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Like all games to be found in Las Vegas, or even an online casino, Roulette is a game of guessing, chance, and perhaps a touch of luck. It’s French in origin, having surfaced in the 1600’s. It’s referred to as one of the most popular gambling games in Europe, and the Monte Carlo in Monaco owes much of its fame to the success and popularity of Roulette. Like Craps, Roulette is a game with a specially built table. The table usually accommodates around 8 people to stand around it and play simultaneously. The gamblers play against the house casino, and not each other, whose presence is represented by the dealer for this game- also known as the croupier for Roulette. The croupier spins the roulette wheel, as well as handles the payouts and bets. In the French and European versions, the wheel has 37 slots for numbers 0-36; the American version has 0-36 as well, but a double zero as well (00).
As there are multiple players for Roulette, it’s important that their bets don’t get confused since they share the same table. In order to prevent this, players are each assigned a different color of chips to play with; if the gambler is in possession of chips that are of a color already on the table, he/she must exchange or find another table to play.
The game itself is rather simple. You place your be in the form of your chips on numbers or on the surrounding bets outside the numerical layout. The roulette is spun in one direction, and a small white ball is spun in the opposite direction; friction will slow both down until the ball drops into one of the numbered slots, indicating a winning number. The wheel is spun regularly, usually allowing time in between spins for the croupier to payout winnings, a brief rest for new bets to be placed, and the ball and wheel are spun again. Bets can be placed on the table until the croupier calls “no more bets,” a call accompanied by him swinging his arm across the table. From this point, no one can place any new bets, nor can any existing bets be changed, until the ball drops and it all starts over again. Once the croupier places the dolly- a clear plastic marker resembling a large chess piece- on the winning number on the table surface, he will pay out winnings and swipe away all non-winning bets. Winners include not only the winning number singularly, but surrounding chips as well, depending on the bet. All outside bets are also winning, if their restrictions include the winning digit.
The house advantage on a standard American, meaning 38 slots, table is 5.26% (7.9% on the five number bet, 0-00-1-2-3). It is determined by the ability to pay winners a chip (or proportion) less than what it would be if there were no advantage.
Though Roulette is a relatively standard game, there can be some variances from casino to casino, such as the En Prison rule. This is in force in some, not all establishments. It states that when the outcome is zero (0), the gambler is given the choice to take back half his bet or leave the whole thing on the table for another spin. If they choose to leave the bet on the table, and the next spin also results in a zero, the whole bet is lost. The Le Partage is similar case: in this case, the gambler loses half his bet, but doesn’t have the option of leaving the bet en prison. Instead, it refers to the outside, even money bets on the table. It essentially cuts the house advantage on these bets in half. Though you might come across these rules in smaller casinos, or overseas, they are rare in such conglomerate gambling sites such as Las Vegas.
Payouts, however, don’t change. When an individual bets on a single number only, also known as a straight up bet, the payout is 35 to 1. (In the USA, it would be a total pull of 38) A two-number bet, meaning the chip is placed on the line between two numbers, the pay is 17 to 1. (This is also called a split bet) A three number bet, aka street bet, pays 11 to 1. A four number bet, a corner bet, pays 8 to 1. A six number bet, 5 to 1. A bet on the outside dozen or column pays 2 to 1. A bet on the outside even money bets, pays 1 to 1.
The object of the game is simple- predict where the ball will drop when it finishes spinning. Although the idea is simple, it’s surprisingly difficult. Luck, therefore, plays a large part in this game. Some players may refer to some numbers as ‘hot’ inferring that they will come up more often than others, but mostly such beliefs contribute to the excitement and fun at the table. Other players use the strategy that if a number hasn’t come up for some time that is must be “due.” Some players play many numbers on the same turn, and though it increases their chances of winning, it drastically reduces the payout. No matter what, Roulette table tend to encourage camaraderie, and can be very, to put it simply, fun, whether you win or lose.
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