Roulette Rules

Roulette is a very simple game of chance that involves a little white ball, a wheel with numbered slots, and the guts to lay down your bets on some of the best odds that any casino has to offer.

There are two types of roulette to choose from, European roulette and American roulette. Both games are very similar with only one major difference, on a European table there is only one 0 slot on the wheel, while on an American table there are two, the 0 slot, and the double 0 (00) slot. The American roulette wheel offers the house better odds, so whenever possible players are better off playing on a European roulette table.

Rules of the Roulette

To play the game, players place their bets before the wheel is spun. Once all bets have been placed, the table operator spins the wheel and releases the roulette ball onto the edge of the spinning wheel. The wheel consists of either 37 or 38 numbered slots in which the ball might land. 37 slots on a European table, which only has one 0, and 38 on an American table, because the American tables have the double 0 on the wheel. The rest of the numbers are 1 through 36 and are alternately colored either red or black.

Players place their bets on any number, or group of numbers they wish to wager will hit on the next spin, and if the number the ball lands on is one of those bet on by the player, the player wins the bet.

There are a number of bets available to choose from. The most likely bets to win are betting on red, (any red number) black, (any black number) odd, or even. These best carry the best chance of winning, just under 50% odd of hitting and pay off even money to all players who win the bet.

The next most likely bets to win are the groups of twelve numbers. Placing a bet n any of these will pay off 3 to 1 to the winning player. The bets may be on the first twelve number, 1 through 12, the second set of twelve numbers 13-24, or the third set of twelve numbers, 25 though 36.

You may also place a bet directly on any number you choose. If the ball lands in the slot representing any specific number you have bet on, the payoff is usually 32 to 1. The odds of hitting such a bet are pretty low, but the payoff is phenomenal. You may also place split bets on direct numbers. This means that you can place your bets on the line separating any two number and win if either of those two numbers hit, or place your bet in the corner of 4 numbers that share a single corner on the table. These bets will increase your chances of winning somewhat, but they payoff less money for winning numbers rolled.