How to Play Roulette
Roulette, along with other games like blackjack and craps, is part of the standard games found in any casino in the world. You’d be hard pressed to find a full-service casino anywhere that doesn’t offer a roulette game. Head over to European casinos and you’ll see roulette still peaking in popularity. Why do Europeans love roulette so much? The game has been around in Europe for over three hundred years and is as big a part of their gambling world as poker has become in America. Now that roulette games are becoming popular online, expect this game to go through another revival of popularity here in America as well.
The game we call roulette today is similar to the game that existed at the time of the invention of roulette. Historians tell us that roulette has been in play in some version since the end of the 18th century. By 1796, at least, we know that roulette wheels used red and black slots on a roulette wheel that we would recognize today. The games then also used a set of numbers from 00 to 36.
You’ll notice American style roulette wheels look a little different from the ones used in Europe. In fact, the major difference between American roulette and European roulette is the inclusion of the 00 slot in the American game. American roulette includes a 00 slot while European wheels took the slot away over time to offer slightly better odds and draw in more action.
Odds in Roulette
You may be wondering what the difference between a 37 slot American-style roulette wheel and a 36-slot European-style roulette wheel is. When you look at the math behind roulette, that one little extra slot on the American wheel is worth about 3 percentage points toward the house edge. European-style roulette is friendlier to the gambler.
How to Win Money at Roulette
Making money on roulette is about getting the best roulette odds. For starters, that means only playing roulette on a European-style wheel. Thankfully, many American casinos that offer roulette also happen to keep a European-style roulette wheel on the gaming floor. Admittedly, there are far more American style wheels in America, so you may have to do a little digging to find the more profitable European roulette wheel.
Playing Roulette
So you’ve done your homework, you found a European roulette wheel, and you’re ready to win money playing roulette. What’s next?
As soon as you walk into a casino looking to win at roulette, find your nearest European-style roulette wheel. Should the casino you find yourself in not have a European roulette wheel, walk out the door right away and find another casino. American roulette wheels offer the house an edge that is twice what you find on a Euro roulette wheel.
Roulette Basics
Roulette is uses a ball and wheel to randomly determine a winning number. The wheel sits on the betting surface and spins on its central axis. European-style roulette wheels contain 37 slotted numbers on the wheel: numbers 1-36 are all either red or black and the 0 symbol is green.
Don’t refer to your roulette dealer as a dealer. In fact, the guy controlling the roulette wheel and payouts is called a croupier. The croupier spins the wheel one specific direction, then he tosses the ball around the edge of the wheel in the direction opposite that he spun the wheel. The ball spins a few times, then it starts to head down into the playing surface. When it finally bounces into one of the roulette slots, a winning number is determined and payouts are made.
Your bet may be on a single number, a group of numbers, a color, or any number of other features. Since some of these bets offer really low odds and some offer basically even money odds, it is important to understand the different roulette bets and how they pay out before you play.
Roulette Wagering and Tips
The first tip is obvious: you should never pay for roulette advice, roulette strategies, or any other tactics designed to earn you more cash for playing roulette. Thousands of roulette strategy eBooks exist to cheat you out of your money. There is no end to the pay-to-read roulette advice online, some costing literally hundreds of dollars, promising a can’t-lose strategy. The truth is, all these tactics are as old as the game itself, and none of them really work.
Learning to win at roulette shouldn’t cost you a dime. Sites like this one offer extensive roulette guidelines free of cost. If you can spend a little time reading up on free roulette strategy, you’re saving money by not shelling out for useless roulette strategy and you may even end up winning more money at your next casino visit. If all we teach you is to avoid spending cash on scams involving roulette betting strategies, then we’ve done our job.
Roulette Math
You can read about all the roulette betting systems and odds calculations that you want, but the math behind the game of roulette is impossible to beat. Even a basic understanding of gambling math is enough to realize that all wagering systems are worthless.
For example: how bad can a roulette losing streak actually be? It’s more likely than you think that you could lose your roulette bet ten times in a row. Your likelihood of enduring a ten bet losing streak is slightly over 1 in 100. What does that mean? For every 100 spins of the roulette wheel, you have a decent chance of going through a nasty ten-spin losing streak. That’s why it’s important to avoid crackpot betting systems like the Martingale.
Roulette is a fun game, more for gamblers and people who like games of luck than for skill game players. It is an essential part of the casino, and can be a great way to kill some time with cheap entertainment. Just avoid the pitfalls of buying roulette strategy, using “can’t-lose” betting strategy tips, and getting in over your head on minimum bet sizes.