule #4 – How to bet that bet or those bets?
You need to know where to put your chip depending on the section or number you want to bet on. If you're betting on a number or numbers, you put your chips straight on the number(s). However, if you're betting on propositions outside the layout, such as high/low, odd/even, red/black, you place the chips right on the proposition. You place your chips exactly on the proposition if you're betting on the first, second or third column or dozen. When betting on two numbers next to each other, you put your chip on the line between them. You place your chip on the outside border of the three numbers if you're betting on a Street. If betting on Corner or four numbers that form a square, you need to place the chip at the intersection. To place a Sixline Bet, you put your chips on the outside border on the intersection where the two streets meet.
Rule #5 – When you must stop betting?
When the wheel is spun, and there are still people placing chips, the dealer will wave with the hand over the layout and say 'No more bets' and that will be your cue to stop betting. If you don't, the dealer will disqualify your bet.
Rule #6 – How to handle other players at your table?
Sometimes, some players on the table can get over-excited to place their bets or are just impatient, so they shove or push other players to get their bets down. If you bump into such a player, gently ask them to please place their bets less aggressively, or ask the dealer to do so. If nothing works, leave the table and find another one to join, with less annoying players.
Rule #7 – What happens if you win?
When the number hits, the dealer will call it out, put the 'puck' or 'buck' on the number, and remove the losing bets from the table. Then, the dealer will pay the winning bets.
Rule #8 – What happens if you lose?
If you lose, you still wait for the dealer to remove the losing bets, yours included, and pay the winning ones. You need to wait for the next betting round if you wish to proceed, or you can leave the table if you wish to stop playing.
Rule #9 – When to start betting all over again?
Only when the dealer has removed the 'puck' or 'buck' from the winning number you may resume your betting.
Most strategies involved in Roulette are related to which bets to place. We will discuss this next in Part II.
Part II – Roulette Strategy & Tips
Part III – Roulette Payouts & Odds
Featured Gambling Guides
Roulette was first played in France back in the 17th century. It is now one of the most popular European gambling games and Monte Carlo in Monaco is a well known and famous casino centre for playing roulette.
The Basics
Players, usually up to eight, play against the House represented by the croupier also called the dealer, who spins the roulette wheel and handles the wagers and payouts. In the European roulette and French roulette version, the wheel has 37 slots representing 36 numbers and one zero. In the USA most roulette wheels have two zeros and therefore 38 slots.
Each player buys-in a different coloured chips so their bets don't get mixed up. At the end of play, if you won, you exchange back the colorued chips with cash chips. These are special chips with the value amount imprinted on them. There are several denominations in various colours. You then take these chips to the cash desk where they will give you actual cash money in exchange.
To play roulette, you place your bet or bets on numbers (any number including the zero) in the table layout or on the outside, and when everybody at the table had a chance to place their bets, the croupier starts the spin and launches the ball. Just a few moments before the ball is about to drop over the slots, the croupier says 'no more bets'. From that moment no one is allowed to place - or change - their bets until the ball drops on a slot. Only after the croupier places the dolly on the winning number on the roulette table and clears all the losing bets you can then start placing your new bets while the croupier pays the winners. The winners are those bets that are on or around the number that comes up. Also the bets on the outside of the layout win if the winning number is represented.
The House advantage
On a single zero roulette table the House advantage is 2.7%. On a double zero roulette table it is 5.26% (7.9% on the five-number bet, 0-00-1-2-3). The House advantage is gained by paying the winners a chip or two (or a proportion of it) less than what it should have been if there was no advantage. (See Roulette Quiz - The Casino Advantage.)
The 'En Prison' rule
A roulette rule applied to even-money bets only, and by some casinos (not all). Decimal odds to fractional. When the outcome is zero, some casinos will allow the player to either take back half his/her bet or leave the bet (en prison = in prison) for another roulette spin. In the second case, if the following spin the outcome is again zero, then the whole bet is lost.
The 'La Partage' rule
The la partage roulette rule is similar to the en prison rule, only in this case the player loses half the bet and does not have the option of leaving the bet en prison for another spin. This refers to the 'outside' even-money bets Red/Black, High/Low, Odd/Even and applies when the outcome is zero. Both the La Partage and the En Prison roulette rules essentially cut the casino edge on the 'even-money bets' in half. So a bet on Red on a single-zero roulette table with the la partage rule or the en prison rule has a 1.35% House edge and one on a double-zero roulette table has a House edge of 2.63%.
The payouts
A bet on one number only, called a straight-up bet, pays 35 to 1. (You collect 36. With no House advantage you should collect 37 (38 in the USA on double zero roulette wheels).
A two-number bet, called split bet, pays 17 to 1.
A three-number bet, called street bet, pays 11 to 1.
A four-number bet, called corner bet, pays 8 to 1.
A six-number bet, pays 5 to 1.
A bet on the outside dozen or column, pays 2 to 1.
A bet on the outside even money bets, pays 1 to 1.
Object of the game
To win at roulette the player needs to predict where the ball will land after each spin. This is by no means easy. In fact, luck plays an important part in this game. Some players go with the winning numbers calling them 'hot' numbers and therefore likely to come up more times. Others see which numbers did not come up for some time and bet on them believing that their turn is now due. Some players bet on many numbers to increase their chances of winning at every spin, but this way the payout is considerably reduced. Other methodical players use specific roulette systems or methods, money management systems, or both.
French roulette rules
The French roulette rules are very much like the European roulette rules. It has the same 37 numbered wheel with one zero but a different table layout for the outside bets. See Table layout(Link opens new window).
The player odds in French roulette are the same as in European roulette (only one zero) and better than the odds in American roulette (two zeros). The players loose only 50% of their even-money bets when the outcome is zero, known as the 'La Partage' rule.
The object of the game is still the same - to predict which number out of possible 37 the ball will land on. And of course, they speak French. Below are the English and equivalent French terms for the various roulette bets:
Inside bets
- One number Straight up = En plein
- Two numbers Split Bet = Cheval
- Three numbers Street Bet = Transversale
- Four numbers Corner = Carre
- Six numbers Line Bet = Sixainne
Outside bets
- Twelve numbers Column = Colonne
- Twelve numbers Dozen = Douzaine
- Red or Black = Rouge, Noir
- Even or Odd = Pair, Impair
- Low or High numbers = Manque, Passe
Canasta Roulette
In Costa Rica some casino table games have different names, others have different names and different rules. Roulette in Costa Rica casinos is called 'Canasta' and is played with a double-zero layout. However, instead of using a roulette wheel the winning number is selected from a circular wire cage with numbered balls similar to the one used in bingo halls.
California Roulette
Jeff lisandro ante. The difference between California casinos and Vegas (and other) casinos is the way roulette and craps are played.
In California it is against the rules and regulations to have a roulette wheel that is spun and to have a ball drop decide which number is the winning number on the wheel. It is also against the state rules and regulations to throw dice to decide the outcome of a game.
In 2004, California legalized a form of roulette known as California Roulette. By law, the game must use cards and not slots on the roulette wheel to pick the winning number.
There are at least two variations. In some casinos, the dealer spins a wheel containing 38 cards from 1 to 36, plus 0 and 00, and after betting is closed, stops the wheel; a pointer identifies the winning card, which the dealer removes and shows to the players.
In the Cache Creek casino in northern California, a wheel resembling a traditional roulette wheel is used, but it has only alternating red and black slots with no numbers. As the ball is spinning, the dealer takes cards from a shoe and places two of them face down on the table in red and black rectangles. When the ball lands in a red or black slot, the card in the corresponding rectangle is turned over to reveal the winning number.
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
Did you know?
In every casino it is customary that the croupier starts the first round/spin of the day with the ball lying in the number slot of the date of that day. This obviously excludes the numbers 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and 0.
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