Roulette

Introduction

The object of Roulette is to guess in which slot on the wheel the ball will land, after each spin. There are a number of bets you can place, each with different odds of winning and consequently with different levels of payout if your bet is successful.

Roulette is a game of LUCK in which the players have no control over the outcome and as such, there isn't really a great deal of strategy involved. It is the equivalent of rolling a 37 or 38 sided dice.

N.B. For that reason, it is the only game I play when visiting the casino at the end of a night out, because it's the only game you can play just as well after *cough* a few *cough* beers!

A look at the table

The table consists of the "inside" and the "outside", with the inside being the single number grid, including the 0's and the ouside being the nine boxes to the left and the three boxes at the bottom.

Casinos will have a minimum bet for both inside and outside bets, with the outside minimum usually being a lot higher.

A standard roulette wheel contains the numbers 1-36 and then either one or two "House Numbers" - a 0 and sometimes a 00 aswell. When the roulette ball lands on either the 0 or the 00 the house "wins", no bets are paid out (unless someone specifically bet on 0) and the house rakes all the bets. This is how the casino makes it's profits from the game.

If there is just one 0, the House Edge will be 2.7% but if there is also a 00 the house edge will be 5.3%. (The House Edge is the percentage of total bets the casino will win, over an infinite number of hands).

Whatever bet you place, the odds are proportionally idential. I.e. you are no better off (mathematically) constantly betting on red than you are betting constantly on number 21 - theoretically, you will always lose 5.3% or 2.7% of your money depending on how many 0's are on the table.

N.B. I know this is a rather negative way of looking at things but it is also realistic. I still play Roulette because I enjoy the buzz - I understand that on average, mathematics say I will lose, but I don't care because I find it fun... Besides, common sense tells you that you're not going to play an infinite number of games, so luck will play a bigger part in your success than probability! What's more, if you are playing online, the bonuses that casinos offer actually turn the mathematics in your favour!

ANYWAY, ENOUGH BORING THEORY, LETS LOOK AT THE TYPES OF BET YOU CAN PLACE!

Inside bets

Outside bets

Tactics

As stated above, there are really no "tactics" to Roulette - you place your bet, cross your fingers and hope for the best! The only real question is how much to spread your betting. You can place as many bets as you like per spin and spread them across as much of the board as you like.

The more you spread, the more chance you have of winning, but the smaller your win will be, as your total bet cost you a lot more in the first place.

Variations

Some casinos will use the 'En Prison' rule. This means that if the ball lands on a 0, the casino will only take HALF of everyones bets for that round and the players keep the other half. Sometimes you will have to leave the chips where they are for the next spin. This reduces the House Edge to only 1.35% in games with one zero.

Lets Play!!!

There's no better way to learn Roulette than to play it, so Click Here , to play a free version of the game. It is just for play money and will appear in a pop up window. Place your bets, then click the wheel to spin.

More info?

If you want a little more info, I have also written a guide to how I personally play at the Roulette table. If you would like to read it, Click Here.

If you want to write a introductory guide to any casino game not already featured, please emails us - we would be most grateful!