Roulette Explained
Beginning casino gamblers who need roulette explained to them are in
luck. Roulette is the easiest game in the casino to learn and the simplest
to master. That's because there are no strategies to mention in roulette, so
once you learn the bets, you'll be just as good at playing roulette as any
"roulette master" you come across in the casino--no joke.
American Roulette Explained
In American roulette, you bet on where a small ball is going to land on a 38 slot roulette wheel. The thirty-eight slots are numbers 1 through 36, with half of the numbers red and half of the numbers black. In addition, there is the green "0" and the green "00" slots.
When
a black/red, odd/even, 1-18/19-36 bet is made (or a number of others) and
the 0 or 00 comes up, the bet is an automatic loser. This provides part of
the house edge, which is considerable in American roulette. Another
advantage for the house is the fact you bet on a 1-in-38 proposition, but
only get paid 35 in returns (or 1-to-36) ratio.
Before the dealer, known as a croupier, spins the wheel and sets the ball to rolling, you are supposed to place chips in spots of the roulette betting layout which correspond with certain recognized bets (see below). The names of many of these bets come from their placement on the layout for betting. You can call a bet after the ball is spinning, though this is considered a courtesy bet, which means the dealer is not obliged to accept the bet. He or she may answer "no more bets", in which case it's tough luck.
European Roulette Explained
In European roulette, most of the same applies. The major difference is you have only 37 slots in European or French roulette: 1 through 36 and the 0 slot. There is no 00 slot, which makes your odds significantly better--up from 94.74% to 97.37%. Two other rules might be in place that help your odds, too.
En prison rules lets you "imprison" bets in one special circumstance, when you make an even-money bet (such as red/black or even/odd) and the ball lands on the 0. An imprisoned bet rolls over to the next spin. If you win, you win back the wager amount, but not odds or stakes. If you lose, you lose the full bet. In lieu of imprisoning your bet, you can also choose to lose half you original wager, but take the other half back.
La partage rules does away with the imprisoned bet, and instead stipulates you lose half your wager in the previous even-money situation where the 0 wins. In la partage rules, you have no choice in the matter, but only lose half your original bet.
Inside Bets in Roulette, Explained
Below is a simple chart explaining the inside bets. I have more detailed lists for learning the bets in roulette, but I wanted this as simple and explanatory as possible, to help the Day 1 roulette players.
- Strait Bet - Betting on a Single Number - 1 gets you 35
- Split Bet - Betting on Two Numbers - 1 gets you 17
- Street Bet - Betting on a Line of Three Numbers - 1 gets you 11
- Corner Bet or Square Bet - Betting on Four Numbers that Form a Square - 1 gets you 8
- Six Line Bet - Betting on Six Stacked Numbers, essentially Two Street Bets - 1 gets you 5
Outside Bets in Roulette, Explained
Outside bets are called that because you place you roulette betting chips outside the box of numbers on the roulette betting layout. Outside the rows and columns of numbers, you'll find boxes that say things like "1st 12", "2nd 12", "3rd 12", "Odd", "Even", "1 to 18", and "19 to 36". There's also a box with a red circle and a black circle, where you make the 50-50 black/red bets.
- 1st 12 Bet - Bet on the Numbers 1 through 12 - 1 gets you 3
- 2nd 12 Bet - Bet on the Numbers 13 through 24 - 1 gets you 3
- 3rd 12 Bet - Bet on the Numbers 25 through 36 - 1 gets you 3
- Snake Bet - Special Bet on a Snaking Pattern of 12 Numbers - 1 gets you 13
- 1-18 Bet - Betting on Numbers 1 through 18 - 1 gets you 1
- 19-36 Bet - Betting on Numbers 19 through 36 - 1 gets you 1
- Red or Black Bet - Betting either on Red Numbers or Black Numbers - In either case, 1 gets you 1
- Odd or Even Bet - Betting on either all-Odd or all-Even Numbers - In either case, 1 gets you 1
Explaining Roulette
That's about all there is to roulette. All you need to know is there are no real betting strategies or roulette strategy secrets that overcome (or affect in any way) the outcome of the game or the house edge. The casino has a considerate edge in roulette, but the game is placed at a relaxed pace and is easy to learn. Know that European roulette gives you a better chance than American roulette, and know where to place the bets you want to place, but otherwise understand that you won't find secrets explained that help you beat the casino at roulette.
