If you are here to discover whether and how there is any form of skill when playing roulette or if there is some form of strategy that will allow you to win more often, the quick answer is — sadly — no. Roulette is a completely random game.
Despite this, if you want to know more about roulette, read on. It is the most exciting casino game, although not a lot of thinking is involved. Whether you play it in a live table or opt for the best online roulette, the rules and excitement never fade.
What Is Roulette?
Roulette is a game of chance enjoyed in nearly every online and offline casino globally, so there's nothing wrong with being familiar with it. Roulette appears daunting in that it is played on a wheel and a spinning table — but this would intimidate beginner players in any case — but in reality, roulette works in a very straightforward way: betting on which number (or numbers) the ball will land on.
Some wagers are sweeter than others, which is determined by the likelihood of a victory. The house edge on roulette is about 2.5% to 5%, which varies based on which casino, and what the current set of rules just so happens to be. (More about which later.)
You can bet on roulette almost wherever there is a licensed game of chance in place, such as:
- Online (via a computer, smartphone web browser, roulette program/app, or live roulette)
- In a casino (classic in-person table roulette)
- On fixed odds betting terminals (in local betting shop, casino, or pub)
- There are even lottery-style roulettes.
How to Play Roulette
Roulette is played at a table and a spinning wheel with numeric pockets on its rim. In live roulette in casinos, the croupier or dealer spins the wheel in one direction while releasing the ball in the other. The ball, once it becomes stationary, will fall into one of the numbered pockets (also known as "slots"). The number that it will fall on is the winning number, and all those who have bet on it are paid out.
When the winner is declared, the dealer briefly computes and distributes the win and spins the wheel again for the following round. Players can put chips for the following round after they have removed the losing bet from the table.
Placing a Bet in Roulette
When you bet at roulette, you place chips or money in the area on the table where your bet lies. You keep doing this until the dealer says, "No more bets." If you are playing online roulette or terminal roulette, you select how much money you would like to wager on (usually in increasing amounts on the bottom of the screen) and click on the numbers that you wish to wager on.
The Roulette Table
The roulette tables go from 0 to 36. The 1s to 36s alternate between red and black, and the zero is green. There are even some of the tables with some double zeros (00) or triple zeros (000). These additional zeros impact your chances — the more zeros on the table, the worse your chances (the greater the house advantage).
Off-line or on-line, wagers are made by putting chips on designated regions of the table that are for various types of bets — on other figures and with different odds.
Types of Bets in Roulette
There are several different kinds of bets to wager on roulette. All roulette bets are either inside bets or outside bets. The inside bets are within the grid of numbers on the table in the middle, and the outside bets are on the edge of the grid.
Inside Bets:
- Straight up – Wager on a single number (e.g., 5)
- Corner (or Square) – 4-number square wager (e.g., 5, 6, 8, 9)
- Split – Place a bet on two numbers one after another (e.g., 5 and 6 or 5 and 8)
- Street – Place a bet on three numbers in succession (e.g., 4, 5, 6)
- Six Line (Double Street) – Two rows bet (e.g., 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
- Trio – Place a bet on three numbers and zero (e.g., 0, 1, 2 or 00, 2, 3)
- First Four – A wager on 0, 1, 2, and 3 (single-zero table only)
Outside Bets:
- Low/Manque or High/Passe – A wager on the numbers 1–18 or 19–36
- Red or Black – A wager on all red numbers or all black numbers
- Odd or Even – A wager on all odd or all even numbers
- Dozen Bet – Wagers on the first (1–12), second (13–24), or third (25–36) dozen
- Column Bet – A wager on one of the vertical columns (e.g., 2–35)
On triple-zero tables, a "green" bet, paid off on all three zeros, can be placed.
How Probable Is It That You'll Win at Roulette?
The house will pay 35 to 1 on a successful straight-up wager, but your actual odds of winning are 37 to 1 at a double-zero table and 36 to 1 at a single-zero table.
