Roulette Casino Game

Roulette is a classic casino game that offers simple bets and a fairly slow pace. It is an easy game to understand, and therefore appeals to a wide range of casino patrons.

The roulette wheel consists of 38 numbers; the numbers range from 1 to 36, and there is also a 0 and a 00. The numbers 1 through 36 are either red or black; there are 18 or each. The two zeroes are green.

When a player approaches the roulette table, the dealer will assign him or her chip colour. Roulette chips are different than the chips used throughout the casino, and are never removed from the table; when the player leaves, he or she changes their roulette chips back into casino chips. By assigning each player a different colour, the dealer is able to keep track of everyone's bets and pay the appropriate player. The value of the roulette chips is determined by the player; some players may wish to play with $1 chips, while others want to play with higher or lower values.

Roulette Dealer

The roulette dealer, or croupier, spins the wheel and spins the roulette ball around the upper edge of the wheel. Shortly before the ball begins to drop, the dealer announces "no more bets." When the ball drops into a numbered slot, the dealer places a marker on the winning number and collects all losing bets prior to paying the winners.

Betting

Betting in roulette is very simple. Players may bet on individual numbers or groups of numbers, as well as red/black, odd/even, or high/low, on each spin. There are two basic types of bets; inside bets are made on individual numbers or groups of numbers, while outside bets are made on the red/black, odd/even, and high/low groups, as well as columns or groups of 12 numbers.

Outside bets are fairly self-explanatory; the player is betting that his or her grouping will hit. If it does, the player wins even money on the bet. The house advantage is evidenced by the outside bets, which pay 1-1 on red/black, odd/even, and high/low despite having only an 18 in 38 chance of winning. Players may also bet entire columns of numbers by placing a chip at the top of the column. Numbers can also be bet in groups of twelve by placing chips in the appropriate box. These bets payoff at 2-1. A zero or double zero is a loser for all outside bets.

Inside bets can be made on any of the 38 numbers, or combinations of the numbers. Payoffs are as follows:

1 number      35-1
2 numbers      17-1
3 numbers      11-1
4 numbers      8-1
5 numbers      6-1
6 numbers      5-1
9 numbers      3-1
12 numbers      2-1

If a player wishes to bet one number, he or she will place one or more chips directly on that number. To bet two numbers, the chip would be placed in between the numbers. The placement of the chip determines the quantity of numbers bet, so be sure the dealer knows what you are betting each hand if you are not sure of the proper placement.

The price of playing roulette is steep; the house advantage is 5.26% for all bets except a five-number bet, which carries a house edge of 7.89%. European roulette wheels offer better odds than American roulette wheels because there is only one zero on the wheel; this reduces the house advantage on all bets to 2.70%.

Some casinos offer "surrender" if a spin results in a zero or double zero; this allows the player to retain half of each even-money bet, and lowers the house edge to 2.77% on even-money bets. In Europe, the "en prison" rule allows a player to take back half of a losing outside even-money bet or leave the entire bet for the next spin; if the bet hits, the wager is pushed. The surrender and en prison rules do not apply to inside bets or outside bets that pay 2-1.

How to Deal Roulette

When dealing a game of roulette, your most important skill will be math. There are a lot of different payouts, and most are fairly large. To make your job easier, post the payouts somewhere on the table so you have a quick reference guide.

To deal roulette, you will need a chip colour for each of your players, as mentioned above. We recommend having 50 of each colour, and suggest using a different type of chip than the normal chip used at your casino party. For example, if your standard chips are 13-gram clay chips, buy 6 or 8 colours of 9-gram chips to use at the roulette table. This makes it easy to distinguish the chips, and allows you to repeat colours if needed since the actual chips are different. Be sure no one leaves the roulette table with any roulette chips; all should remain at your table.

You can set the value of the roulette chips to be any amount you desire. We recommend setting them to the lowest valued chip used in your other games. For example, if you have a casino party with craps, blackjack, and roulette, and your chip values are $0.10, $0.50, and $2.50, set your roulette chips to be worth $0.10. Some players may wish to play with higher values; in that case, simply note how many those players chips are worth and make change and payments accordingly.

Be sure to give the players enough time to bet before each spin, and to announce clearly when no more bets are allowed. After the spin, announce the result and place a roulette marker on the winning number. Your next step is to clear all losing chips from the outside bets and number bets, leaving only winning chips. Then you can move around the table to each player and pay off their winnings. Leave all winning bets on the table for the next spin unless the player asks to take the bet down (i.e., if a player hits $1 on a number, pay them $35 but leave the original $1 chip on the winning number). Pay large stacks using regular chips, and odd amounts and smaller wins with roulette chips. When a player leaves the table, change all of the player's roulette chips back into standard chips.