Roulette
European Roulette is played by a small ball being spun around an already spinning wheel containing 37 numbered slots. When the ball comes to rest in one of these slots and the wheel stops the number of the slot is the winning number. The object of all forms of roulette is to correctly predict the winning number. There are many ways of betting which number is the winning number and the payoff is determined by how you bet.
European Roulette has 37 slots with numbers 1 through 36 and a single 0 (zero). The numbered slots are coloured red or black with 0 being green. European Roulette offers a better chance of winning than American Roulette as an American Roulette wheel has an extra slot, 00, giving a total of 38 slots.
History of Roulette
Unlike most casino games Roulette has a well known and written about past. Roulette was first devised in France in the 17th century. In 1842 the Blanc brothers added a 0 (zero) to the Roulette wheel giving the house an edge on the players.
In the early 1800’s Roulette spread to the USA where an extra slot, 00 (double zero), was added to give the house an even better edge.
One other point of interest here is the urban myth that one of the Blanc brothers sold their sole to the Devil to acquire the knowledge of how to create European Roulette. This stems from the fact that if you add up all of the numbers 1 to 37 they add up to 666, the ‘number of the beast’.
Roulette - Rules
The object of European Roulette is to correctly predict the winning number that the Roulette ball with stop at on the Roulette wheel after each spin.
There are eight types of bet available in European Roulette each covering a range of numbers on the table. Each type of bet has its own payoff.
The table is split into rows, containing three numbers, and columns, containing twelve numbers. Bet made on these numbers or on the space between the numbers are called inside bets, there are five of these type.
There are boxes to the right and below the board, these are called outside bets, there are three types of outside bet.
Bet Type Explanation
Straight Up
Place your chips directly on any single number (including zero).
Split Bet
Place your chips on the line between any two numbers.
Street Bet
Place your chips at the end of any row of numbers. A street bet covers three numbers.
Corner Bet
Place your chips at the corner where four numbers meet. All four numbers are covered.
Line Bet
Place your chips at the end of two rows at the intersection between them. A line bet covers all the numbers in either row, for a total of six.
Column Bet
Placing a chip in one of the boxes at the end of the columns covers all the numbers in that column, a total of twelve. (The zero is not covered by any of the columns).
Dozen Bet
Placing a chip in the box marked 12P covers numbers 1 to 12, 12M covers numbers 13 to 24, 12D covers numbers 25 to 36.
Red/Black, Even/Odd, Low/High
A chip placed in one of the six boxes at the bottom of the board covers the half of the board described in that box. (The zero is not covered by any of these boxes.) Each box covers eighteen numbers. Low covers numbers 1 to 18. High covers numbers 19 to 36.
Once a spin is complete, the winning number will be noted on the table with a marker. Winning bets will have a “W” chip placed on top of them.
ZERO RULE
Wagers on red, black, even, odd, low, and high shall be lost if the roulette ball comes to rest in the compartment marked zero (0).
PAYOUTS
Bet Payout:
1 Number= 35 to 1
2 Numbers= 17 to 1
3 Numbers= 11 to 1
4 Numbers= 8 to 1
6 Numbers= 5 to 1
12 Numbers= 2 to 1
18 Numbers= 1 to 1
Please also see the zero rule above.
Roulette - Strategy
There are various strategies in European Roulette we cover just a few of then. The first thing to point out is the house edge for a single number: For European roulette, a single number wins 1/37 and loses 36/37 giving a 2.70% house edge.
European Roulette Startegies
Martingale System
The basis of this system is that you double up after a loss.
Here’s how it works
Bet one unit on either Red or Black. Every time you win you bet one unit again on the next spin. If you lose you double your bet for the next spin.
When you eventually have a winning spin your net win will be one unit.
The big problem with this system is that if the losing streak is long enough you won’t have enough money to make the next bet.
Betting Only on Red
The idea behind this strategy is to place a wager on all the red space for a certain number of spins, for example 37.
There are 18 red spaces on a European Roulette table with 37 total spaces. Dividing 18 by 37 yields a probability of landing on red of 48.64%.
Betting multiple times
This is a combination of both the ‘Betting Only on Red’ bet and the ‘Martingale System’. The basics of the system are that as well as covering the red numbers the odd bet is also covered.
The Martingale System is then applied to the separate red bet and odd bet. There is a 25% chance of winning both the red and the odd bet and nearly 50% chance of breaking even.
The problem with this system, like any system containing a Martingale System element, is that your bank balance would have to be very large to cover a losing streak.
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