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Roulette Gambling for Real
Players bet on numbers, spreads of number combinations and colors, generated by the fall of a small ivory ball onto a spinning wheel which is divided into 37 or 38 numbered slots, depending on the version being played. This gives the players slightly better odds. Five Number Bet - This bet covers only the numbers 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3. Pays 6:1 if any one of the numbers comes up. A bet placed on the ball landing on red or black, high or low numbers, odds or even numbers. All even moneyodds. Pays 1:1. A roulette table with a single layout is usually worked by two "croupiers". A double-end table with two layouts is operated by either three or four croupiers. Players may continue placing bets while wheel and ball are still in motion until the dealer yells (says) "No More Bets! ". The numbers alternate between black and red. The French roulette wheel has 36 numbers, and only the single zero, unlike the American roulette wheel which has the numbers 1 to 36 but with two zeros (0 and 00) That aside, French roulette is very similar to American roulette. A dealer, or croupier spins the wheel in one direction and then rolls a small ball in the other direction. Roulette would be a great game were it not for the highhouse edge - usually 5.26%, sometimes as low as 2.63%, which is still higherthan blackjack, craps, or baccarat. For most bets it's fairly obvious - you can't miss theRed diamond for Red bets, and things like Even, 1-18, and 1st 12 are written outin plain English. We've added blue circled letters to the diagram to point outhow to make the not-so-obvious bets (the sets of 2-6 numbers) Here are thedifferent bets you can make. The house edge is the same whether youmake one bet per spin or several. When the ball is gettingready to drop, the dealer will wave his hand over the table, which means "Nomore bets". Sometimes the dealerwill ask you "Inside or Outside? There's no advantage tolimiting yourself to inside or outside. Roulette games have minimum bets, which will be posted on aplacard at the table. Minimum bets work differently for inside and outside bets. Inside bets canusually be as small a you like, as long as the total of all your inside bets isthe table minimum. All the bets on the layout carry the same house edge, with the exceptionof 5-number Line Bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3), which carries a whopping 7.29% edge! It's important tounderstand that the outcome of the roulette wheel is truly random. If Black hascome up for the last 10 spins in a row, the next spin is not more likely to beRed. On an American wheel,there are 38 spots - numbers 1-36, plus 0 and 00. European games have an option called en prison which reduces the house edgeto 1.35%, but it's generally not available in the U.S., even in casinos that usethe European wheel. On even money bets when 0 comes up, instead of losing rightaway, your bet is "imprisoned" and rides again for the next spin. Usually it takes a minimum of $20 to buy-in at the roulette betting table. It is important to note that these roulette chips must be cashed in at the table. If that number wins you'll receive 35 to 1 for every chip you have bet. The "outside" betting area consists of odd or even bets which pay even money. All inside bets are paid by the dealer, directly to you. In total, 38 numbers are represented on the betting layout. Each game begins when the dealer (sometimes called croupier) spins the wheel in one direction, and then rolls a little ivory ball along the inner edge of the wheel in the opposite direction. As the wheel turns, the ball loses momentum. Incidentally, there are about 90 spins or games played per hour, on average. Run a ruler or any straight edge across the diagram and you will see that the O is opposite the 00, 1 is opposite the 2, and so on up to the 35 being directly opposite the 36. All in all, that edge is comparable to the "rake" in poker, and in some bets on the craps table, in baccarat and other games including sports betting.
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