Roulette looks like it would be complicated to learn but it really isn’t. With this game, you are always betting against the house by betting on where the little ball will end up when you spin the wheel. Rather than a dealer, like with casino card games, the one who is in charge of the roulette table is called the croupier, another nod to the French heritage of this game.
The familiar black and white roulette wheel will always have either 37 or 38 slots on it. The American style wheel has 38 because it has the addition of the double zero slot where the European style wheel does not so it has only 37 slots. The zero and double zero spots are the only ones that are not black or white – instead they are green to stand out. All of the even numbers are red slots and the odd numbered slots are black.
The difference between American and European roulette may sound insignificant at first glance but that one slot addition makes a big difference in house edge. The addition of the double zero almost doubles the edge, from 2.7% to 5.26%. That’s why the European roulette wheel is usually the most popular version of the game.
The complications in roulette come when you go to bet. There are multiple types of bets you can make in roulette and can even do more than one type at the same time. You can bet on just which color the ball will land in, which is really the most basic type of bet. The payouts on such as simple bet are not very high, though.
Other bets could be betting on a particular number, which will have a higher payoff if you win, or even on whole groups of numbers. Inside bets refer to the first type while outside bets refer to the second type.
Most tables will have a minimum bet requirement so you should inquire what that might be before playing. You wouldn’t want to find out you’re at a high roller game when you are on a budget!
