How to Play Roulette - Online Roulette Rules
A guide to understanding the basic rules of roulette, how to place roulette bets, a variety of bets and how to play the popular casino game of roulette.
The roulette table is always a popular area of the casino due to spectators and the fact that up to eight players can play the game at one time. The players are all seated around a table (on which is mounted the roulette wheel). Although there will be up to seven other players playing, each player plays only against the house – not against the other players at the table. European roulette wheels have 37 slots – the numbers 1 through 36, plus a 0, and American roulette wheels have 38 slots – the numbers 1 through 36, a single zero and double zero.
Placing your Bets in Roulette
Each player will hold specific color chips that differ from all the other players. This is to prevent players' chips becoming muddled on the table. Players each place their chips onto the roulette table on top of the numbers that they wish to bet on. Bets can no longer be placed from just before the ball is dropped onto the spinning roulette wheel.
Up to ten different bets can be placed in the game of roulette. These can be divided into inside bets and outside bets. Inside bets include bets on numbers or groups of numbers within the numbered section of the roulette table. Outside bets are bets that are made on groups or sections of numbers. These are known as outside bets as they are placed outside the numbered section of the table. These basic categories of bets can then be further divided.
Inside bets include:
- Straight up bet – a bet placed on a single number.
- Split bet – a bet placed on two adjacent numbers
- Street bet – a bet placed on three numbers that are in a row on the roulette table.
- Corner bet – a bet placed in the middle of four adjoining numbers – the groups of numbers in the corners of the roulette table.
- Line bet – a bet placed between two rows of three numbers – that is, on six numbers.
Outside bets include:
- Red or black – a bet placed on the color of the outcome.
- Odd or even – a bet placed on either an odd or even outcome.
- High or low – a bet placed on either numbers 1-18 or numbers 19-36.
- Column bet – a bet placed on a column of 12 numbers.
- Dozen bet – a bet placed on the ball landing on one of the three groups of dozens (1-12, 13-24 or 25-36)
Roulette Play
Once all the bets have been placed, the croupier will spin the roulette wheel. The ball will be released once the wheel is spinning and it will spin in the opposite direction to the spin of the wheel. When the roulette wheel comes to a stop and the ball has rested on a specific slot, the croupier will place a dolly to mark the winning number. The croupier will then collect all the chips of the losing bets and pay out the winners.