Roulette Rules: How to Play Roulette

Roulette RulesIf you are looking for a game full of excitement and thrill, then roulette is your game. The game has been in existence for over 300 years since its inception in the late 17th century in France. Roulette has easy rules, and the amazing thing is that both the experienced players and the beginners can win.

In fact, luck plays a great part in this game, and one doesn’t depend much on the tricks and strategies.  However, for you to increase your chances of winning it is critical to recognize rules of this exhilarating game. Based on your bankroll and expectations, you can either choose smaller probable odds or settle for bigger, aggressive betting strategies. This article gives you a better understanding of the roulette game and clears up some existing confusion about this game.

The Basics

In roulette, players (normally up to eight) play against the House represented by the dealer (also called the croupier) who spins the roulette wheel and handles the payouts and the wagers. Seats are only reserved for the players and even if a non-player sits when only one player is playing, the dealer will ask him/her to move.

In the French roulette and European roulette versions, the wheel has 37 slots that represent 36 numbers and one zero. In the United States, most roulette wheels have 38 slots—36 slots for numbers and two zeros. Each player buys different colored chips to avoid mixing up their bets. If a player wins, they exchange back the colored chip with cash chips which are then taken to the cash deck to collect the actual cash.

To play the game, you place a bet (or bets) on the numbers mentioned above on the table. After every player has had their chances of placing their bets and the dealer calls off the betting session the wheel containing a white ball is rotated until it comes to rest with the ball in one of the divisions. Then the dealer places the dolly on the number that wins and pays the winners and clear out all the losing bets. The winner bets are those on or around the number that comes up. Also, bets on the outside of the layout can be winners if the number is represented. Players can once again place their bets once the dealer clears out the table and pays the winners.

The Inside Bets

As aforementioned, this game is about anticipating where the ball will land.  The game provides you with a range of bets to make. The inside bets are generally the higher paying odds and are placed on specific numbers on the table. Here you can make several bets including:

  • Street Bet—on the table, there are 12 streets of three numbers. Here you can place a chip at the end for an 11:1 payout.
  • Split Bet—this is a bet placed across two numbers and pays 17:1.
  • Six Line Bet—this is a bet on two lines of three numbers and pays 5:1.
  • Five Number Bet—this is applicable on American wheel where a bet is placed on 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3. This is normally one of the worst bet on roulette. Avoid!
  • Corner Bet—pays 8:10 and is a four-number bet placed on the intersecting cross in the middle of the numbers.
  • Straight-Up—this bet is referred to as “en plein” and is placed on specific numbers on the table. It has a payout of 35:1.

The Outside Bets

As the name suggests, such bets are placed on the outer side of the number chart and are generally lower on odds compared to the inside bets. The types of bets placed here include:

  • Snake Bet—this is a dozen number bet placed on numbers 1, 5, 9, 12, 14, 16, 23, 27, 30, and 34. And like all other dozen number bets, this bet offers the player a 2:1 payout.
  • Even/Odd Bet—this is a bet placed on either an odd or even number and pays 1:1.
  • Column Bet—a roulette when is divided into three columns each consisting of 12.numbers. Here a player places their bet on which column the ball will fall. It pays 2:1.
  • Dozen Bet—this is a type of bet placed on the layouts located in the middle of the table marked 1st 12 (numbers 1 to 12), 2nd 12 (numbers 13 to 24), and 3rd 12 (numbers 25 to 36). This bet is not an even-money bet and offers a better payout of 2:1.
  • Color Bet—a bet placed on either red or black section offering a 1:1 payout.
  • Low and High Bet—roulette numbers are divided into two: Low numbers (1 to 18) and high numbers (19 to 36). In this type of bet, if the ball falls under 0 or 00, you lose the bet unless the “En Prison Rule” is applicable. It pays 1:1.

The ‘En Prison’ Rule

This rule is applied to even-money only, and not all casinos use it. The ‘En Prison’ rule allows the player to either his/her bet or leave the bet for another spin when the outcome is zero. However, on the second spin, if the outcome is again zero, the player loses the entire bet.

The ‘La Partage’ Rule

The ‘La Partage’ rule applies to the outside even-money bets—Odd/Even, High/Low, Red/Black. Like the ‘En Prison’ rule, ‘La Partage’ rule applies when the outcome is zero, only that one loses half the bet and don’t leave the bet to play again.

The House Advantage

The house advantage is achieved by paying the winner a chip or two less than what it should have been paid if the no advantage rule was applied. Typically, the house advantage varies depending on the type of roulette. On a single zero roulette is 2.7% while on the double zero table the advantage is greater—5.26%. Both the ‘En Prison’ rule and ‘La Partage’ rule essentially cut the casino’s advantage on then even-money bets in half. So casinos where the ‘En Prison’ rule and ‘La Partage’ rule apply have 1.35% and 2.63% house edge on single zero and double zero tables respectively.

Bet Limits

Casinos normally post a minimum and maximum stake for a roulette table. The inside and outside bets have different maximums and minimums. Besides, different outside and inside betting positions have different maximums and minimums, all of which are labeled on the table.