What is Roulette?

Roulette is a game that is often played in casinos. People often bet real money on the game in order to earn more money. Roulette originated in 17th century France and has since made its way into almost every United States casino. The Monte Carlo in Monaco is one of the most popular casinos and has many tables of Roulette.

The Basics

The basics include eight players sitting at a table who play against the house, which is represented by a dealer. In front of the dealer is a roulette wheel – the dealer also handles the bets and payouts. Depending upon its location, the roulette wheel may have anywhere from 36-38 slots. In the United States, the wheel has 38 slots, whereas in Europe most have 36 or 37 slots. Before the round starts, each player buys chips to get into the game. They use colored chips instead of cash chips so their bets don't get mixed up. If you have won at the end of the round, you will receive cash chips back. These cash chips can then be taken to the casino cashier in exchange for real money. This system is used in an effort to combat cheaters who might sneak in money or other chips into the game.

Roulette is similar to craps, except there is a wheel instead of dice. To start, everybody at the table places bets on the number they think the ball will land on. After everybody at the table has made their bet, the dealer will spin the wheel and declare that no more bets are allowed. After the dealer says no more bets, nobody is allowed to make additional bets or change their current bet. After the dealer places the dolly on the winning number, the dealer pays the winners and the losers are allowed to make new bets for the next spin. You win if the number you bet on was landed on, but you may also win smaller amounts if the number was very close to what you bet on.

House Advantage

Just like in almost every casino game, the house is almost always guaranteed to profit. In the case of roulette on a single zero table, the house has an advantage of 2.7%. If the table is double zero, the house has an advantage of 5.25%. The house gains this advantage by paying the winners a little less than what they actually earned, about 1% less. The winners will barely notice this but it is enough to ensure the casino always makes money.

How you Win

Much like craps, you win by correctly predicting where the ball will land in relation to the numbers. This may sound easy, but it is far from it. As in poker, there is a significant amount of luck needed in order to do well in the game. Some players will bet on the same number every time because they believe the number is lucky, or for some other reason. Others take a more mathematical approach and bet on the numbers that haven't been rolled in a while. Other players actually bet on multiple numbers each round, hoping that they will hit at least one and earn enough to offset the cost of betting on multiple numbers. Other players who are very experienced use certain roulette systems that have been developed for the pure purpose of determining the exact way to bet on the numbers. The payouts that you earn depend on how close to the number you bet on. If you bet on the number exactly, you will often win the entire pot. If you are plus or minus one number, you will often receive a portion of the pot if others are also plus or minus their number.