Roulette Rules
Roulette is played on a table either with the roulette wheel at one end and the so-called game layout at the other, or with the wheel in the middle and layouts on either end. The layout features 36 numbered spaces arranged in three columns of 12 spaces each, as well as other spaces used for various types of bets. The wheel is marked with 37 or 38 slots: 0 to 36 in the French Wheel, plus 00 ("double zero") in the American Wheel. The numbered slots alternate between pairs of odd numbers and pairs of even numbers, and between red and black, with 0 (and 00) green. A roulette ball, usually made of ivory, metal, or plastic, is used in the game, as are multi-colored wheel checks, or chips, with a different color for each player.
Here we focus on the rules of American roulette. However, aside from the 00 discrepancy, European and American roulette games are for the most part the same.
Playing roulette is simple. Players place bets by sliding their chips onto the layout. The dealer, sometimes referred to as a croupier, spins the wheel counterclockwise and then rolls the ball into the outside track of the wheel so that it travels clockwise around. Players may continue to place bets even after the wheel and ball have been set in motion, up until when the ball begins to slow down and the dealer shouts "No More Bets!" The ball falls into one of the numbered slots, and the dealer declares the winning number and its color. 0 and 00 are neither odd nor even, nor red nor black. If the ball lands on 0 or 00, only players who have placed straight bets on that slot will win.
Losing bets are collected by the house, and the dealer pays off all winning bets. Payoffs depend on the type of bet made, with higher risk corresponding to higher payoffs. The house advantage is 5.26% in all bets with the exception of the Five-Number Line Bet, where the house advantage is 7.89% (i.e. never take this bet!). In European roulette the house advantage is 2.70%.For more information on roulette follow some basic tips in our roulette playing tips article
