In a Roulette table, the Roulette wheel is a circular spinning disk with divisions on its outer part. The disc is the upper part of a bowl that revolves around its centre. A ball is placed on the outer edge of the wheel and the wheel is spun. The wheel and the ball eventually come to rest with the ball stuck in one of the divisions.
The divisions herein are numbered from 1 to 36 and that too in a completely random pattern. They are coloured alternately in classic red and black. There is a division numbered 0. It’s usually coloured in green. Some Roulette wheels have another 00 numbered division. These are called American Roulette tables. They have a worse chance of winning for players and gives a better house edge in comparison to the European Roulette tables.
Before rolling the wheel on a Roulette table, players place a bet on which number or numbers the ball is going to stop. This bet is made on a betting mat with a chip, the chip being carefully placed on the precise location that indicates the number and type of bet being made. Different parts of the table have different names, but many still retain their French origin. Some parts have new English names depending on where you are playing.
Roulette bets
These are the different kinds of bet that can be made on a Roulette table. It should be kept in mind that the odds of winning may depend on the table you are playing on, ie. whether American or European Roulette table
Evens:
- Red / Rouge: any red number
- Black / Noir: any black number
- Even / Pair: any even number
- Odd / Impair: any odd number
- Low bet / Manque: 1 – 18
- High bet / Passe: 19 – 36
2 to 1
- First dozen / Premiere douzaine: 1 – 12
- Middle dozen / Moyenne douzaine: 13 – 24
- Last dozen / Dernier douzaine: 25 – 36
- Column bet / Colonne: any column of 12 numbers
Longer Odds
- Split bet / En Chaval: It includes a pair of numbers (odds: 17 to 1.
- Line bet / Sixain: 6 numbers (odds: 5 to 1) – (While betting, to bet on the 2 rows, place the stake on the joining of the edge of 2 rows of 3 numbers)
- Straight up / En Plein: a single number(odds: 35 to 1)
- Corner bet / Carre: 4 numbers (odds: 8 to 1) – (Place the stake at the joining of a square of four numbers)
- Street bet / Carre simple: A row of 3 numbers (odds: 11 to 1), (Halfway over the line whereby forming the end of the row including three numbers on which you can place the bets)
On a Roulette table, any bet on six numbers or less is called “Inside bet.” Any bet on 12 numbers or more is known as “Outside bet.”
European Roulette Rules
Now that you know all about the different types of bets on a Roulette table, let’s learn about the rules of Roulette. The Roulette rules are pretty simple. Once the bets are made, the croupier stops the betting and spins the Roulette wheel. Then he rolls the ball in the opposite direction to the wheel. Eventually, the ball stops at one of the divisions. The croupier makes the announcement of the results. Then, he gathers the losing bets and pays the winner.
The ‘En Prison’ Rule
This rule is applied to even bets only. When the ball stops at 0, the player has two options:
- Take away half of the bet and lose the other half.
- Let the bet stay for the next spin for an all or nothing gamble. If the next spin is again 0 or does not match the ‘en prison’ bet, then the whole bet is lost.
‘La Partage’ Rule
The La Partage Roulette rule is a variation of the En Prison rule. Here the player has no option when a 0 comes up and loses half of the bet.
These are some of the most important components of a Roulette table and are quite important for you to understand these components, as they will significantly improve your odds at winning.