With simple rules, fast action, and big payouts, Roulette ranks as the most widely available casino table game in the world, both online and off.  Its history full of myths and legends stretches out over two and half centuries, making it one of the most enduring of all gambling activities as well.

Two popular versions have evolved over the years—European Roulette with its 37-slot wheel numbered from 0 to 36, and American Roulette, which has 38 pockets on its wheel, including one numbered “00” and known as “double zero.” The two games are almost identical otherwise, which makes learning to play Roulette easy and fun.

Roulette Basics

To win at Roulette, a player must accurately predict in which numbered slot a ball will land after it is spun around the surface of the wheel. Three colors are associated with the numbers: 18 of them are red, 18 are black, and the zero/double zero is green. The numbers are randomly distributed around the wheel, alternating red and black.

Bets are made by placing colored casino chips on the surface of the Roulette table, which features a layout of all 36 red and black numbers. They are arranged sequentially in a matrix of three columns and 12 rows, with the zero/double zero appearing at the very top.

Players may wager on either a single number or on groups of numbers. A “straight up” bet is made by putting a chip directly on the number desired. If it comes up, the payout is 35-to-1. To bet on two adjacent numbers, a chip should straddle the line between them. If either number comes up, this bet will pay 17-to-1.

To bet on a row of three consecutive numbers that pay 11-to-1, the chip is positioned at the end of the row. Similarly, a bet on a group of four numbers at 8-to-1 may be made by putting a chip on the intersection of the lines that separate them. It is also possible to wager on six numbers with a single chip by placing it on the intersection at the end of two adjacent rows of three numbers. A winner there pays 5-to-1.

Other betting areas on the table are marked Red, Black, Even, Odd, Low (1~18) and High (19~36). Each of these will pay even money, 1-to-1, if one of their 18 numbers comes up. Wagers may also placed on the sequential “dozens” (1~12, 13~24, or 25~36), which pay 2-to-1 for a win. The same 2-to-1 odds apply to wagers on any of the three columns of 12 numbers.

Roulette in Action

To begin, players must “buy in” to the game by exchanging cash for a “color”—a quantity of chips of a single color that will indicate that player’s bets and distinguish them from others. When the dealer or croupier calls out “Place your bets,” chips may be positioned on the table layout as described in the section above.

Should more than one player wish to bet on the same number of group of numbers, the chips are simply stacked atop one another; their differing colors represent the owners of the wagers. When the croupier spins the Roulette ball onto the wheel and calls, “No more bets,” all wagering must stop.

After the ball lands in one of the wheel’s numbered slots, the croupier will call out the winner by number and color, such as “Red 36.” A marker will be positioned directly on the winning number on the table layout atop whatever chips are there. Then, all the losing chips will be swept away, leaving only winning chips on the table.

One by one, winners will be paid the aggregate of all their winnings bets with chips of the same color they started with. Only after all winning bets have been settled will the croupier remove the marker and allow new bets to be placed. Then the process begins once again—“Place your bets!”