ROULETTE
The Roulette wheel is part of the classic casino game. The dealer, or croupier, spins the roulette wheel, and then they roll the ball in the reverse direction of spin.
The ball loses speed and in time falls into one of the pockets around the wheel. These pockets contain numbers colored red and black. Players at the table bet on which pocket the ball will fall into.
A layout on the tabletop is used to keep track of all the bets. An American roulette wheel contains 0 and 00, as well as numbers from 1 to 36. European Roulette is different, holding only one 0. The double zero was put in to give the casino a greater advantage over the players.
If you bet on only one number, the casino advantage rates almost doubles in American roulette vs. European roulette. The hardest part of playing roulette to understand what the different bets and what are the best bets to make. Keep reading on to learn more about the game.
Roulette players use two different kinds of bets: inside and outside bets. Inside bets are placed on either a single number or a small group of numbers. These bets have longer odds and higher payouts. Outside bets are placed on large groups of numbers. Outside bets have better odds of winning, but do not pay as well. Beginning players should stay with the outside bets to be safe.
Inside Bets:
- Straight Bet: This is a bet on only one number. The chip is placed in the center of the square. The casino advantage is 2.7% on the European table and 5.2% of the American table.
- Split Bet: This is a bet on two numbers adjacent to each other. The chip is placed on the line between these two numbers.
- Street Bet: Streets are crosswise lines of three numbers (e.g. 16, 17 and 18). The chip is placed on the outer edge of the layout on the outermost number.
- Corner Bet: This is a bet on four numbers on the layout and is sometimes called a square bet. The chip is placed in the intersection of the four numbers.
- Six Number Bet: This bet is on two streets next to each other covering six nmber. The chip is placed in the center of the line between the two streets.
- Trio Bet: The trio is a bet on three numbers at the top of the layout (e.g. 0, 1 and 2, or 00, 2 and 3). The chip is placed where all three numbers intersect.
Outside Bets:
- Low (1-18) Bet: This is a bet on the first eighteen numbers on the wheel, not including 0 and 00. In essence, this is slightly less than half the number, because it does not include 0 or 00.
- High (19-36) Bet: This is a bet on the other half of the numbers, opposite of the Low bet.
- Red or Black Bet: This is another bet that covers almost half the numbers, and the player can select either red or black.
- Even or Odd Bet: This is another take on playing almost half the numbers on the wheel. The player can bet on even or odd numbers.
- Dozen Bet: The numbers are grouped into the first dozen (1-12), second dozen (13-24), and third dozen (25-36). These bets cover almost one-third of the numbers.
- Column Bet: This bet also covers on one-third of the numbers on the wheel, but they are arranged in columns. Players place the chips at the bottom of the layout. The column bet also offers the variety of betting on red, black, even, odd, high and low numbers at the same time.