Roulette
Roulette is a casino game that is believed to have originated in France in the 18th century. The game is named after the French word for “little wheel”, and it is played with a wheel that consists of numbered slots of alternating color. Players place bets on what they think the winning number will be as a ball is spun around the wheel. If the ball lands on a number that a player has bet on, the player wins the associated payout. The earliest version of roulette was played with a single zero on the wheel. In the 19th century, a version of the game with a double zero was introduced in the United States. This version of roulette, which is known as American roulette, is still played today and is distinguished from the original French version, which is known as European roulette, by the presence of the extra zero. Roulette is known for its simplicity and the wide range of betting options that are available to players, making it a popular choice for both novice and experienced gamblers.
American Layout:
European Layout:
American and European Roulette layouts are identical aside from the zeros.
Wheels:
The layout is much different on the wheels compared to the table.
Types of bets:
Straight-up bet – This is a bet on a single number. Pays 35 to 1.
Split bet – This is a bet on two adjacent numbers. Pays 17 to 1.
Corner bet – This is a bet on four numbers that form a square. Pays 8 to 1.
Basket bet – This is a bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3. Pays 6 to 1.
Street bet – This is a bet on three numbers in a row. Pays 11 to 1.
Double-street bet – This is a bet on 2 adjacent streets. Pays 5 to 1.
Column bet – This is a bet on one of the columns of numbers. Pays 2 to 1.
Dozen bet – This is a bet on one of the three dozen groups. Pays 2 to 1.
Even-money bet – This is a bet on Red-Black, Even-Odd or High-Low. Pays 1 to 1.
Sectors & Neighbors:
The neighbors or sector bet is a unique bet and one that you typically only find at a European Roulette table. Sector bets utilize the position of the numbers on the wheel rather than the way they are positioned on the table. There are four main types of sector bets: Jeu Zero, Orphelins, Voisins du Zero and Le Tiers du Cylindre. The specific layout and numbers covered by these bets may vary by casino but they usually pretty consistent. Below is an example betting layout and how it looks on the wheel.
Jeu Zero – This bet covers 7 numbers including the 26 and the 3 neighbors on each side. 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15. The bet must be divisible by 4 and are placed as follows: 1 unit straight-up on the 26 and 3 units spliting the remaining 6 numbers.
Orphelins – This bets covers two non-connected sections of the wheel. These are the numbers 17 to 6 and 1 to 9 on the wheel. Bets must be divisible by 5 and are placed as follows: 1 unit straigh-up on 1, and 4 units covering these splits: 6-9, 14-17, 17-20 and 31-34.
Voisins du zero – This bet covers the 17 numbers from 22 to 25 on the wheel. Bets must be divisible by 9 and are placed as follows: 2 units on 0, 2 and 3, 5 units splitting the numbers 4, 7, 12, 15, 18, 21, 19, 22, 32 and 35, and finally 2 units on a corner bet with 22, 26, 28 and 29.
Le Tiers du Cylindre – This bet covers 12 numbers from 27 to 33 on the wheel. Bets must be evenly divisible by 6. The bets are placed with using all 6 units splitting these numbers: 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 16, 23, 24, 27, 30, 33 and 36.
Neighbors – This bet is when you choose a number on the wheel and bet it and its 2 neighbors on either side. Your bet must be divisible by 5. You place this bet by telling the dealer that you would like the neighbors of the number that you choose and the amount. For example if the number is 17 and you want to bet €100 you would say “Could I have the neighbors of 17 for €100” and the dealer would place the bet for you. Doing this would effectively place €20 straight-up bet on each of the 5 numbers of 2, 25, 17, 34 and 6.
Getting chips:
When you walk up to a Roulette table you can either give the dealer cash or chips that you previously had from a different game. If you will primarily be placing bets on the inside then they will give you “Dollars” in an assigned color. However, they can make these chips any denomination if you want to play at higher stakes. They do this in order to differentiate you from other players as the table can get crowded and avoid confusion in regards to who’s bet it is. If you are playing outside bets only then you will typically revieve face value chips of your choosing. For example, if you walk up with €500 you can ask for €100 in €5 chips and €400 in €25 euro chips.
Placing bets:
You can only place bets in a given window. You cannot place bets until the dealer lifts the dolly from the winning number. Once this has been done you can place your betting on the table as you wish or if needed ask the dealer to place them for you. The dealer will monitor how much time is needed for everyone at the table to place their bets and at some point will spin the ball in the opposite direction the that wheel is spinning. You can still place bets while the ball is spinning but as the ball gets closer to the dropping the dealer will waive their arm over the table and say “no more bets”. Any bets that are placed after this point will not be counted.
Collecting winnings:
When the ball comes to rest the dealer will place the dolly on the winning number. They will then payout all the winning bets. You cannot collect your winnings until all bets have been paid out. This is done so people cannot collect their winnings and then say they haven’t been paid. When the dealer is finished they will pick up the dolly and you can then collect your chips. When you are finished playing you tell the dealer that you are done or would like to “color up”. They will take your chips, count them, report the amount, and give you the highest denomination chips possible for the amount that you have. You can take these chips to another game or cash them out at the cage.