The Game of Roulette

The game of roulette is quite simple.  The dealer spins the roulette wheel counter clock-wise while a little white ball bounces around the wheel in the opposite direction until it stops in one of the 38 slots on the wheel.  This is the winning number.  You win or lose depending on where you placed your bets on the table. 

Roulette Betting

There are two main types of betting in Roulette- inside and outside.

Outside Bets:
Outside bets reside outside the main playing area on the board where the 38 numbers are listed.  On outside bets you are required to play the table minimum on each of your bets. 

The different types of outside bets are the following:

Red or Black:  Because it’s easy to understand and you have almost a 50% chance of winning, this is a very popular bet.  This bet is paid even money- bet $1, win $1.

Odd or Even:  Also pays even money.  There is an equal # of odd and even numbers on the wheel as “0” and “00” don’t count as either.

Low or High:  With this bet you are betting on the winning number to be either between 1-18 (low) or 19 and 36 (high).  Low or High is an even money bet.

Columns:  There are boxes at the ends of the columns that contain the 38 numbers with ‘2 to 1’ written in them.  If winning number is contained in the column you bet on you’re paid 2 to 1.

Dozens:  Similar to columns, with dozens you can bet on the 1st (1-12), 2nd (13-24) or 3rd (25-36) dozen of numbers on the board.  This bet pays 2 to 1.

Inside Bets:
Inside bets are placed on the main playing area of the board where the 38 numbers reside.  The total of all your bets on the inside must meet or exceed the table minimum. 

The different types of inside bets on the roulette table are the following:

Straight-up:  Placing a bet on any one of the 38 numbers.  35-1 odds

Split:  Placing a bet on two different numbers that are beside each other on the table.  Pays 17-1 if either of the numbers comes up.  Place chips on the line between them.

Street:  You can bet on three different numbers by placing your chips on the line on the outside edge of the last number.  Pays 11-1 if any of the numbers comes up. 

Corner:  You can bet on four adjoining numbers by placing your chips at the point where the 4 numbers meet.  Pays 8-1 if any of the four numbers come up. 

Five Number:  This is the worst bet in all of roulette.  There is only one five number bet available, to make this bet place your chips at the intersection of 0 and 1 on the corner that doesn’t join the two.  This bet pays 6-1.