7 Secrets of Roulette

Some people believe that online roulette, a true game of chance, was also created by chance. Rumor has it that Blaise Pascal was inventing the perpetual motion machine but got distracted and constructed the most mesmerizing casino game.

The debates about how Roulette appeared on the planet have not been settled yet. Historians, on the one hand, are sure that the game appeared in France. On the other hand, those inclined towards the mysterious view of the world claim that the game creator sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for the Roulette formula. How else can you explain the fact that the sum of all the numbers on the wheel (0+1+2…+36) equals 666?

We are not going to talk about history and mystery here; we will touch upon more down-to-earth issues: Roulette winning odds, bets, and game rules.

You probably know that nowadays, anyone can spin the Devil’s wheel for free or for real money online, at various casinos, including casino minimum deposit.

The online game outcomes will be determined by a Random Numbers Generator, which is sure to be unbiased and unpredictable when playing at a licensed casino.

Secret №1. Roulette Variations

The three Roulette variations you are likely to find at any casino, online or offline, are American, French, and European. In a nutshell, never go for the American Roulette if you can play the other types.

An American wheel has 38 numbered slots (it is two-zeroed and includes 0 and 00) as opposed to 37 numbered pockets (0-36) on European and French Roulettes.

One extra number worsens players’ winning odds and doubles the House Edge. The House Edge of the American variation is 5.3% against 2.7% at French and European games. Simply put, House Edge is an average percentage of money a gambler loses per bet.

Besides, in French Roulette, there are two additional rules called ‘En Prison’ and ‘La Partage’: they make gamblers’ chances comparably better.

Secret №2. Roulette Playing Field

Joining a Roulette table, you will notice that all the players’ attention is drawn to the Layout Table while everyone is placing bets and to the wheel and the ball – while they are waiting for the winning number to be announced.

We know a lot about the wheel itself: its rim has 37 or 38 slots numbered from 0 (00) to 36. Each number from 1 to 36 is colored black or red, and they are placed alternatively: two pockets of the same color can’t be next to each other. Single and double zeroes are always green. The rim looks like the numbers were just randomly placed there; they are out of order. This ‘disarray’ is stagy, and the sequence was carefully thought through.

If you have never played Roulette, you might not know that the Layout Table deserves more attention than the wheel when it comes to deciding how to bet. The table is usually located on the side, and it consists of boxes where gamblers place their chips.

This is what a Layout Table for European or French Roulettes usually looks like:

As you can see, it has the main part: a 3×12 grid filled with numbers from 1 to 36 with a 0 box on top (American Roulettes have 2 sectors on top with 0 and 00) and 12 more boxes attached to the bottom and the left side of the main grid.

Gamblers place their chips either inside the boxes of the table or on their edges, depending on what kind of bet they choose.

Secret №3. Inside Bets

All the Roulette bets fall in one of two categories: inside or outside bets.

Inside bets cover from 1 to 6 numbers, they have the worst winning odds and the best payouts. Gamblers have to place their chips inside the boxes of the main 3×12 grid (right on the chosen number, for example) or on the edges of those boxes.

Here are the most common inside bets.

1. Single (straight) – betting on a single number (17, 00);
2. Split – betting on 2 adjoining numbers located horizontally or vertically (4 and 5, 9 and 12);
3. Street – betting on 3 adjoining numbers located horizontally (34 – 35 – 36);
4. Square (Corner) – betting on 4 adjoining numbers that share a corner (26 – 27 – 30 – 29);
5. Double Street (Six Line) – betting on 6 consecutive numbers making up 2 horizontal rows (19 – 20 – 21 – 22 – 23 – 24);
6. Trio – betting on 3 adjoining numbers including 0 (0 – 1 – 2);
7. Top Line (Basket) – betting on the top table line and the boxes with zeroes (0 – 1 – 2 – 3, 00 – 0 – 1 – 2 – 3).

Secret №4. Outside Bets

Outside bets cover from 12 or 18 numbers, they have the best winning odds and the lowest payouts. Gamblers have to place their chips inside the boxes attached to the main 3×12 grid marked ‘1st 12’, ‘Red’, ‘Odd’, ‘1-18’, ‘2-1’, etc.

Here are the most common outside bets.

1. Columns – the bet covers 12 numbers from one of the three vertical table columns. The boxes for this bet are marked ‘2:1’, which means the payout rate for this bet.
2. Dozens – the bet covers 12 numbers of one ‘Dozen’: the first dozen (from 1 to 12), the second dozen (13 – 24), the third dozen (25 – 36). The boxes designated for this bet are marked ‘1st 12’, ‘2nd 12’, ‘3rd 12’.
3. High or Low –  the bet covers all the 18 ‘Low numbers’ ( = numbers from 1 to 18) or all the 18 ‘High numbers’ (from 19 to 36). The boxes for this bet are marked ‘1-18′ and ’19-36’.
4. Red or Black – the bet covers all the 18 black or red numbers.
5. Odd or Even – the bet covers all the 18 even or odd numbers.

Secret №5. Traditional Wheel Sectors

Playing French and European Roulettes, gamblers don’t always have to place their bets using the Layout Table only. They can also opt for ‘announced bets’ covering 5 Roulette wheel sectors.

1. Voisins du zéro (‘Neighbours of Zero’). This bet consists of 7 inside bets covering 9 numbers on the left and 8 numbers on the right of 0.

Voisins du zéro = 1 trio (0, 2, 3) + 5 splits (4-7, 12-15, 18-21, 19-22, 32-35) + 1 corner (25-26-29-28).

2. Jeu zéro (‘Zero Game’). The bet covers 7 numbers surrounding 0 from 12 to 15.

Jeu zéro = 3 splits (0-3, 12-15, 32-35) + 1 single (26).

3. Le tiers du cylindre (‘Third of the Wheel’). The bet covers 12 numbers: the sequence on the rim from 27 to 33.

Le tiers du cylindre = 6 splits (5-8, 10-11, 13-16, 23-24, 27-30, 33-36.

4. Orphelins (‘Orphans’). This bet covers 2 sectors of 3 (17-6) and 5 numbers (1-9).

Orphelins = 4 splits (6-9, 14-17, 17-20, 31-34) + 1 single (1).

5. ‘… and the neighbors’. The bet covers 5 numbers. You will have to announce a number on the wheel, and your bet will include this number, 2 numbers on its left and 2 numbers on its right. For example, ’12 and the neighbors’ will cover 7, 28, 12, 35, 3.

Secret №6. Roulette Odds

Calculating winning odds for every Roulette bet is easy with a formula based on the Expected Value concept.

Here is how it works for European and French Roulettes (as you remember, they have 37 numbers on the wheel).

Use the formula 37/n – 1, where n is the number of Roulette slots covered by your bet.

For example, if you are placing a bet on one dozen, the formula will give you 37/12 – 1 = 2.083. And it will mean that the winning odds are 1 to 2.083.

For American Roulettes, the same formula will look a little different as there are 38 numbers on the wheel (from 0 to 36 plus 00).

38/n – 1, where n is the number of the slots covered by your bet.

For a ‘double street’ (the bet covering 6 numbers), the winning odds will be 1 to 5.3 (38/6 – 1).

The formulas will work for any bet; just keep in mind the difference between Roulette variations and change the denominator.

Secret №7. Calculating Roulette Winnings

Roulette payouts are the same at any casino worldwide, land-based or online. To calculate your winnings, we will need the concept of Expected Value again.

Every dollar (or ruble) of a successful bet is worth 36/n – 1, where n is the number of slots covered by the bet.

Imagine, you bet $10 on a single number and won. In this case, the formula will give us: 36/1 – 1 = 35. It means that the casino will pay you out at a rate of 35:1, plus it will give you back your initial bet (35x$10 + $10 = $360).

If you bet $10 on Odd numbers and won, the payout rate will be 1:1 (36/18 – 1 = 1). Congratulations, after one of the 18 odd numbers comes up, you will receive $20 (1x$10 + $10) from the House.