Roulette Explained – How this Popular Casino Table Game Works
Roulette is one of the most popular table games at both bricks and mortar and online casinos. It is an exciting game and the physical action of the ball and wheel make for a great build up of anticipation. But how does this roulette work and what bets can you place? We look at this information and more below.
Components of the Roulette Table
The game of roulette has a myriad of components including:
- Bowl and Wheelhead
- Table
- Chips
- Dealer
Bowl and Wheelhead
The bowl is what the wheel sits in. This is specially designed so that the wheel can spin fluidly with minimum friction. Inside the bowl sits the wheel. The wheel is divided into slots and each slot represents a number with a designated color – red, black, or green for 0 and 00.
Once the wheel is spun, the dealer drops a ball onto it. The ball will bounce around the slots and eventually land in a single slot – this denotes the outcome of that spin.
Table
The table is where bets are placed. Typically, the table has a green or blue background and a rectangular shape. It then has a grid that shows all the possible bets. In the centre, there is a grid that includes all of the red and black numbers. Surrounding this there is typically the different outside bets like red, black, odd, even, and column bets.
Chips
Chips are the standard currency of casinos. For Roulette, players physically place their chips on the part of the table corresponding to their desired bet. For example, if they wanted to place a bet on black, they would simply place their chip on the black diamond at the bottom of the table.
Dealer
The dealer is responsible for the flow of play. They physically spin the wheel and drop the ball into it. They also make sure bets are placed, and that winnings are paid out.
Different Types of Bets You Can Place on Roulette
Roulette bets are broken into inside and outside bets – we look at these in more detail below.
Inside Bets
Inside bets have far higher odds but a much lower success rate. These are the types of bets that those who like to go for big wins choose! The following are the most common inside bets:
- Straight Up: A bet on any single number – 35:1
- Split: A bet on any two numbers that are adjacent on the table – 17:1
- Street: A bet on a row of three numbers like 1, 2, and 3 – 11:1
- Corner: A bet on a block of four numbers like 1, 2, 4, and 5 – 8:1
- Line: A bet on two rows of three numbers: 5:1
- Five-Number Bet (American Roulette only): A bet on numbers 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3: 6:1
- Basket: A bet on numbers 0, 1, 2, and 3: 6:1
Outside Bets
The outside bets are considered the safest bets. These are located on the outside of the Roulette table. Outside bets have the highest winning chances, but also the lowest odds. They utilize larger groups of numbers. The typical outside bets are listed below:
- Red or Black
- Odd or Even
- High or Low
- Columns
- Dozens
Red or Black is essentially betting on the color of the number the ball lands on. This is slightly below a 50% success rate due to the 0 number being green. Red or Black typically pays out at 1:1.
Odd or even is betting on whether the number the ball lands on is odd or even. Even numbers are 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, and 36. Odd numbers are 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, and 35. This again has a success rate of slightly below 50% and a payout of 1:1.
High or low is betting on if the ball lands on numbers 1-18 (low), or 19-36 (high). Like the above bets, this is also an even money bet.
Columns is betting on a column of 12 numbers horizontally on the table. The 1st column is 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, the second column is 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35, and the third column is 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36. This bet typically pays out at 2:1.
Dozens is a similar bet but splits the three groups into twelves. The first block is 1-12, the second is 13-24, and the third is 25-36. This also pays out at 2:1.