Roulette Basics

Roulette is one of the more fun and relaxing games you can play online or at a casino, given the slow rate of play relative to high-stakes poker or blackjack. Employing an elaborate wheel of alternating black and red colors, the name comes from the French word for little wheel. It has been transformed into a rather popular present-day game mostly because of the quaint set-up, which even involves different chips than all the other casino betting games – although it a lot more popular in Europe than in America because of a few particulars of the European variant.

Roulette Makeup across Nations

Modern roulette is a table game comprised primarily of a wheel and a tabular layout. This wheel, which is spun by a dealer after the first bets are placed, lies on the table itself and has 36 numbers and a zero in the European variant, and 36 numbers with a zero and z double zero in the American version of the game. As you can see, there is one more number in the American variant than the European one, which ends up costing players of roulette at American casinos chances at winning, because the double-zero favors the House. Indeed; it just so happens that the extra double zero is precisely what makes American roulette less competitive than the other casino table games; after all, why play it when there’s blackjack and poker around? Nonetheless; many still do because of the uniquely relaxing nature of the game and the apparent simplicity.

Wheel Details

As for the red and black colored pockets on the actual roulette wheels, these are numbered odd and even, and constitute the entire purpose of your betting plan. Any bet you wish to place depends on what combination you’re hoping from the wheel once it stops spinning; it will depend on the number as well as the color the ball lands upon. As for the second part of the roulette construction – the layout, that is – it serves as the place where your chips are stacked to place a bet; there are specific places depending on the nature of the bet you end up making.

Round and Round You Go

Much of roulette is spent watching the ball and wheel in anticipation as it bounces its way to its final resting place. After the dealer starts it; you no longer have to focus on anyone’s natural cues, as in poker, or try and count your cards, as in Blackjack; just sit back and wait for your winnings, if indeed they’re forthcoming. That’s all there really is to roulette; other than very small changes from casino to casino; such as whether or not you can continue to call out bets as the wheel is spinning and before the dealer yells stop; or all bets must be placed and done with it before the initial spin for that particular round of play.