Roulette: a beginner’s guide

A Roulette table makes for a great game at any event, from a charity bash to a birthday party. Roulette makes for fantastic wedding entertainment and is a great time for this classic casino game.

A quick glance at the rules of roulette show it’s also an incredibly easy game to get in to -simply place your bet and let the dealer spin the wheel. No skill is needed, but you do need to understand how the betting works.

The first thing to consider is the wheel and the 37 different slots. Numbers 1 to 36 alternate red, black, red and so on. The only exception is the green zero – if the ball lands here all player bets lose.

Lots of people just bet the numbers – picking any from one to 36. But there are a lot more options than that when betting on roulette. In fact you stand a lot better chance of winning if you don’t just plump for your favourite number.

Different types of bet

Numbers – the simplest form and the biggest payout if you get lucky – winning bets are paid at 35-1; in other words you’ll get 35 chips plus your original stake if you bet one chip.

Evens – Essentially you can bet on red or black, which are paid at evens. Winning bets are paid at an amount equal to your bet.

Dozens – Numbers from 1 – 12 are in the 1st Dozen, 13 – 24 in the 2nd and 25 – 36 in the 3rd. Bets are paid out at 2-1, which means you win twice as much as you staked.

Columns – You can choose to bet one of the three columns. For example 1,4,7,10,13,16,19,22,25,28,31,34 are all in the 1st column. This also pays at 2-1.

Splits – You can place a chip or chips on the line between two numbers and will return a winner if either of the two numbers comes up. The payout is at 17-1.

Streets – Lines of three numbers, such as 4,5,6 or 22,23,24, are called a street. To make this bet place one chip on the left border line of the left number. Payouts are at 11-1.

Corners These are corners between four numbers, such as  22,23,25,26. A winning bet on these pays at at odds of 8-1.

Six-Lines – These are six numbers that form a wide line across the table, such as 7, 8, 9 and 10, 11, 12) A chip is placed on the corner of 7 and 10 with the first dozen. Paid at odds of 5-1.