Roulette

Roulette or Rulet as it is sometimes called is played in casinos all over the world including online casinos. For the most part the rules for playing are pretty much the same all over.

You will find the game of roulette in casinos all over the world, from Monte Carlo to Las Vegas, as well as in online casinos. There is an aura of glamour, mystery and romance surrounding roulette. Some have said winning the game requires a pact with the devil because the numbers on the wheel add up to 666 (I have never bothered to check the accuracy of this.) It has been played in one form or another since the 17th century. The name itself is French for little wheel.

The game is played with players standing or sitting around the roulette table. On the table is a wheel with the numbers 1 to 36. The wheel also has a zero and some American casinos have a wheel with two zeros. As the wheel spins the croupier starts a small ball spinning in the opposite direction. When the wheel slows the ball will land in one of the numbered slots. Players can continue to place bets as the ball spins around the wheel until the dealer announces no more bets.

Half of the numbers have a red background and the other half a black background. Traditionally the zero has a green background. Aside from the roulette wheel the rest of the table layout shows various bets that you can make by placing your chips on them. It is here that fortunes have been made and lost.

Inside Bets
These are bets made on the chart of the various numbers 1 to 36 and zero. Just put a chip down in the middle of the square with the number you select. If it comes up, it pays 35 to 1. It is called a straight up bet.

Separating the chart into various squares with numbers are lines. These lines are called streets. By putting a chip on the street between 2 numbers, called a split bet, you will win if either one of them comes up on the spin. It will pay 17 to 1.

You can place your chip to cover 3 numbers, known as a street bet, which pays 11 to 1. The chip is placed at the end of any row of numbers. Bets placed at the junctions of ‘0, 1, 2’ and ‘0, 2, 3’ are also considered to be a street bet. You can cover 4 numbers, called a corner bet, that pays 8 to 1. You can cover 6 numbers, which is called a line bet, that pays 5 to1 by placing a chip on two adjoining streets. Additionally, for American roulette, there is the Five-number bet which covers ‘0,00,1,2,3’ and pays 6:1, and the Row 00 bet which covers 0 and 00 and pays 17:1.

Outside Bets
These are bets made that do not involve specific numbers. Here are some examples. You can bet a red or a black number will win (color bet), it pays 1 to 1. You can bet the number will be odd or even (even/odd bet), it pays 1 to 1. You can bet the number will be high 19 to 36 or low 18 or less (high low bet), it pays 1 to 1.

You can bet on any of the three columns (column bet). If a number in that column wins, you will be paid 2 to 1. The 36 numbers have been broken up into 3 dozens; they are called the first dozen, second dozen and third dozen. You can bet on these groups, called a dozen bet. If the dozen you select has the winning number it pays 2 to 1. The chart shown above illustrates the various bet types and how to place them.

Roulette Strategy
The bets that have been presented should be considered as tools for your betting strategy at the roulette table. You must realize that no matter what bet you make, the casino has an edge in their favor. There are people who make money selling instructions on how to win at roulette. Save your money, if they really had something that worked they would use it for themselves and wouldn’t need to earn a few dollars selling fake gambling schemes.

It is possible to win money at roulette. If there were no winners people would not play the game. Obviously, having amazingly good luck is one way to win. Here is another approach. You play close to even with the casino and when you win some, get up and walk away. If the winnings do not happen you have not lost much money because you are playing close to even with the house.

One way to play close to even with the casino is to stick to the even money bets such as red or black, high or low, odd or even. Always keep in mind that the house has a small percentage in their favor as when the ball lands on zero and all bets are lost, except of course if you played zero.

With this method there is no guarantee of winning, although it is a definite possibility, the idea is to not lose too much or too rapidly, and leave when the tide of battle turns slightly in your favor. Albert Einstein is reputed to have said the only way to make money at a roulette table is to steal it!

A few of the systems that have become popular (and do not work) are; The Martindale in which you keep doubling your bet until you win or hit the house limit. The D’Alembert System which would have you add a unit to your bet when you lose, and subtract a unit from your bet when you win. There is also a reverse of this, so you add a unit when you win and subtract when you lose. Neither one of these work well because before you know it you are betting large amounts just to make a very small profit.

Another of these methods that refuse to die is the Labouchere System. You write down a series of 7 or 8 numbers. You add the front and back numbers together and that is the amount of your bet. If you win, cross off the first and last numbers and bet the amount of the new first and last numbers. If you lost the initial bet, add the amount you lost to the end of the series as the new last number. Your next bet is the total of that number plus the first number. The idea is to cross off all of the numbers at which time you will show a profit. It is complicated, annoying and worst of all will quickly do violence to your bank roll.

Stay with simple even money bets or the strategy outlined. Good Luck!