Roulette Rules: Introduction

As one of the most popular and simple casino games, roulette is often considered easy even for novices. But to actually win this game, players need to have a deep understanding of its rules, which have evolved and changed over the last few centuries.

Since roulette was first introduced in France in the late 18th century, it has spread to every casino and gambling establishment in the world. Historians believe that it was devised by French mathematician and inventor Blaise Pascal in an attempt to create a perpetual motion machine. In this primitive form, the game was quite different than what we know today. Still, it managed to become the most easily recognized casino game in the world.

Much of its popularity could be contributed to its simplicity and the fact that the outcome of each spin of the roulette wheel is based on pure chance rather than anything else. Players do not need to have any particular skill or use complex strategies in order to win – they simply pick a number, place a bet, and hope that luck will be on their side. Being familiar with the rules of the game, however, may considerably increase one’s chance to win because, in fact, some bets are better than others.

In this article, we will focus on the standard roulette rules that apply to practically all forms of modern-day roulette – whether we play in a brick-and-mortar casino or we prefer the virtual version of roulette found in online casinos.

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Roulette Basics

In land-based casinos, roulette is played on a large wooden table and the seats around it are reserved for players only. A casino employee, known as a croupier, is responsible for announcing the winning numbers, for collecting wagers and paying out winnings. In the most classic form of the game, the croupier tosses a small ball onto a spinning wheel that has colored pockets with the numbers from 0 to 36 – note that there is an additional pocket for 00 (double zero) in American roulette.

Once the wheel stops moving, the croupier announces the number, in whose pocket the ball has fallen into. Everyone who placed a bet on this number (or on the respective color or category of this number) wins a fixed payout, determined by the rules of the game. Bets are placed with casino chips that represent different amounts of money – $1, $5, $10, $50, etc., while the wheel is still spinning. Once it stops or once the croupier announces “No more bets”, all bets placed on the table are final and cannot be moved or taken off.

This takes us to another essential part of the game – the table layout. The gaming table is covered with a green felt cloth (it could be blue, red, or purple, as well), which has a chart with all the numbers from the wheel drawn on it. This is a simple rectangular diagram that shows all possible bets and their respective payouts and chips are placed on top of it. As you can see, the rules of the game are quite straightforward and it normally takes just a few spins of the wheel before they become your second nature. There are, however, a few details players should pay attention to when playing roulette and they include the types of wheels and table layouts.

Roulette Wheels
Roulette Table Layout

Object and Rules of the Game

Object and Rules of the GameThe object of the game is really simple and straightforward – to correctly predict where the ball will land after the wheel stops turning. As you can imagine, this is easier said than done, especially when we play virtual roulette. In comparison, when playing the physical, real-life game, professional gamblers can spot different irregularities in the wheel due to wear and tear. Based on them, they can see how and whether the wheel is biased in any way and whether some sections and numbers are actually more likely to be hit.

When it comes to virtual online roulette, however, the outcome of every spin is random and cannot be predicted as guaranteed by the use of a special piece of software called Random Number Generator (RNG). Once players place their chips on the table, they need to press the Spin button and the computer will determine the winning number. The outcome is not influenced by the past or future spins – every time, players get 1 winning number and 36 losing numbers (or 37 losing numbers in American, double-zero roulette).

If players have successfully guessed the winning number or groups of numbers, they win and receive a payout that is a multiple of their original stake. Each type of bet has a different payout but the general rule is that bets, which are more likely to win, come with a lower payout. The more unlikely an outcome, the higher the potential reward.

For instance, the Red sector on the betting layout pays evenly – 1 to 1, which is sometimes displayed as 1:1 or even 2:1 since we receive our original bet plus 1 unit. At the same time, this bet is very likely to win since there are 18 red numbers on the wheel. The chances for hitting the number 5 are much lower – 1 out of 37, which is why the payout is much more attractive at 35:1

Bets and Payouts

One of the most important aspects of roulette play is betting and the reason for this is quite simple – choosing the right type of bet may increase your chances of winning the game. As we have demonstrated in the example above, some bets have a higher probability of winning than others. This is why players should learn the basic types of bets before they start playing roulette for real money.

Moreover, many roulette players prefer combining several bets to ensure more coverage of the betting layout. Even the best betting strategy, however, cannot change the odds of the game. In other words, it is impossible to gain an advantage over the casino. Understanding the types of bets and their respective payouts, on the other hand, is fundamental for assessing the value of each bet and its expected return.

Outside Bets
Inside Bets
Called Bets

Betting Limits

Betting LimitsBefore starting a real-money game, casino patrons should always take the betting limits into account. Depending on the type of casino, the variation of roulette, and sometimes, even the VIP status of the player, the minimum and maximum stakes will differ. This is extremely important since players with a bankroll of $100 would not be able to play even a few spins if the table minimum is $50. It is recommended to bet a maximum of 1%-2% of your bankroll on a single round. So, those with a bankroll of only $100 should not wager more than $2 per spin.

Many online casinos offer their patrons minimum stakes of $1 but the limits will vary from one casino to the next. There are also low-limit tables with bets from $1 to $10 per spin and high-limit tables with stakes from $50 to $500 per spin. Most casinos use a progressive model to determine the maximum bet amounts for each type of bet. If, for example, the casino accepts straight bets up to $250, the maximum stake on splits would be $500 (2x). The max bet allowed on a street will be $750 (3x), on a corner bet – $1,000 (4x), on a six line – $1,500 (6x), on dozens and columns – $1,750 (7x), and on low/high, even/odd, and red-black – $2,000 (8x).

Additional Roulette Rules

There are several additional rules that can be found in some variations of roulette. Three of them, called Surrender, En Prison, and La Partage, are specifically tied to situations when the 0 or 00 wins. However, these rules are not always offered by casinos – they are especially rare in online versions of roulette. Since they reduce the house edge, they are quite popular among professional and advantage players.

Imprisonment Variation Probabilities of Winning Probabilities of Losing Probabilities of Push Expected Value
Single Imprisonment 0.48648649 0.50036523 0.01314828 -0.01387874
Double Imprisonment 0.48648649 0.50019005 0.01332346 -0.01370356
Triple Imprisonment 0.48648649 0.50018768 0.01332583 -0.0137012
Surrender
“La Partage” Rule
“En Prison” Rule