Roulette

The American roulette has lower odds than a French roulette game. As there are 38 pockets in all where a ball can land, and when a player bets on a single number, his winning odds are 1 to 38 which means he has a very little chance of winning. The payout for a single number is only 35 to 1 and odds are 37 to 1 in American roulette.

For bets like even numbers, odd numbers, red pocketed numbers, black pocketed numbers, numbers from 1 to 18 and numbers from 19 to 36 the payouts are 1 to 1. In case of dozen bets like first dozen, second dozen and third dozen, the payouts are 2 to 1. Same goes for column bets.  For a two number combination called as Split, the payout is 17 to 1, 11 to 1 for a three number combo which is Street. For four numbers combo, Square, a player can get a payout of 8 to 1 and 5 to 1 for a six number combo which is called Line. A five number bet on 0, 00, 1, 2, 3 combo can bring a payout of 6 to 1. This is only available in American roulette.

The European roulette offers the same payouts but the odds are better for players. Solid bets are those where there is no disparity between the odds and payouts. These bets are even money bets like betting on even, odd, low numbers, high numbers, red color or black colors. Bets that should be avoided by new players are single number bets and those which have very high disparity between the odds and payouts.

Some casinos have the ‘En Prison’ rule which can reduce the house edge to up to 1.35 %. In this rule, if the ball land at 0, then the bet is not lost immediately and it is imprisoned for the next spin. In case the bet misses again, the bet is taken by the casino. But this rule is difficult to find in casinos now. The French roulette has another rule called ‘la Partage’, which can cuts the house edge by half. According to it, in even money bet, if the ball lands on zero the player looses only half the wagered amount and not the full amount.

House edge is the percentage the casinos make on players every bet. House edge in roulette can be different for different bets. House edge also differs on different roulette wheels; French wheel and American wheel. The American wheel has 0 and 00 (double zero) while the French wheel has a single 0. The odds of your winning are 38 to 1 in an American wheel and 37 to 1 in a French wheel. So the American wheel has the house edge of 5.26% and French wheel will have a house edge of 2.70%. For players, it is always advantageous to play on French roulette wheels. As it is a game of luck and chance, there are no winning strategies which guarantee a win. The players can look for tables with offer lower house edge.

To make the game and gambling pleasant, players should familiarize with the roulette etiquettes before they start playing. Some casinos mostly in Europe require a dress code and some require a membership card of the casino to play roulette there but otherwise in America there is no such restriction on dress.

A player has to buy roulette chips as cash and regular casino chips are not accepted here. Also, mixing of different colored chips is not allowed as each player has its own set of chips.
Bets should be placed on the table after the croupier takes off the marker from the wheel after a spin and till he spins the wheel for the next round. One can even place the bets while the wheel is spinning but not after the croupier announces “No more bets, please”. You should respect this rule if you do not want a visit from the pit boss and you could be thrown out of the casino for not following this. One should never touch the laid bets of other players as only the croupier is allowed to do so. It is the croupier who handles the chips and payouts after each spin.

Players should stand slightly away from the table and not bump into others. In some European casinos, tipping a croupier is considered bad etiquettes. Most American casinos allow tipping and the amount should correspond to the betting amount.

Intriguing and complex as it may seem, the roulette game is not that difficult and is one of the easiest games in casinos. A cloth covering with the betting area on a table is called as layout. Roulette table layout is the main area and where all the bets are placed.

In American style roulette table the roulette wheel is in one corner and the layout is at the other end which has a double zero. Whereas in European style table which is mostly found in Monet Carlo casinos, the wheel is in the center and the layouts are on the either side.

The American layout has horizontally placed table with 36 numbers. Three numbers are there in one row, thus making it 12 rows and 3 vertical columns. Adjoining these numbers rows are other segments which are different in different versions. 0 and 00 are placed just above the first row of numbers. Adjoining the left side of number row are three segments which divide the table into 3 parts; first dozen (1-12), second dozen (13-24) and third dozen (25-36). Adjacent to it is another row which has following segments; 1-18 to place bets on lower numbers; Even for all the numbers falling in the even range; B for black pocketed numbers; R for red pocketed numbers; Odd for all the odd numbers and 19-36 for placing bets on these higher numbers.

There is a column bet segment which adjoins the last row of numbers 34, 35 and 36. These 3 sections, one for each column, are marked by the payout 2:1.

Roulette chips are unique because they are used exclusively for roulette and not for any other game. The chips are made durable plastic which can not be broken down easily. Regular casino chips are not used at a roulette table. Each player gets special roulette chips for betting. These chips come in different colors and each color is designated for a single player so that the dealer can keep track of the chips.

The chips have no value written on them and they only have money value after a player purchases them. The players are required to buy-in chips in exchange of cash. The dealer asks the player what denomination he wants for the chips. The default value of a roulette chip is 1$.  Once the player informs the dealer about the designated amount, the dealer places the chips near the wheel and places a marker on top of it to indicate the denomination. Some other player may put a different denomination on the same colored chip; that is why roulette chips have no value away from the roulette wheel.

When a player decides to leave, he should place the chips on the layout and ask the dealer to cash out. The player can get equivalent amount of casino chips in exchange for them. Some regulars at casinos bring roulette chips home as souvenirs and that is what makes them exclusive.

Compared to inside bets, where the odds of the ball landing on a particular square or sets of squares is minimal, outside betting has more chance of winning as the areas demarcated for betting are much bigger than the inside squares. Therefore, external bets also tend to be the lesser paying of the two. Just a result of the typical attribute of games of chance, higher stakes are inversely proportional to odds of winning!
Outside bets are divided into kind of batches where the ball might land. A player can bet on the ball landing on any of the first low 18 numbers, or on the next 18 numbers, that is 1-18 or 19-36. Really, it’s that simple with the numbers here. Also, one can bet on the ball landing on any even or odd number. Plus, there is the concept of the ‘Dozen Bet’ where in one bets on a dozen set of numbers (12!) It can be any of the 3 dozen numbers, but only from the lowest to the highest order. Since the outer layout of the table has three columns, a player can also bet on the possibility of the ball ending up in one of the three columns. This is called a Column Bet.  There is no particular sequence of blocks to be followed here. As far as betting on colors goes, one can either bet on red or black.
This was a brief overview of the simplest of the games of luck. For a more insightful journey into the world of Roulette, watch this space.

There are six different types of inside bets. The simplest of these is betting on a single number. Here, the chip or chips are bet only on a single number block. This is called a Straight Up inside bet. Next is betting on two numbers at the same time. However, these numbers have to be adjoined, in a straight line, vertically or horizontally. The chips are said to be placed on the line between these adjoining numbers (5-8 or 5-6). This is called a Split bet. A player can also bet on three numbers at a go. It’s simply betting on a horizontal strip of the wheel, like 10-11-12. The chip is placed on either one of the edges. This is called a Street as the numbers layout forms takes up a horizontal strip. Betting on a square layout, say 23-24-26-27 is called the Square or Corner bet. The chip is placed at the bisection of the lines joining the squares. Going up, betting on six numbers together or two streets to be precise is called a Six Line bet. The chip is again placed on the common line dividing the two streets. The last of the Inside bets is the Trio or betting on the lines joining the points between the numbers with squares 0-1-2 or 00-2-3 in the United States.

Finally we arrive at the most important aspect of the game. As mentioned earlier, betting is on the odds of the ball settling down on the desired number, numbers, or color on the wheel. There is a minimum and maximum bet rule that applies here, i.e., if the minimum bet is decided to be $30, then, you have to bet as much to play the game. Also, a player cannot combine his/her internal and external bet to sum up to this number!
Based on the layout of the Roulette wheel, different types of inside as well as outside betting methods are in play in modern times.

In the United States, Roulette is played with a wheel with 38 slots unlike its European counterparts where there are only 37 slots. These slots are numbered from 0-36. The United States Roulette wheel has two zeros slotted in the wheel. Due to the difference in number slotting, the house edge percentage also increases to 5.26 in the United States to the 2.63 house edge in Europe.
Also, the average amount of money you stand to win or lose in a game of Roulette is pre-determined and is usually set at $34 or $35. The house edge is calculated based on this factor. This means that if you bet only a dollar and win, you gain by either 33 or 34 dollars. On the other hand, you also stand to lose as much if luck decides to desert you. The house edge is thus calculated as
1 dollar bet × 37 out of 38 chances of losing + 35 (dollars to be won in case of a victory) × (1 chance of winning / 38 total chance) = 5.26
This holds true for the United States Roulette Wheels. As for the Europeans, the house edge would be
1 dollar bet × 36 out of 37 chances of losing + 35 (dollars to be won in case of a victory) × (1 chance of winning / 37 total chance) = 2.63