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Rules of Roulette

Roulette originated in the 17th century and was a game popularly played by the French. It has now spread all over Europe and the casinos of Monte Carlo in Monaco are known as the famous centers of roulette.

Basics

Typically, up to eight players play against the house which is represented by the dealer or the croupier. He is responsible for spinning the roulette wheel as well as handling of the bets and payouts. In the European roulette the wheel has 37 slots representing 36 numbers and one zero. In the American roulette wheels have 38 slots with two zeros. Each player can buy chips of different colors to enable distinction between players. If you win, you can change these chips for cash chips which are special chips with the value amount imprinted on them. There come in several denominations in different colors. These can be exchanged for real money at the cash desk. To start play, you place your bet on any number or numbers in the table layout or on the outside. After all best are set, the croupier starts the spin and sets the ball spinning. Just a few moments before the ball is about to drop over the slots, the croupier says 'no more bets' to end all betting. Only after the croupier places the dolly on the winning number, clears all the losing bets and pays the winners can you start placing your new bets. The winners are those bets that are on or around the number that comes up. Also the bets on the outside of the layout win if the winning number is represented. On a single zero roulette table the house advantage is 2.7% and on a double zero roulette table it is 5.26%.

The player has to predict on which slot exactly, the ball will land after each spin, in order to win. A tough decision, it mainly relies on luck. Different players use different numbers they think will win. Some bet on many numbers to increase their chances of winning at every spin, but this way the payout is considerably reduced. Other more fastidious players use specific roulette systems or methods, money management systems, or both.

The 'En Prison' rule

A roulette rule applies to even-money bets only by most casinos. When the result is 0, some casinos allow the player to either take back half his bet or leave the bet (en prison = in prison) for another roulette spin. In the latter, if the outcome is again zero, then the whole bet is lost.

The 'La Partage' rule

This rule is very similar to the en-prison rule. However, here, the player loses half the bet with no following option of en prison. This refers to the 'outside' even-money bets Red/Black, High/Low, Odd/Even and applies when the outcome is zero. Both the La Partage and the En Prison roulette rules essentially cut the casino edge on the 'even-money bets' in half.

The payouts

A bet on one number only, called a straight-up bet, pays 35 to 1. (You collect 36. With no house advantage you should collect 37 (38 in the USA on double zero roulette wheels). A two-number bet, called split bet, pays 17 to 1.

A three-number bet, called street bet, pays 11 to 1. A four-number bet, called corner bet, pays 8 to 1. A six-number bet, pays 5 to 1. A bet on the outside dozen or column, pays 2 to 1. A bet on the outside even money bets, pays 1 to 1.

French roulette rules are very to the European roulette rules with the same 37 numbered wheel and one zero. It has a different table layout for the outside bets. The player odds in French roulette are the same as in European roulette and better than the odds in American roulette.

Below are the English and equivalent French terms for the various roulette bets :

Inside bets

Outside bets