What is Roulette?

Roulette is a table game both available on live casinos as well as online casinos. It has been around for more than 350 years, and is very popular amongst most casino players. With the addition of multiple ways of placing a bet, roulette has become a game for both high risk and low risk players.

Roulette is built up by a wheel with the numbers going from 0 to 36, or if it’s American roulette, there’s a 00 added as well. The usual layout today is a table with the roulette wheel at the end, and a cloth covered area on the other end, where it’s possible to place your bets.

If the ball stops on a number that is included in the bet you’ve made, you win. The payout received from winning depends on the type of bet placed. As an example a straight bet pays 35 to 1, which means if you place a bet of €1 you’ll get €35 in winnings.

Roulette Rules

The rules of roulette are pretty straightforward. You have to have placed all bets before the dealer states the bets are closed. If it’s on an online casino, betting afterwards isn’t possible at all. The wheel is spinning at all times, and the dealer will put the ball in motion, so it moves in the opposite direction of the wheel. After a short amount of time the ball will stop on a number, and then you’ll be able to see if you’ve won or lost.

There’s several ways of placing a bet, it can either increase or decrease your chances of winning. The bets are called inside bets and outside bets. Inside bets make your winning chances smaller, but if you win, the payout will be higher. Outside bets increase your winning chances, but the multipliers are smaller.

Inside Bets

There’s several ways to play inside bets on, and the most common ones are single, split, street and square. Below we’ve taken a few screenshots and put them together with an explanation of these four terms.

Single

A single is where you place your bet on a single number. The chip has to be placed on the middle of the number you wish to place your bet on. If the number you’ve bet on is the winning number, you’ll get your bet times 35 back. In the example we have placed a bet of €1 on the number 17. If the ball stops on number 17, we win €35.

Split

If you want to place a bet on two numbers next to each other, it’s possible by placing a split bet. The bet has to be placed on the line between the two numbers, and the winnings are 1:17. In the example we have placed a split bet between the numbers 5 and 8 with the value of €1. If the balls stop on either of these numbers, we will be rewarded with €17 in winnings.

Square

It’s possible to place a bet on four numbers at the same time, by placing a square bet. The chip has to be placed on the corner, where the four numbers you wish to bet on meets. If we want to place a bet on the numbers 7, 8, 10 and 11, the chip has to be placed like seen on the example picture. A win on a square bet pays 1:8, so with a bet of €1 we would get €8 in return.

Street

Placing a bet on a “street” is a way to place a bet on three numbers at the same time. On the example picture we’ve placed a bet on the numbers 7, 8 and 9 by placing the chip on the line facing away from the number 9. Winning on a square bet pays 1:11, so with a bet of €1 we would get €11 in return.

Besides Single, Split, Square and Street bets, there are also inside bets called double street, trio, first four and basket. First four is only available on a single zero roulette, where basket is only available on a double zero roulette.

Outside Bets

Playing with outside bets increases your chance of winning, but it decreases the amount you win. Where you’re able to win up to 35x on inside bets, the highest win on outside bets are 3x.

Red or Black

Place a bet on the color you think the ball will stop on next. You can choose between red or black, and hereby win if the ball stops on the color of your choice. The payout is 1:2, meaning if you place a bet of €1 you’ll receive €2 in winnings.

High or Low

Playing high or low is like playing red or black, but where you place a bet on either 1-18 or 19-36. If the ball stops on a number in the range of numbers you’ve betted on, you win. The payout is 1:2, which means a bet of €1 will pay €2 in winnings.

Even or Odd

Even or odd is a way to place a bet on all even numbers or all odd numbers. The payout from winning is 1:2, meaning a €1 bet will pay €2 in winnings.

Dozen Bets

There’s three different dozens available, when playing Roulette. The dozens are 1st Dozen (1-12), 2nd dozen (13-22) and 3rd dozen (27-34). Winning on a bet placed on a dozen, pays 1:3. This means a €1 bet will pay €3 in winnings.

Column Bet

A column bet is where you place a bet on a column of numbers. There’s three different columns available, and the payout is 1:3 like on the dozen bet. This means a bet of €1 will pay €3 in winnings.

Besides red or black, high or low, even or odd, dozen and column bets, there’s also some casinos that have an outside bet called snake bet. A snake bet is not very common, and the payout is the same as a dozen bet. The snake bet is betting on the numbers 1, 5, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 23, 27, 30, 32, and 34. It takes its name from the zigzagging, snakelike pattern.

Roulette Strategies

Most roulette players have their own strategy when they play roulette. Some have a set of numbers they always play on, some only play on outside bets, and some mixes it up. No matter the strategy you choose, it’s important to keep in mind that no matter what, roulette is and will always be a game based on coincidences.

A strategy can be fine to use when playing, but it’s important to be able to say stop, and always gamble responsible. Some players like to use systems such as martingale, grand martingale, D’Alembert or one of the other systems out there. These systems are made “to beat the game”, but with a maximum bet applied from the casinos, there’s always a chance of losing it all, if you don’t win several rounds in a row.