Roulette is the quintessential casino game. Its famous black and red wheel is instantly recognisable and for patrons walking into a land based casino will instantly know where the roulette actions is simply by looking for this wheel. The origins of the game are traced back to France – in fact the word Roulette itself actually comes from a French abbreviation for “little wheel”. Though it is not as old as the likes of Blackjack, this casino game can be traced back to the 17th century when it was introduced by Blaise Pascal. It is believed Roulette was primitively a hybrid of an English game featuring wheels called “Roly Poly” and a game we know only as “Ace of Hearts. Interestingly, Roulette is also dubbed “the Devils’ Wheel” as every number on the wheel from 1 to 36 adds up to 666!
Like many other
online casino games now, Roulette holds various different formats. However because of the simply nature of the game, these variations do not differ very much and the difference are mostly based on the likes of multi-players and multi-wheels without the rules changing. The biggest difference that you will find is the difference between the American and the European versions of the game; the American holds 2 zero’s and the French holds 1, making the odds of the European game in the players favour rather than the favour of the house. On this page we will look at the most popular European Roulette game.
How to play
French Roulette begins with players simply placing their bets on the numbers that they thing the little ball will land on when the wheel stops spinning. These bets are placed on a line of felt displaying columns of the numbers displayed on the wheel with each number resigning in a little box. Bets can then be placed on one single number or placed on the line between 2 lines to cover 2 numbers, placed on the little cross where 4 boxes meet to include 4 numbers and so on. Here are the different bets that you can place:
Inside Bets Single/Straight – bet that is placed on one square containing one number
Split – bet that is placed on neighbouring numbers, vertically or horizontally
Street – a bet placed on 3 numbers on one horizontal line
Corner/Square – to bet on numbers in a square made of 4 boxes
Six Line – to bet on 2 “streets” that are joined together, the chip being placed at the
intersection Trio – a bet being placed on the point between 0, 1 and 2 or numbers 0, 2 and 3 on wheels with 1 zero
Basket – to place a bet on number 0, 1, 2 and 3
Outside Bets 1 to 18 – betting on the low 18
19 to 36 – betting on the latter high 18
Red or black – betting on the colour the wheel will land
Even or odd – betting on whether the number will be odd or even
Dozen bets – to bet on numbers 1 to 12, 13 to 24 or 25 to 36
Roulette Rules
As roulette is such a straight forward game, there are not many rules linked to this. Typically there can be no more than 8 players at the table and each player must have their own colour of chip. After the dealer begins there are no more bets allowed to be placed. European Roulette is the most popular and this type of game holds its own unique rule dubbed “En Prison Rule” which allows players to half their bet or use it on the next spin if the ball lands on zero.
Roulette Lingo
We have covered the bets, which makes up the majority of a Roulette lingo and the most important lingo that you need to remember. However there is lingo connected to the wheel itself, like the following:
Backtrack - the part of the roulette wheel in which the ball spins
Bottom Track - the part of the roulette wheel in which the ball rolls before stopping
Wheel Head - the part of roulette wheel with numbered slots
Wheel roller - another name for dealer or croupier at roulette table
Roulette Strategy
Albert Einstein himself claimed that “The only way to beat a Roulette Wheel is to steal from it”, reinforcing that this game is such a game of chance that it cannot be beaten with hints, tips and strategies. However this of course does mean that players do not try! There are many little strategies that players can adopt if they wish and many believe that these techniques do in fact help them win:
Chameleon Strategy - to copy the tactics and the bets of the wining players
Chasing Loses – to try and catch your losses by placing more and more bets
Martingale System - a system involving betting on outside bets alone and doubling your bet every time you lose
Wheel Clocking – trying to remember whether some numbers are occurring more often than others
Wiki’s Final Thought Einstein was right ;) – Roulette is a game based purely on chance and no amount of strategic betting or trying to remember hints and tips will allow for better odds if Lady Luck is not on your side; hence the beauty of the game! The best way to gain advantages over your opponents when playing online Roulette games is to simply know the game inside out. Familiarise yourself with the lingo and the bets and make sure that you find a betting system that benefits you the most. One way to get to know the game of online roulette better is to play it in practise mode, which is offered at the majority of online casinos.