Roulette is one of the more popular casino games there are. This is probably in part due to its ease and dependency on chance. Which is true if you play roulette online or in a brick and mortar casino.
Although, roulette is not all totally reliant on chance, you can play with strategy for roulette. You simply depend on making good betting choices as a strategy. You can choose inside bets or outside bets to win. While outside bets are safer, there is a lesser chance of a good payout, whereas inside bets have a higher loss rate but will pay out more.
These are some of the reasons why roulette is so popular, but before you jump into the game and get carried away, let’s talk about just how you can understand and consider all the areas of caution when it comes to playing a game of roulette.
The Basics
A game of roulette has 4 key parts. These are:
- The table.
- The wheel.
- The chips.
- The ball.
The main objective of playing a game of roulette is to try and guess which pocket the ball will land in per spin, and to get it correct.
How To Play
To play roulette, you will first have to pick which pocket you believe the ball is going to land in. You can pick more than one pocket as well if you want to.
You can pick evens, odds, blacks, reds, 4 numbers, 2, 3 and so on.
Then place your bets, using your chips. Each chip will be valued differently and marked clearly to show this. You can place these on lines, boxes, numbers or junctions.
You should always consider the maximum and minimum bets before you place. Whatever you have bet will be taken out of your bankroll on your online casino app or website.
The simplest part of this game is when you click ‘spin’, you simply click here, and spin the wheel. You do not even have to bet real money to spin the wheels, but there are no winnings if you have not placed a bet.
If you are playing live dealer roulette then there won’t be a button, the dealer will spin the wheel and the game will proceed if you are ready or if you are not.
Then you just wait until the ball comes to a halt. A marker will be on the table showing you the winning number. Losing chips get collected, and winning bets are paid, adding to what you currently have.
You can often get a re-bet and a spin button allowing you to play again. There can also be a double button if you fancy raising the stakes.
Understanding The Wheel
Roulette wheels are the core of the game. But there is not just one standard wheel. You can get American wheels and European wheels. The most noted difference is in the zeroes. The European wheel will have just one zero, so it will only have 37 pockets.
Alternatively the American version of roulette will have a single zero and a double zero, making the total 38 pockets, which increases the odds.
European roulette offers you the better chance at winning the game, so it is always best to play on this version of roulette.
Odds
So, what are the total odds for winning at roulette? It is important that you are aware of the odds each time you spin when you play roulette.
The payout you get at the end will be dependent on the odds of the game. Knowing this can also help you choose more educated bets for you and get better results. However, since American and European roulette have differences, their odds are different too.
European Vs American Roulette
| Bets | European Payout | European Probability | American Payout | American Probability |
| Odd | 1:1 | 48.6% | 1:1 | 46.37% |
| Even | 1:1 | 48.6% | 1:1 | 46.37% |
| Black | 1:1 | 48.6% | 1:1 | 46.37% |
| Red | 1:1 | 48.6% | 1:1 | 46.37% |
| Low (1-18) | 1:1 | 48.6% | 1:1 | 46.37% |
| High (19-36) | 1:1 | 48.6% | 1:1 | 46.37% |
| Dozen (1-12, 13-24 or 25-36) | 2:1 | 32.4% | 2:1 | 31.58% |
| Column | 2:1 | 32.4% | 2:1 | 46.37% |
| Line (six numbers) | 5:1 | 16.2% | 5:1 | 15.79% |
| Five (0,00,1, 2 & 3) | – | – | 6:1 | 13.16% |
| Corner (four numbers) | 8:1 | 10.8% | 8:1 | 10.53% |
| Street (three numbers) | 11:1 | 8.1% | 11:1 | 7.89% |
| Split (two numbers) | 17:1 | 5.4% | 17:1 | 5.26% |
| Straight Up (single number) | 35:1 | 2.7% | 35:1 | 2.63% |