Roulette, An Introduction

Author: Simon Dexter

Roulette is certainly the oldest and possibly the most popular of all the casino games and it is its simplicity that has made it the number one choice for most gamers.

The name roulette is of French origin and is translated as ‘small wheel’. The object is to predict where the ball will land once the wheel stops.

There are three main versions of the game French Roulette, American Roulette, and British Roulette.

In the game, a casino employee, known as a croupier, spins a wheel in one direction, then releases a ball in the opposite direction around a tilted spherical surface running around the edge of the wheel. The ball eventually falls onto the wheel and into one of 37 (for European Roulette) or 38 (for American Roulette) black or red and numbered chambers on the wheel.

The game is one of the most social and exciting to play and contrary to popular belief the rules are very simple.

The main pockets are numbered from 1 to 36 alternating between red and black, but the chambers are not in the proper numerical order around the wheel, and there are some instances of consecutive numbers being the same colour. There is a green chamber numbered 0, and in American Roulette there is also a second green pocket marked 00 or double zero.

Players can place a variety of ‘outside’ bets and ‘inside’ bets. The payout odds for each type of bet is based on its probability. An outside bet includes guessing the colour of the chamber the ball will fall into, whether it will be odds or evens and on which particular cluster the ball will come to rest.

In playing the Roulette game, your objective is to pick the winning number that will appear on the Roulette wheel.

Always check the rules regarding minimum bets either for outside bets and inside bets. Usually there is a higher minimum for outside bets – your bet will be void if it is below the minimum for outside bets.

United States Roulette Rules

Bet Pays Probability (Implied percentage chance)

Red 1:1 47.37

Black 1:1 47.37

Odd 1:1 47.37

Even 1:1 47.37

1 to 18 1:1 47.37

19 to 36 1:1 47.37

1 to 12 2:1 31.58

13 to 24 2:1 31.58

25 to 36 2:1 31.58

Any one number 35:1 2.63