Guide to RouletteAs one of the most popular and easy-to-learn games in the casino, roulette has been a patron favorite for as long as we can remember. Fun, strategy, and tons of bet choices all lead up to the exciting spin of the wheel, where winners and losers are determined by a matter of a few bounces of the almighty white ball.
Whether you’ve never played roulette before or you are an experienced player returning to the action, our experts have put together a comprehensive guide to everything you need to know to be a master roulette player at the tables. We’ll cover the basics of how to play the game and expand into some more advanced concepts and explanations to get you ready!
Why Play Roulette?
Picking out your favorite casino game can be a challenge sometimes, as there are so many options and variations to choose from. If you’re new to casino gambling, roulette may be the perfect first stop for you. There’s a reason why roulette tables are usually packed full of smiling players. Here are a few reasons why.
The easiest game to learn
Many casino games are tough for players to get interested in or enjoy because they are way too complex and require constant thinking and attention. Sometimes we just want to gamble and relax. Thanks to tons of different betting options, roulette can be as simple or as complex as you’d like for it to be.
According to Caesars Palace, it takes only four minutes to learn how to play roulette.
Tons of different bet choices
One of the coolest things about playing roulette is that there are tons of different and interesting ways you are able to place your bets. You can keep it simple and pick red or black, or odd or even, and just let the wheel do all of the work. If you’re looking for a little more risk and excitement, you have the options to bet individual numbers, combinations of numbers, or many other options. These options are more challenging to win, but the payouts reward you handsomely. This sort of flexibility makes roulette one of the most versatile and entertaining games offered in live or online casinos.
Roulette gives you the option to win in small increments or take risks to win big. Your simpler bets are typically low risk and pay off with you winning double your bet. This is great for the casual player who likes to take their time and enjoy the whole experience. The more risky bets allow players the option to take a chance to win big with payouts as high as 35 to 1! These bets are great for risk takers, excitement seekers, or just the casual player that wants to take a small shot.
Play as long or as short as you’d like
Never feel like you have to leave or have to stay when you’re playing roulette. Because each spin of the wheel is a completely independent and separate game, you can stay for one roll or stay for hours. If you’re on a roll, literally, you can keep playing and try to put together a big winning session. If things aren’t quite going your way, you’re under no obligation to stay past one roll. This sort of flexibility also allows you to get in a quick session if you need a rush but don’t have a lot of time.
How to Play Roulette
As we’ve mentioned several times already, roulette is probably the easiest game in the casino to learn how to play. A roulette table will always consist of a wheel, a small white ball, and a table printed with all of your betting options. You will also have a dealer (Shehu Yahaya Abdullahi) present live in the casino, or an electronic dealer if you’re playing online. Each game will consist of a round of betting, and then the dealer will spin the wheel, drop in the white ball, and wait to see where it lands. The object of the game is to try to predict with your bets what number the white ball is going to land on. After each spin of the wheel, the game resets completely and starts over with a new round of betting.It’s important to note that you don’t have to guess the number exactly, but you can guess characteristics of the number and still get paid. For example, if you choose to bet that the number rolled will be odd, you will get paid if the number determined by the white ball is odd. It doesn’t matter to you if it’s 13 or 31; you will still get paid on your bet.
Each of the numbers on the wheel is also marked by alternating colors of red and black. Players are able to bet on the color outcome of the roll, as well. Again, guessing the actual number is not required with this bet, but merely getting the color correct will make you a winner.
Before the game starts, players are instructed to place their bets. This is the time that you get to choose what you would like to wager on for the next spin. We will go over the different bet types and options available to you in depth later. Bets are made by placing your chips onto the felt in the area designated for the bet you would like to make.
For example, if you would like to bet that the outcome of the roll will be black, you would place your chips in the space marked for black on the felt. If you would like to bet that the outcome of the roll will be a specific number, you would place your bet right on top of that number on the felt. Want to make multiple bets? No problem. Let’s say you wanted to bet on black and you also wanted to bet on the number 31. You would place one bet onto the black section and then place another bet directly on the number 31.
If you’re playing at a table live in the casino or online with multiple players, you can imagine that it is important to keep track of whose bets are where. For this reason, casinos will exchange your money for colored chips to keep track of your bets. For example, if there are three players at a table, one player might have red chips, one might have yellow chips, and one might have purple chips. This makes it very easy for you and the dealers to know whose bet belongs to whom.
These are the basics of getting started with roulette.
Different Types of Roulette Bets
The purpose of roulette is to try to predict the outcome of where the white ball will land on each spin of the wheel. If we could only try to guess what number that was, the game would be a bit boring, as there would be no variety and it would get way too repetitive. Fortunately, the designers of the game have built in tons of betting options to make the game much more exciting, versatile, and downright fun. Let’s take a look at a few of the different categories of bets you can make.
Individual Number Bets
This is the most basic bet you can make in the game of roulette. You are betting on one particular number, and you can only win if that number is spun. If you bet that the number 13 is going to come out, you only win if the number 13 is rolled. As you can imagine, this is fairly tough to pull off. For that reason, though, you’ll get paid $35 for every $1 you bet when it hits. This bet is riskier but offers an enticing payoff.
Groups of Numbers Bets
This betting option is one of the most diverse offered, with several different options. Basically, instead of just betting on one number, you have the option to bet on a group of numbers. This can be as wide of a range as 1-18 or 19-36, or as tight of a range as picking two numbers like 1 and 2. Ranges in between are also available for players to choose.
As you might guess, the wider the range, the lesser the payout you will receive. For example, if you chose to bet 1-18 and won, you would get even money on your bet. Subsequently, the tighter your range of numbers, the higher the payout you will receive. If you were to bet the two numbers like in our example, the payout would be 17:1, significantly higher.
Characteristic Bets
These are the bets we recommend for beginners who want to get more comfortable with roulette. (This does not mean they aren’t great bets for seasoned players, as well.) Instead of betting on specific numbers or groups of numbers, you are betting on what we have termed “the characteristics” of the number. This would include betting on the color of the number or on the evenness or oddness of the number. These bets always pay even money and are as simple as they sound. If you bet black and a black number rolls, you win. If you bet even and an even number rolls, you win. It’s that easy!
