ROULETTE RULES
Before
going any further, it might be of interest to know that
there are three types of Roulette: French, American and
European.
French Roulette was the first of these and it is the one
you might see in old films (very old films!). It is a very
stylish version, but unfortunately a little slow for casino
owners. In casinos, time is money, so American Roulette
was introduced which is a much simpler version and produces
more “spins” in an hour (more spins equal more
money).
The original “American Roulette” is now called
European Roulette, because this is the version you will
find in Britain and most of Europe. American Roulette is
almost identical, except that the numbers on the wheel are
in a different order and there is an extra zero (double
zero). The other most significant difference is in the percentages,
American Roulette is twice as profitable (for the casino)
than European Roulette.
Because of the “double zero” on
the American Roulette wheel, there are actually 38 “numbers”
to choose from, compared with the 37 on the European version.
This may not seem that important, but it is enough to double
the percentages for the casino.
Let’s look at this another way. If you were to place
a chip on every number (I hope you wouldn’t), you would
receive a payout. Unfortunately, you would only get 35 chips
and your original bet back (36 chips in total). So, on the
European wheel you would lose one chip every spin. As the
payout on a winning number (straight up) is the same for
American Roulette, you would lose two chips every spin.
Zero also affects bets placed on “outside chances”
(see odds below). If you were to place a bet on Red (for
example) and zero comes up, you would lose your entire bet
(or half of it in some casinos). With two zeros, there is
a greater chance of this happening. It therefore goes without
saying that European Roulette is the best option for a player
(if you have a choice).
If you are a newcomer to casinos, it is worth remembering
that “French Bets” do not work on American Roulette.
These are bets that are designed to cover certain parts
of the wheel (like “The Tier” which covers 12
numbers – One third of the wheel). These bets only
work on European wheels (and French Roulette of course).
WHERE CAN YOU PLACE YOUR CHIPS?
Let's begin with 'outside' chances, these
offer the best chance of winning (almost 50/50), but pay
out the least (1-1):
1-18 Any number (except zero) between 1 and
18
EVEN any even number (2,4,6,8,10 etc.)
RED any red number (1,3,5,7,9,12 etc.)
BLACK any black number (2,4,6,8,10,11 etc.)
ODD any odd number (1,3,5,7,9,11,13 etc.)
19-36 Any number (except zero) between 19
and 36
You can also bet on 'dozens' and 'Columns'
which have a payout of 2-1:
1st 12 (or first dozen) any number between
1 and 12
2nd 12 (or second dozen) any number between
13 and 24
3rd 12 (or third dozen) any number between
25 and 36
First Column includes all the numbers directly
above 34 (except zero): 1,4,7,10,13,16,19,22,25,28,31 and
34
Second Column includes all the numbers directly
above 35 (except zero)
Third Column includes all the numbers directly
above 36 (except zero)
A “Straight up” is just
one number (paying 35-1).
A “Split” covers two numbers (the numbers
on either side of where you place your chip), so if you
place a bet on the “Split” of 11 and 14, you would
win if number 11 or 14 comes up (paying 17-1)
A “Corner” covers four numbers. If you
were to place a chip in the middle of 17, 18, 20 or 21,
you would win if one of these numbers came up (paying 8-1)
A “Street” covers the three numbers across
the layout, for example 25, 26 and 27 (paying 11-1)
A “Six line” as it suggests covers six
numbers, in effect the two “streets” above and
below where the chip is placed (paying 5-1)
As you can see, the more numbers you cover, the lower the
odds become.
START OF PLAY
The Dealer will normally make an announcement
like “Place your bets, please”. This means you
can start making bets. The ball will be spun, but you can
still continue placing bets. Usually you will receive a
request to “Finish betting”, this is just a warning
to say that you must finish betting soon. The final announcement
will be “No more bets” and this means what it
says. Any bets placed after “No more bets” has
been called can be returned and will not count.
Once the ball has stopped in a number the Dealer will announce
this and place a “Dolly” on the winning number.
This is a marker and comes in different shapes and sizes.
All losing bets will be removed first and then the payout
can begin. Please do not touch any bets/chips on or around
the winning number until the payout has been completed (chips
can not be added or removed during the payout). Some casinos
allow players to place new bets while the Dealer is paying
out, but only if this doesn’t interfere or endanger
the actual payout.
French bets are popular and are designed to
cover certain sections of the wheel (a single zero wheel).
Here are some examples:
VOISINS DE ZERO (meaning “neighbours of zero”)
Two chips on zero, 2, 3 One chip on 4, 7 split One chip
on 12, 15 split One chip on 18, 21 split One chip on 19,
22 split Two chips on 25, 26, 28, 29 corner One chip on
32, 35 split
This is a “nine chip” bet, so if each chip is
say £5, the total bet will cost £45
TIER (Tier means 'third' in French. These are the
numbers on the wheel opposite zero)
One chip on 5, 8 split One chip on 10, 11 split One chip
on 13, 16 split One chip on 23, 24 split One chip on 27,
30 split One chip on 33, 36 split
This is a “six chip” bet, so if each chip is say
£5, the total bet will cost £30
ORPHELINS (Orphelins means 'orphans'. It covers the
areas of the wheel between Tier and Voisins on either side)
One chip on 1 One chip on 6, 9 split One chip on 14, 17
split One chip on 17, 20 split One chip on 31, 34 split
This is a “five chip” bet, so if each chip is
say £5, the total bet will cost £25
