Roulette Tutorial, History, Strategy, Rules and Odds
Strategic guide on how to play the casino game of Roulette:
- Super Easy to Learn
- Super fast, super fun casino action
- Play only roulette with one zero
ROULETTE
Roulette, French for “little wheel,” is played with a wheel and a little ball. The croupier spins the wheel in one direction, and spins the ball the opposite direction around a circular track going around the outside of the wheel. The ball falls into one of 37 or 38 colored, numbered pockets in the wheel. Players place bets attempting to predict the number, whether the number is odd or even, and the color of the number (red or black).
History
The roulette wheel was invented in France in the 17th century when Blaise Pascal tried to build a perpetual motion machine. The game is thought to have developed from the English games roly-poly, reiner, ace of hearts, and E.O., the Italian board gams of hoa and biribi, and a French game called roulette. The modern game was played at least as early as 1796 in Paris, when the novel La Roulette, ou le Jour by Jaque lablee described the game at the Palais Royal. Laws in Quebec in 1758 banned games of “dice, faro, and roulette”.
Francois and Louis Blanc introduced the single “0” style roulette wheel into Hamburg, Germany in 1843. In 1886 the Hoyle gambling book showed American roulette wheels with numbers 1-28, plus a single zero, a double zero, and an American eagle. Throughout the 19 century, roulette spread throughout Europe and the USA. When roulette was outlawed in Germany, the Blancs moved to Monte Carlo, establishing a gambling mecca that still exists. The game is sometimes called the “King of Casino Games” because it is associated with upper class Monte Carlo Casinos.
In the United States, roulette became popular in the western frontier, wehre the game was simplified and placed onto a table to prevent cheating. American and French games are different breeds, and the simple, fast-paced American style game is more popular throughout the world.
In the United States, the French double zero wheel made its way up the Mississippi from New Orleans, and then westward. It was here, because of rampant cheating by both operators and gamblers, the wheel eventually was placed on top of the table to prevent devices being hidden in the table or wheel, and the betting layout was simplified. This eventually evolved into the American style roulette game as different from the traditional French game. The American game developed in the gambling dens across the new territories where makeshift games had been set up, whereas, the French game evolved with style and leisure in Monte Carlo. However, it is the American style layout with its simplified betting and fast cash action, using either a single or double zero wheel, that now dominates in most casinos around the world.
Playing Against a Casino
There are various options for betting. One may bet upon the exact number where the ball will fall, or upon a group of pockets, a color, or whether the number will be odd or even. The payoff for each kind of wager depends upon the odds of its happening. Casinos usually specify minimum and maximum bets, and roulette chips of different colors may be used to specify different players at the table. Players place bets while the wheel is spinning, until the croupier announces that the time for betting has ended. When the ball lands in a pocket, the croupier will place a marker known as a dolly onto that number on the table, and remove all losing bets, then pay all the winners.
The Wheel
The wheel’s pockets are numbered 1-36, and odd numbers are red and even numbers are black in the sequences from 1-10 and 19-28. From 11-18 and 29-36, even numbers are red and odd numbers are black. A green pocket is numbered 0, and in American roulette there is anohter green pocket numbered 00.
The Table
The roulette table is covered with a cloth, on which are printed the various numbers and colors where the betters can place their chips to indicate which pockets they have chosen.
The Bets
Inside Bets:
1. Straight-up: A chip is placed on the middle of a numbered square to indicate a bet upon a single number.
2. Split: A chip is placed on the line between two numbers to indicate a bet upon two adjoining numbers.
3. Street: A chip is placed upon the edge of a line to bet upon three numbers.
4. Corner or square: A chip is placed the intersection of four numbers.
5. Six Line: A chip is placed between where two street bets would be placed.
6. Trio: A chip is placed at the intersection among 0, 1, and 2, or 0, 2, and 3 in a single-zero game.
7. Basket: A chip is placed upon the intersection of 0,1, and 2 or 00, 2, and 3.
8. Top Line: A chip is placed on the corner of 0,1 or 00 and 3.
Outside Bets:
1. Even or odd: a bet on whether the number will be even or odd.
2. Red or black: a bet on which color the number will be.
3. Dozen: a bet on whether the number will be in the first, second, or third twelve numbers.
4. Column: a bet on a group of 12 numbers in a certain string.
5. 1 to 18: a bet on the first 18 numbers.
6. 19 to 36: a bet on the second half the numbers.
BETTING ODDS IN AMERICAN ROULETTE
The payoff is equat to 36-n divided by n, where n is the number of squares on which the player bets.
House Advantage
The house advantage or edge is the per cent of money the player is expected to lose. If a player bets on one number in 38, there is 1/38th chance of winning, and 37/38th chance of losing. Another edge the house has is in paying out at odds of 35 to 1 when the actual odds of winning are actually 37 to one. Green squares on the table and wheel are also advantageous to casinos because outside bets always lose when zeros come up.
The amount of money the house collects is more than its edge, because players who occasionally win usually continue to bet until they have lost all the money they play.
Called or Announced Bets
A player may call out his bet just before placing it upon the table. The bet is considered to have been taken if the croupier repeats it. If the croupier does not have time to take the bet, it might be ignored, and it is considered unacceptable to argue about an announced bet afterward.
Voisins du Zero (Neighbors of Zero)
Neighbors of zero is a type of bet made on seventeen numbers at once, placing two chips on 0.2,3, one on the 4/7 split, one on 12/15, one on 19/22, two on the 25/26/28/29 corner, and one on 32/35.
Jeu Zero (Zero Game)
The jeu zero bet consists of betting one chip on the 0/3 split, one on 12/15 split, one on 26, and one on the 32-35 split. Sometimes a chip is also placed on number 19.
Tier
The twelve numbers between and including 27 and 33 are called the tier, or third. One chip apiece is plaed on 5/8, 13/16, 23/24, 27/30, and 33/36.
Orphelins (orphans)
This bet includes one ship on 1, one chip on 6/9, one on 14/17, one on 17/20, and one on 31/34.
Tier (Third)
In this bet, one chip is placed on 5/8, one on 10/11, one on 13/16, one on 23/24, one on 27/30, and one on 33/36. Sometimes more chips are placed on 5, 8, 10, and 11.
XX and the Neighbors
A given number may be bet on along with numbers near it, such as 0, 3, 26, 32, and 15.
Final Bets
Final, finaal, or finale bets are not necessarily the last bets of the evening. They are a series of bets placed upon numbers with similar digits, such as 4, 14, 24, and 34, or 7, 17, and 27.
Full Completes or Maximums
When the wheel has only a single zero, the casino allows a maximum beet of $1000 if the bettor bets on one number. On a 17-1 split $2000 may be bet. Four thousand dollars may be bet upon 8-1 corners. Each 11-1 street bet is allowed a $3000 maximum. The maximum for a 5-1 sixline is $6000. Sometimes “piece bets” are made with 40 or more chips, by extremely high rollers.
Betting Strategies and Tactics
Various strategies have been employed over the years to try to beat the house, but the house sets up roulette wheels to turn in random fashion, so no system is able to predict which number will come up next. Believing in a system is risky, because this can result in the bettor’s trying to win many times and losing more times than he or she wins. During the 1930’s some professional gamblers were able to beat the casinos by studying which roulette wheels were rigged, but the games are now more carefully controlled by state gambling commissions.
Biased Wheels
Attempts have been made to predict individual wheels’ performance by keeping careful records of the results of each spin. In the early 1990’s, Gonzalo Garcia-Pelayo managed to win 600,000 euros in one day at the Casino de Madrid. Legal action was taken against him, and the verdict was that the casino needed to fix its biased wheel. Since then casinos have made a point of monitoring their wheels and rebalancing them when bias is detected. A “low profile” wheel designed by George Melas has smaller pockets than earlier wheels, and the gradual descent of the ball into the pocket reduces bias.
GAMING DEVICES
Edward O. Thorp invented a small computer for predicting the fall of the ball in 1961. Thomas Bass claimed to be able to predict the fall of the ball in his book the Eudaemonic Pie. Newtonian laws of motion are applied in this system. A group of University of California at Santa Cruz, calling them the Eudaemons, used computers in their shoes to compute where roulette balls would fall. Gaming devices are illegal in Las Vegas. In 2004 two Europeans were arrested in London for attempting to predict where a ball would land using a laser device. They were caught but not convicted, since it could not be proven that they had interfered with the wheel.
BETTING SYSTEMS
The Martingale betting strategy consist of doubling a bet after every loss. Continuing to double and redouble bets makes for so many losses that most players either run out of money or reach the house limit. The Fibonacci sequence is equally unsuccessful for players. Andre Martinez described a method of betting on a particular number for 35 consecutive plays. This is also ineffective, since there is a less than 61 per cent chance of winning within 35 spins. Betting on the green numbers does not give the player the house’s edge. The only way to gain a casino edge is to open one.
Labouchere System
The Labouchere System is like the Martingale sytem, but without as great a risk with doubles. The system uses a series of numbers in a line to try to determine the amount of a wager following a win or loss. The player adds numbers in a line depending upon what he has won or lost to decide upon his next bet. This system is no more effective than the others.
D’Alembert System
This system is called a pyramid sytem, based on a mathematical theory devised by mathematician D’Alembert. In this system, one unit of money is added to the next bet after a loss, and one unit is deducted from the next wager after a win. This is based upon the fallacy that one is more likely to win after a loss, and more likely to lose after a win.
<Other Systems
Other systems that look for patterns in winning and losing fail, because results are random. Jason Gillon of the UK advertised a method using a “loophole” that would allow people to win 200 pounds per day, but the Advertising Standards Authority found that it did not work as advertised.
DOZEN BETS
Single dozen and double dozen bets use progressively larger wagers starting from the table minimum to the table maximum. Neither has been shown to work.
FAMOUS BETS
In 1873 Joseph Jaggers, with a team of six helpers, observed all the roulette wheels in Monte Carlo and found one with a bias, winning over $325,000.
In 1891 Charles Wells, a Londoner, broke the bank at every table at a Monte Carlo casino. In the 1942 movie Casablanca, Rick of Rick’s Café Americain helps French freedom fighters by fixing it so that they win at the roulette wheel he owns. In the 1973 movie Johnny Hooker cons money from a numbers runner and loses half of it at a crooked roulette wheel. In 1992 in Poland Pawel Piskorski, politician, claimed to have won about $175,000. In the 1998 film, Run, Lola, Run, Lola spends all her money on a casino chip. She bets on 20 and wins, eventually winning 129,600 marks. In 2004 Ashley Revell of London sold everything he had and put $135,300 US on red at a roulette table. He won and left with $270,600. In the music video Palace and Main, by Kent, Harri Manty bets his entire buget on black, then donates his winnings to charity. On 2 October, 2009, Derren Brown bet 5000 pounds on roulette in Europe. He lost.
ETIQUETTE
1. Players must wait to collect their winnings and chips until all the winnings in the same box have been paid.
2. Players are not to touch chips after the dealer’s hand signal for no more bets. 3. After the dolly has been placed, no chips may be touched.
4. Dealers must not take money for chips from a player’s hand.
5. Electronic equipment, mobile phones, and cameras is not allowed.
6. Only chips, money, drinks, and cigarettes are allowed in front of a player.
7. Players must place, not throw, their chips onto the table, and if they are unable to reach a desired spot, they must announce it to the croupier.
8. Changes for cash or chips should be done between spins.
9. Call bets are only taken if the dealer has time to handle them.
10.No food or drink is allowed over the table. In case of spills, players are required to pay a fee.
11.It is considered polite to leave a tip for the dealer upon leaving the table, if it is a casino in which tips are allowed.
HOW TO PLAY ONLINE ROULETTE
Playing the game
Roulette Straight Bets
- Straight Up All grosses, zero to double zero 35-to-1
- Column Bet Any of the 12g grosses in the column bet 2-to-1
- Dozen 1 through 12, 13 through 24 or 25 through 36 2-to-1
- Odd or Even All odd grosses or all even grosses 1-to-1
- Red or Black Color on the value corresponds to color bet 1-to-1
- 1-18 or 19-36 Color on the value corresponds to color bet 1-to-1
Roulette Combination Bets
- Split Either of the two grosses split 17-to-1
- Row Any of the three grosses in the row bet 11-to-1
- Corner Any of the four grosses forming the corner 8-to-1
- Five grosses 0, 00, 1, 2 or 3 6-to-1
- Six grosses Any of the six grosses in the two rows bet 5-to-1 0 & 00 Split/ 0, 00 17-to-1
- Courtesy Line
Play Roulette
To play roulette you place your bet, than the dealer turns the wheel and releases the ball. Once the balls drops the game is over, this repeats over and over again.
To Bet
The Bettor has to put the chips on the number where he’d like to bet. The player making the bet must make sure the bet is on the right square because the casino will no hold responsibly if its questionable.
Scroll To Top