Roulette Rules and Tips

Truly a game of chance, roulette offers the best chances of any game in a casino, with about 47% chance of winning if you bet on a colour. There are a number of roulette rules you should follow, both for the table game and online roulette. Tips abound as well.

Roulette Strategy History

Roulette comes from the passions of a mathematician, Blaise Pascal, in 17th century France.  Francois Blanc, another Frenchman, eventually started the first casinos in Monte Carlo including some roulette wheels. Because it was one of the first casino games played, roulette is often called the King of Casino Games.

Roulette eventually came to US casinos as well. The difference between US roulette and European roulette is the number of “0”s.  The US roulette wheel contains “0” and “00” slots. The European wheel contains only one “0” slot. While this is a small difference, the second “00” slot increases the house, not the player’s, odds to 5.3%. European roulette offers a house advantage of only 2.7%.

Roulette Rules

Always get your roulette chips from the croupier at the table you are playing.  He/she will need to associate you with a specific colour.  Once the dealer, also known as the croupier, has “closed” the table, usually by sweeping a hand across the table, no further bets should be placed, removed or moved.  Never touch the wheel or the ball. Roulette is a very simple game. Your only decision is where to place your bet and how much to bet.  You have 47 places to bet in the U.S, 46 in Europe.

You can place more than one bet in more than one place. There are inside bets and outside bets. 0 and 00 are always losing bets unless specifically included (excluded in all outside bets.)  Line bets are included in inside bets. The inside betting options are:
One Number – place chip on one specific number, 0 and 00 included; odds of winning 37:1; payout 35:1

Line Bets:

• Two Numbers – place chip on a line between two numbers (on the line between 1 and 2, for example); odds of winning 19:1; payout 17:1
• Three Numbers/Row Bet: place chip on the outside line connecting a row (outside line 1, 2, 3, for example); odds of winning 11.667:1; payout 11:1
  Row 00 – place chip on the row containing 0 and 00; odds of winning 18:1; payout 17:1
• Five Numbers – place chip on the line connecting the 0, 00, 1, 2, 3; odds of winning 6.6:1; payout 6:1

Outside Bets:

• Dozens – place chip on the box marked 1st 12, 2nd 12 or 3rd 12; if the winning number is within your area bet, you win.  Odds of winning 2.167:1, payout 2:1
• Columns – place chip at the bottom of the long column of numbers; if winning number is within the column of your bet, you win. Odds of winning 2.167:1, payout 2:1
• Red or Black – place chip on the box marked Red or Black; if the winning number matches your colour, you win.  Odds of winning 1.111:1; payout 1:1
• Odd or Even – place chip on the box marked Odd or Even; if the winning number is odd and you bet Odd, you win.  Odds of winning 1.111:1; payout 1:1
• 1-18 or 19-36 – place chip on the box marked 1-18 or 19-36; if the winning number falls within your bet range, you win. Odds of winning 1.111:1; payout 1:1

Online Roulette

As with many online gambling games, roulette offers a chance to practice the game without the pressure of making serious mistakes.  It allows a player to learn the ins and outs of the game and practice new strategies before heading to a casino. There is usually a countdown timer to let players know how long they have to bet before a table closes, unlike the casino experience.

Rules of online roulette are much the same as brick and mortar casinos. The odds are the same as are the payouts. Of course, the risk can be far less since online minimum bets range from pennies to thousands of dollars.

Roulette Tips

There are almost as many strategies as there are roulette players. Here are some roulette tips for betting the game, regardless of whether table or online:

Change your bets often, at least every 8 spins – the reason this works, in theory, is because it is unlikely the same number will hit twice within 8 spins.
Bet the same number every time if you plan on playing 36 or more spins – the reason this roulette tip works is because it is highly likely a number will hit 1:36 times, making back your original bankroll, so you’ll be playing with house money for the remainder of the spins.
Never bet on green – this strategy doesn’t really work. Though the 0 and 00 are “house numbers” (they are the reason the odds are in the house’s favour), the odds of either or both hitting are the same as any other number.

Bet only on red (or black) – this strategy works 47% of the time. The same for the odd/even or 1-18/19-36 strategy.

Written By Todd Gamble

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