The Basics of Roulette

Roulette, the most popular casino/gambling game in the world, is easy to understand and is played with a wheel on a spin and a ball. The wheel is turned in one direction and the ball is turned in the opposite direction around the edge of a wheel. A winner is proclaimed when the ball loses its velocity and falls off the edge into one of 38 numbered and colored pockets on the wheel. The player of the game bets on the color red or black, a number, range of numbers and whether the number is odd or even.

The game is simply a game of chance which is what makes it so exciting. There are no hard and fast rules, tricks or system to winning. The game has been around since the early 1800s and gets its name from France where the word “roulette” means small wheel.

Roulette basics are simple. Individuals are given special and different chips and can bet either inside bets which are numbers, or outside bets which are boxes for red or black, odds or even and ranges of numbers. All roulette tables have minimums and maximums per table. Bets can still be made while the wheel and ball are spinning up until the dealer’s “no more bets” call.

Different ways of betting include “straight up” betting on a single number on the inside betting area which wins as much as 35 times the original bet and a “split bet” on two numbers which wins 17 times the bet. Vertical line betting wins 11 to 1 while four corner bets pays 8 times the bet. Groups of numbers, even or odd, and red or black bets are played on the outside betting area and are called "the dozens bet" and pays 3 to 1.