Roulette Basics

Roulette is the casino and gambling game named after the French word meaning “small wheel.” In the game, a croupier, meaning a casino employee who takes and pays out bets, spins a wheel in one direction, then spins a ball in the opposing direction around a tilted circular surface around the circumference of the wheel. The ball eventually falls on to the wheel and into one of the colored and numbered pockets on the wheel. The number of pockets differs slightly between European and American roulette. In Europe, there are 38 pockets on the wheel, whereas the American wheel has 37. Another distinction between European and American roulette is that while both games have a single green pocket, the number of that pocket in the European version is 0, whereas the number of that pocket in the American version is 00. In both games, the pockets are not in numerical order around the wheel.

There are two types of bets a player may make: an “inside” bet and an “outside” bet. When placing an inside bet, the player selects the number of the pocket the ball will land in, or the range of pockets based on their position. An outside bet is made when a player chooses instead to base his or her bet on other number groupings and combinations, pocket colors, or whether the ball will land in an even-numbered or odd-numbered pocket. The table usually imposes minimum and maximum bets for both inside and outside bets. Also, for inside bets, some casinos may use separate table chips of various colors to distinguish players at the table.

Here is a summary of the different sorts of bets that can be made, as well as their payoffs:

Single: wagering on one number only. Payoff: 35 to 1. Split: wagering on any two numbers by placing your bet on the line between them. Payoff: 17 to 1. Trio: wagering on three numbers at their intersecting point (possible with either 0, 1, and 2 or 0, 2 and 3). Payoff: 11 to 1. Corner: wagering on four numbers by placing your bet at their intersecting point. Payoff: 8 to 1. Four numbers: wagering on the numbers 0, 1, 2, and 3 by placing your bet at the intersection of 0 and 3. Payoff: 8 to 1.
Street - wagering on a row of three numbers by placing your bet at the end of the row. Payoff: 11 to 1. Line - wagering on two "streets" of numbers by placing your bet at the end of both rows, on the line between the rows. Payoff: 5 to 1. Dozen - wagering on the "First 12," "Second 12," or "Third 12" boxes, as marked, covering 12 numbers each. Payoff: 2 to 1. Column - wagering on a column of numbers by placing your bet in any of the three "2 to 1" boxes on the ends of the table. Like betting on dozens, columns cover 12 numbers. Payoff: 2 to 1. High or low - wagering on the either the box marked "1 to 18" (low) or "19 to 36" (high). Payoff: 1 to 1.
Red or black - wagering only on which color will come up. Zero does not count for either! Payoff: 1 to 1. Odd or even - wagering only on whether the number will be odd or even. Zero does not count for either! Payoff: 1 to 1.

For more information, I recommend visiting gamblingplanet.org. Not only can you get great tips on roulette, but you can also learn more about popular games such as Blackjack, Baccarat, Keno, Craps, and various types of Poker. For more information specifically on Roulette, check out the following URL:
http://www.gamblingplanet.org/roulette.php


Good luck, and have fun!