Roulette has been a staple of casino entertainment for centuries, offering glamour, mystery and excitement. The game also provides a surprising level of depth for more serious betters, and it can be very profitable if you know how to play it correctly.
The Rules of Roullete
Once the dealer has cleared the table, players begin betting on the numbers and colors. Each player receives a set of colored chips at the beginning of a roulette game and puts them on the table between decisions. When a winning number or color is hit, the chips are distributed by the dealer.
The Roulette Wheel
The roulette wheel consists of a wooden disk slightly convex in shape with metal partitions known as canoes or separators. The canoes are numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36 on European-style wheels and from 0 to 00 on American-style wheels. The canoes are painted red and black, alternately.
When a spin occurs, a croupier throws a ball into the wheel and watches it bounce around until it settles into a pocket marked with a particular number or color. If the ball lands on a winning number, then all bettors win.
In addition to the traditional red and black colors, roulette wheels feature a single zero and a double zero. In early roulette wheels used in Paris, the single zero was red and the double zero was black. The double zero was changed to green in the 1800s.
Bets on the Outside
There are a variety of different types of bets in roulette, including outside bets (which place your chips on a category of numbers instead of specific ones). These bets have lower payouts than those that bet on individual numbers, but they also have a higher probability of hitting.
Street Bet/Three Number Bet/Side Bet/Trio: This bet is made by placing your chips on the outside border of a row of three consecutive numbers. If any of the numbers in that row wins, then you win a 5-1 payout.
Split Bet: This is a type of bet that straddles the line between two numbers on the table. It pays 17-1 if one of those numbers wins and 11-1 if both of them win.
High or Low Bet: This bet lays bets on the first 18 numbers on the layout, or the last 18 if you prefer. This bet offers even money, or a payout of 1-1.
