Roulette Explained: A Quick Guide to Bet Types and Payouts

Although roulette might be intimidating at first glance, it’s actually quite simple. To put it simply, it is all about betting on the pocket you think the ball will end up in after the wheel is spun. You can bet on whether the ball will land in a particular pocket or group. There are a lot of different bets in roulette, and almost all of them fit into two main categories: inside bets and outside bets.

Online roulette follows almost the same rules as regular roulette, although the type of wheel used depends on the platform and game. European roulette and American roulette are two of the most popular roulette types.

Roulette In A Nutshell

European roulette has one zero, with 37 numbers in total. Betting on red or black has about a 48.65% chance of winning with a house edge of about 2.70%. American roulette uses a zero and a double zero, with 38 numbers in total. The probability of winning is about 47.37% with an edge of about 5.26%. This makes American Roulette less preferable than the European version, and when getting started, the latter is best.

How To Play Roulette

Playing roulette is easy. Start by selecting a roulette table to play on and then putting your chips on the bet you wish to make. You may opt to bet on a single number or various categories, for example, red, black, even, odd, and high or low numbers. The wheel will be spun after all bets have been made, and the ball settles in one of the pockets. You will win depending on what bet you made.

Inside Bets

Inside bets are when a player places their stake on a particular number or a set of numbers. Inside bets pay better but are harder to win than outside bets. Straight up means placing your money on 1 number. Split means placing on 2 numbers. Three numbers are called a street, four numbers a corner, and six numbers a six-line. The more numbers covered, the lower the payoff will be.

A 35:1 payoff does not mean a 35:1 probability of winning. A number has roughly a 1 in 37 chance in European roulette and a 1 in 38 chance in American roulette. Inside bets target specific numbers and combinations of numbers on the table.

• Inside bets refer to wagers placed on individual numbers.
• The more numbers involved, the less the pay-off.
• A pay-off of 35:1 does not guarantee a probability of 35:1 of winning.

Outside Bets

Outside bets include red, black, odd, even, 1-18, 19-36, three dozens and three columns. Due to their nature, outside bets generally have a higher chance of winning than individual-number inside bets but with lower payouts.

Bets like this appeal to beginners and veterans alike because of their simplicity. Nevertheless, winning about half the time does not mean the odds of winning are 50 percent. The reason for this is that on a single-zero wheel, there are 18 out of 37 pockets of the wheel where you can hit red, while 0 is not included in the bet. On a double-zero wheel, you still get 18 pockets, but there are 38 pockets in total, with 0 and 00 included.

Why The Wheel Still Has An Edge

The zero is the reason and detail that explains most of roulette’s mathematics. Imagine a simple red-or-black choice with no green pockets. There would be 18 red numbers and 18 black numbers, making the split perfectly even. Add one zero, and there are now 37 outcomes, so neither color covers half the wheel. Add a second zero, and the imbalance grows.

This is why it helps to check the wheel before placing a bet. European roulette uses one zero and has a lower standard house edge. American roulette uses zero and double zero and has a higher edge.

Smart Ways To Read The Table

By far the simplest way to grasp the game of roulette is to take your mind off the flashy table and ask yourself three simple questions: how many numbers does the bet cover, how much does it pay, and on which wheel is it played? Answering those three questions will give you pretty much all the answers you need to know.

Mathematically speaking, there is absolutely nothing to indicate that a particular number gets “overdue” after it has not come up for some time. Each round is independent, meaning the outcome of each previous round has no effect on the next one. Understanding this basic idea helps when comparing roulette with other casino games, since different games have different odds and house edges.