Whether it’s online Roulette or in a brick-and-mortar casino, you’ll need to know the basics before you start gambling! Scroll down to find out more about the basic rules of Roulette.
The wheel
The wheel consists of a bowl-shaped recess that holds the wheel and a rotor with numbered pockets. The croupier tosses the ball onto the rim of the wheel, otherwise known as the ball-track. There are several metal deflectors or “diamonds” embedded between the ball-track and the rotor. As the ball is thrown at full speed, it slowly loses momentum and pings off the deflectors before landing in a numbered slot.
The rotor
The croupier activates the rotor to spin the wheel in one direction while tossing the ball in the opposite direction to create momentum. Actually, this is what makes Roulette one of the most dramatic casino games. As the anticipation builds up during the spin, the suspense hits its peak just as the ball slowly drops into place.
The ball
The Roulette ball is white, however in some in some VIP rooms it can be made of solid gold or platinum.
The betting table
The betting table, otherwise referred to as “the table” or “the layout”, is usually green. However in some casinos it can be blue or red. The numbers on the table run from 1 to 36 and are laid out in a rectangular shape. The Zero, or the double Zero in American roulette, is green and sits at the top of the rectangle followed by the numbers, arranged in lines of three. In addition there are squares that run down one length of the rectangle for betting with 2:1 (dozens) and 1:1 odds.
Inside bets
Outside bets
Outside bets have great odds with a one in two or a one in three shot of winning! Place an outside bet using the squares that run alongside the numbered rectangle. Simple bets that pay 1:1 odds include red or black, even or odd, and high bet or low bet (1 through 18, 19 through 36). In addition, you can also bet on dozens which offer a 2:1 payout.
Casino chips
Betting limits
Each roulette wheel has a minimum and a maximum bet. If you’re wondering why there would be a maximum bet, the answer is simple: to prevent players from “blowing up the bank” with winning tricks that could potentially empty the casino’s pockets!
The chip rake
However, online roulette has simplified this task.
The croupier’s announcements
The thrill of hearing the croupier announce the bets is what makes the game so intense. Whether you’re playing online or in land-based casinos, the croupier will make the following announcements:
- “Ladies & gentlemen, place your bets!”
- “Ladies & gentlemen, final bets!”
- “Ladies & gentlemen, no more bets!”
For example, the ball lands on number 17, the croupier calls “NUMBER 17, BLACK, ODD, LOW”.
Number board history
Each Roulette table displays the numbers previously drawn on a board with two columns. Red numbers on the left, black numbers on the right. Interestingly, you can often spot winning patterns. For example, red comes up 5 times in a row or a particular number will be drawn twice in a row. As a result, players can get into a frenzy and place wild bets, sometimes going all-in, just because they believe that they’ve spotted a winning pattern.