If you’ve ever walked into a casino or seen Passenger 57, you’re probably somewhat familiar with roulette. It’s one of the most popular casino games, primarily because it’s so easy to play. If you want to do some gambling, but you don’t want to learn the complex rules of craps, blackjack, or poker, roulette may be the game for you.
In this post, I’ll fill you in on everything you could possibly want to know about how to play roulette. I’ll thoroughly explain the rules, break down your odds of winning, and walk you through popular tips on roulette strategy. Finally, I’ll list the best places on the web to play online roulette. Let me guide you through this quintessential game of luck.
Roulette Rules
Roulette truly is one of the simplest casino games. After reading this article, you’ll be able to walk into any casino in your fanciest outfit and look like a roulette pro.
Roulette Basics
The US roulette wheel consists of 38 numbered slots—zero, double zero, and numbers 1-36. The numbers alternate between red and black, and the zeroes are green.
Players can place bets on single numbers, a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number will be odd or even.
In order to determine the winning number and color, the roulette wheel will be spinning in one direction and then the croupier, the casino employee running the game, will spin a ball in the opposite direction around the outside of the wheel. Eventually, the ball will lose momentum and drop into one of the slots on the wheel.
Roulette bets can be placed before the croupier spins the ball and while the ball is spinning. Shortly before the ball loses momentum, the croupier will close bets, and no more bets can be placed.
American Roulette Vs. European Roulette
European roulette rules are almost identical to American roulette rules, except that there are only 37 slots on a European roulette wheel. There’s only one zero, as opposed to the “0” and “00” on the American wheel.
The significance of only having the one zero is that it dramatically lowers the advantage of the casino, from 5.26% on most bets in American roulette to 2.70% on all bets in European roulette.
I’ll go into more depth about the advantage of the casino and roulette odds below.
How to Play Roulette: Placing Bets
The betting area on a roulette table is known as the betting layout. Here’s what the betting layout looks like. This is for a game of European roulette because there’s only one zero on the layout.
How to Place Bets
At a casino, you’ll exchange money for chips. Typically, in roulette, each player will be given different color chips in order to keep track of everyone’s bets. Also, you can specify if you want your money in different denominations, and then you’ll receive more than one color chip and each color will represent a different denomination. For example, you may have $1 chips, $5 chips, and $25 chips.
Additionally, roulette chips usually can’t be used on other casino games, so exchange your roulette chips for regular casino chips before you leave the table.
To make bets, place your chips on the betting layout where you hope the ball will land. You can make multiple bets on each spin. For instance, you can bet on 15, “1 to 18,” and “odd” in the same spin.
Bets on specific numbers are known as inside bets, because they’re located on the inside of the betting layout. The bets on the outside of the table (red, black, odd, even, the number ranges, and “2 to 1”) are known as outside bets.
Additionally, you can place bets on multiple numbers on the inside layout by only putting down one chip. You can bet on an entire column of numbers in the inside layout by placing a chip on the corresponding “2 to 1” spot. It’s called “2 to 1” because that is the payout if the bet wins. Keep in mind that the column doesn’t include 0 or 00.
Furthermore, you can bet on 2 numbers (split bet) with a single chip by placing the chip on the line that separates the two numbers on the layout. You can bet on 3 numbers (street bet) by placing a chip at the end of a horizontal row of 3 numbers. You can bet on 4 numbers (square bet) by placing a chip in the center of the square that the adjoining 4 numbers on the layout creates. You can bet on 5 numbers (only in American roulette on 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3) by placing a chip in between the end of those two horizontal rows of numbers. Finally, you can bet on 6 numbers (double street bet) by placing a chip in between the end of two horizontal rows of three.
The minimum bet for an inside bet may be lower than the minimum for an outside bet. For example, there may be a $1 minimum for an inside bet and a $5 minimum for an outside bet. The odds of winning are greater for outside bets and the payouts are bigger for inside bets.
To see all the different roulette bets and how to make them, watch this video from 2:02-3:20.
What Happens to Your Bets
After the ball lands in one of slots, the dealer will collect all the losing bets and pay out all of the winning bets. Once the dealer has placed the chips you’ve won on the table, you can take your original bet and the chips you’ve won off the layout. Or you can bet all or a portion of those chips on the next spin. Remember that different roulette bets have different payouts.
Taking a Closer Look at Roulette Bets
Not only is it important to know what bets you can make, but also it’s important to know the odds of winning, the payout, and the casino advantage for each bet. Your odds of winning are the chance you have of winning on that bet on a single spin of the roulette wheel. The odds against the wheel landing on a specific number are 37 to 1. That’s another way of saying you have a 1/38 chance (there are 38 total slots in American roulette) of an inside bet on one number winning.
The payout is how much you get paid if that bet wins. The payout on a single number bet in roulette is 35 to 1. If you bet $1, you win $35. If you bet $2, you win $70. If the payout is 1 to 1, you’re paid even money for winning. If you bet $5, you win $5; you’ll get your $5 bet back and an additional $5.
The casino advantage is how much more money the casino will win over time than the player on that bet. A casino will always have an advantage since it’s trying to make money. On almost all bets in American roulette, the casino has a 5.26% advantage. That means you’re expected to lose 5.26% of the money you bet. Of course, an individual player can win and win big, but over time, the casino will win based on its statistical advantage.
Actually, roulette is one of the least favorable games to the player. The casino’s advantage is much larger in roulette than in other casino games. As a comparison, if you use perfect blackjack strategy, the casino’s advantage is only around 0.5%.
Finally, many of the bets in roulette are associated with terms to identify them. For example, a bet on a single number is known as a “straight up” bet and a bet on two adjacent numbers on the layout is known as a “split” bet.
I made a chart with each bet, how the bet is referred to in roulette slang, its odds, payout, and the casino advantage on that bet. Each row refers to a single bet.
American Roulette Odds
The five number bet consists of only one possible five number combination: 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3. On all the other bets, you have multiple options, and these statistics apply to any of them.
Inside Bets
| Bet | Known in Roulette Slang As | Odds Against Winning | Payout | Casino Advantage |
| Single Number | Straight Up | 37 to 1 | 35 to 1 | 5.26% |
| Two Numbers | Split | 18 to 1 | 17 to 1 | 5.26% |
| Three Numbers | Street | 11.7 to 1 | 11 to 1 | 5.26% |
| Four Numbers | Corner | 8.5 to 1 | 8 to 1 | 5.26% |
| Five Numbers (Bet on 0, 00, 1, 2, 3 at the same time) | Five Number | 6.6 to 1 | 6 to 1 | 7.9% |
| Six Numbers | Six Line/Double Street | 5.33 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 5.26% |
As you may have noticed, the five number bet gives the casino the biggest advantage, so I recommend never making this bet.
Outside Bets
| Bet | Known in Roulette Slang As | Odds Against Winning |
Payout | Casino Advantage |
| Red or Black | Red or Black | 1.11 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 5.26% |
| Even or Odd | Even or Odd | 1.11 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 5.26% |
| 1 to 18 or 19 to 36 | Low or High | 1.11 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 5.26% |
| 1-12, 13-24, 25-36 | Dozen | 2.17 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 5.26% |
| “2 to 1” | Column | 2.17 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 5.26% |
Just as a point of clarification, if you bet “even,” you’ll lose if the ball lands on 0 or 00. Those are considered neither odd nor even.
European Roulette Odds
As I mentioned before, because there’s only one green slot in European roulette, the odds of winning are higher and the casino advantage is lower.
Inside Bets
| Bet | Known in Roulette Slang As | Odds Against Winning | Payout | Casino Advantage |
| Single Number | Straight Up | 36 to 1 | 35 to 1 | 2.7% |
| Two Numbers | Split | 17.5 to 1 | 17 to 1 | 2.7% |
| Three Numbers | Street | 11.33 to 1 | 11 to 1 | 2.7% |
| Four Numbers | Corner | 8.25 to 1 | 8 to 1 | 2.7% |
| Six Numbers | Six Line/Double Street | 5.17 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 2.7% |
Outside Bets
| Bet | Know in Roulette Slang As | Odds Against Winning | Payout | Casino Advantage |
| Red or Black | Red or Black | 1.06 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 2.7% |
| Even or Odd | Even or Odd | 1.06 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 2.7% |
| 1 to 18 or 19 to 36 | Low or High | 1.06 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 2.7% |
| 1-12, 13-24, 25-36 | Dozen | 2.08 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 2.7% |
| “2 to 1” | Column | 2.08 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 2.7% |
French Roulette Odds
French roulette is identical to European roulette except there are a couple of additional rules that are advantageous to the player. In French roulette, if you place an even money bet (red/black, high/low, odd/even) and the ball lands on the green zero, your bet will either stay “in prison” or you can “surrender.”
- “In prison”/”En prison”- Your bet will stay on the table and if it wins on the next spin, you’ll get your bet back.
- “Surrender”/”La Partage”- You’ll get half your bet back.
These additional French rules decrease the house advantage on even money bets to 1.35%. If you have a choice between American, European, and French roulette, French roulette is your best option, and American is your worst.
Roulette Strategy and Tips
Many people have roulette “strategies,” but no strategy will mathematically increase your chances of winning at roulette. Some people are very confident in their roulette strategy, but they’re operating on misconceptions. I’ll explain a couple of the most popular roulette tips that people give; again, though, none of these strategies will lower the casino advantage.
Raising Even Money Bets
Probably the most common roulette strategy entails placing the same even money bet (red/black, high/low, odd/even) and raising it (normally by 2 times) each time you lose until the bet wins. For example, let’s say you bet $5 on black. If the wheel lands on red, you bet $10 on black on the next spin. If it lands on red again, you bet $20 on black on the next spin.
The strategy may sound good, but it doesn’t increase your odds of winning. Two important points to remember:
- Past results have no impact on the result of the next spin. If the wheel has landed on an odd number six spins in a row, the next spin still has about a 47.4% (in American roulette) chance of landing on an odd or an even. In fact, casinos will usually display the results of previous spins because they know that this information won’t lessen their advantage.
- Also, because of the green slots, you have less than a 50% chance of winning your even money bets. Therefore, you’re expected to win slightly less than 1 out of 2 times on these bets.
Two of the Dozens or Columns
Another common roulette tip is to bet two of the three Dozen bets (1-12, 13-24, 25-36). This strategy will increase your probability of winning a bet to about 63%, but you’re risking more to earn less, and the casino advantage remains the same. You’ll lose both bets (if the ball lands on the other dozen or the zeroes) about 37% of the time.
These bets pay 2 to 1. So if you bet $5 on 1-12 and $5 on 25-36, if the ball lands on either 1-12 or 25-36, you’ll end up winning $5. You’ll earn $10 for the winning Dozen bet, and you’ll lose $5 for the one that doesn’t hit. The same principles apply if you bet on two of the “2 to 1,” or column, bets.
Placing more bets will increase your probability of winning on a single spin, but it does nothing to change the casino’s advantage. For example, you can bet on 35 numbers individually and have a 92% chance of winning one of your straight up bets. However, you’re risking $35 to win $1. Unfortunately, no matter what you do, you can’t alter the casino advantage.
Other Betting Combinations and Patterns
Certain individuals have claimed to have outsmarted the game and discovered foolproof roulette tips that will allow you to reliably make money on the game. Again, none of these roulette betting systems will change the casino’s advantage. Most of these strategies are based on the two faulty premises I debunked above:
- The results of past spins somehow influence the results of future spins. NOT TRUE!
- Increasing the probability that you’ll win one of your bets (by making more bets) decreases the casino advantage. Again, this is NOT TRUE!
Online Roulette: Where to Play
Online gambling can be tons of fun, and if you’re not close to a casino, you may want to test your knowledge of roulette with an online game. On different sites, you can play for free or for money.
If you’re playing for money, you should make sure that’s legal where you live. Also, playing for money requires you to use a credit card. The money you put in your online account will be charged to your credit card, and different sites have different payout methods when you want to cash out your account.
Some sites will offer variations of American, European, or French roulette, like “triple spin roulette.” Avoid these fancy versions of roulette if you’re playing for money. Normally the casino advantage is higher for these unique games.
I’ve listed some of the best online roulette options for you. The graphics for all these games are good, and it’s easy to figure out how to place bets.
Casino Euro
Casino Euro offers European roulette, which is preferable to American roulette. On this site, you play for money, and you get bonus money for signing up. One potential disadvantage for American players is that the bets are in Euros.
Royal Panda
On Royal Panda, you can play American, European, and French roulette. Also, you’re able to play for free and for money. Unlike Casino Euro, on Royal Panda you can play for dollars.
Bovada
On Bovada, you can play American or European roulette for free or for money, and the bets are in dollars.
Vegas Slots Online
You can play American, European, or French roulette for free on Vegas Slots Online.
How to Play Roulette: Conclusion
Roulette is one of the easiest games to learn, but it also offers some of the worst odds to the player compared to other casino games. It’s fun to play, and you may be fortunate and win, but definitely, don’t bet any money you can’t afford to lose.
If you’re given a choice, French roulette will give you the best odds of winning, and European roulette will give you the next best odds. American roulette offers the worst odds.
Regardless of the roulette strategy you use, the casino advantage stays the same, making roulette strictly a game of luck (as long as you avoid the five number bet in American roulette). No matter how great the roulette tips sound, they won’t work!
For a brief recap on the information in this article, you can watch the video below.