So you want to learn how to play casino roulette?

Casino roulette is a simple and fun game, but be sure you know the rules and odds before you attempt to play because the house definitely has an edge on you if you do not know how to play. Though Roulette is mostly luck, there is much strategy revolved around this game. No pun intended!

I once had a friend who placed all his earnings on a number (red/black) and the ball landed on green. Good times!

Casino roulette is very recognizable in a casino because of the roulette wheel. If you don’t know what it looks like, check out this video below:

The popularity of roulette can be traced back to 18th century France created by Blaise Pascal. Yep, for you computer geeks the same namesake of the Pascal computer program. If anybody ever took a computer science course then that name should ring a bell. Since then the simple game of a ball landing on a carousel wheel has amused many gamblers.

It’s gained even more popularity since Ashley Revell, a 32-year-old Londoner, sold all his possessions, took $135,300 to the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, did some low stakes gambling and then placed everything he had left on “Red.” The wheel was spun, a crowd of supporters including his Mum and Dad from London went wild, the ball bobbled over the slots and landed on Red ‘7’ — and Revell walked away with $270,600.

“It all happened so quickly, it was spinning before I knew it,” Revell said, adding he did not intend to try to double it again. He gave a $600 tip to the croupier and plans to party — and buy some clothes. “It’s really down to my friends and family and Mum and Dad,” he told Reuters Television. “I knew even if I lost I’d always have a home to go to.”

Talk about a feel good story with a good ending!

In case you’re a first timer the object of Roulette is to pick the winning number that will appear on the Roulette wheel. You can also bet combinations of numbers or choose the color or whether it is odd or even. It is not as easy as it seems.

The Wheel

There are two different roulette wheels. The European wheel has 37 slots numbered 0-36. The house edge is 2.63. The American wheel has 38 numbers because the added a double zero (00). The addition of the extra number increases the house edge to 5.26 percent.

The Layout
The game of Roulette originated in France. The modern day layout we find in the casino dates back to 1842. Roulette layouts have two betting areas. The inside betting area contains the individual numbers on the layout. The outside betting area has boxes for the columns, red/black and odd/even and different groups of numbers.
The numbers on the inside are arranged in 12 rows of three numbers making forming three vertical columns. The 0 and 00 are at the top of the columns.

Buying In
One must buy in customized chips specific to the roulette table when you sit down to play. To avoid disputes each player receives a different color chip. These chips are good for that table only and you must cash them in when you get done playing. You will them be given regular casino chips to take to the cage. You cannot cash in the roulette table chips at the cage.

Each roulette table has a minimum and maximum bet. You can’t combine your inside and outside bets to meet the table minimum. If the minimum bet is five dollars you have to bet $5 on the inside and $5 on the outside. You can’t bet $3 inside and $2 outside.

Inside Bets

There are several inside bets that you can make. You can bet a number straight up or straddle the line between numbers to select a combination of numbers. The payouts are as follows.

• Straight Up bet is a wager on a single number. It pays 35 to 1. (Think Keno or a simple lottery.)
• Split Bet is a wager on two numbers and it pays 17 to 1. You make this bet by placing your chip so it straddles the line between any two numbers.
• Street bets or line bet and it pays 11 to 1. You make this bet by placing your chip on the vertical line separating the outside and inside betting areas. The chip straddles the first number in the row.
• Corner bet or Quad bet pays 8 to 1. You make this bet by placing a chip so it is touching the four corners of the numbers you are betting.
• Basket bet is a five number bet on zero – double zero and numbers-1-2-3 which pays 6 to 1. On the double zero wheel it has a house edge of 7.89 percent making it the worst bet in casino roulette.
• Double Street bet is a wager on six numbers and pays 5 to 1. You place your chip on the line separating the outside and inside area as you do for the street bet but let it also straddles the row above or below.

Outside Bets 

The outside bets are any of the bets made in the boxes surrounding the numbers.

Red Black Odd and Even are all even money bets. You place your chips in the boxes on the layout.

Dozens bet are made on the 12 consecutive numbers. You place your wager in the boxes marked 1-12, 13-24 or 25-36. These bets pay 2 to 1. If the zero or double zero comes up you lose.

Column bets are also 12 number bets. Instead of 12 consecutive numbers they consist of the numbers in one of the three vertical columns and are made in the boxes at the bottom of the layout. These bets pay 2 to 1 as well.

The Dealer

Dealers are required to keep the wheel moving at all times, even between spins. They spin the ball in the opposite in the opposite direction of the wheel. This causes the ball to jump and spin before landing on a number.

The dealer marks the winning number with a marker. You are not allowed to place your bet for the next spin until the dealer removes the marker from the previous winning number. Make sure you wait for them to pick it up before putting down your chips.

Playing Tips

Casino roulette has a high house edge but if you play at a full table you will only get about 30 spins an hour which slows down the time your money is exposed to the house edge. It will also increase your comp time.

If the number you want to bet is covered is already covered with chips, don’t worry. It is permissible to stack you chips on top of the other chips. This is another reason why each player has their own color chips.

You are allowed to place bets after the dealer spins the ball. The dealer will tell you when to stop. As the ball slows down the dealer will wave their hand over the table and call out “No More Bets.”

Some people claim that they have a sure fire system for winning at casino roulette.

The truth is there is no system that will change the house edge. Be wary of any books or videos on beating casino roulette. If Albert Einstein couldn’t crack the game then the chances are pretty slim. Regardless it’s still a fun pit game to splash chips around to test your luck.