Roulette is one of the most popular casino games in the world but to some of us, who aren’t James Bond, a roulette table can seem very daunting – 37 different numbers, red or black, odd or even, 1-18 or 19-36, what does it all mean and what are the odds?
Don’t worry because we are here to tell you everything you need to know about the roulette table from the rules to all the different sections and what odds they pay out.
Basic rules
Roulette is played with a wheel containing 37 different numbers – 0-36 – which are evenly split into red and black, apart from zero which is green. A ball is spun inside the wheel which will land into one of the numbered compartments.
The aim of the game is to guess which number the ball is going to land on by placing a chip on that number – this pays out the best odds. You can also wager on whether the ball will land on a black or red number, odd or even number and low or high – 1-18 or 19-36 – these pay out even money or 1/1. There are many more ways to bet that we will get to that next.
Chips will vary in colour depending on the amount of money they are worth and stakes will vary depending on the game you choose to play. Stakes can start from as little as a pennt and go right to as much as £25,000 for the high rollers.
Roulette bets
As previously mentioned, betting on specific numbers has the longest odds – 35/1 – therefore, if you place a £1 chip on a number and it lands you will receive £36. Split betting is the second best way to win big, it has odds of 17/1 and involves placing your chip on the line between two numbers and if the ball happens to land on either you win.
Street bets are another way to win more from your wager, they pay out 11/1 and are placed by putting your chip half way over the line at the end of a row of three numbers. Corner bets, which are placed by putting your chip at the intersection of four numbers, pay 8/1, while line bets, which are placed by putting your chip on the intersection of the edge of two rows of three numbers, pay 5/1.
Bets placed on the first dozen (1-12), middle dozen (13-24) and last dozen (25-36) sections of the mat, which can be found beneath the number grid labelled 1st 12, 2nd 12 and 3rd 12, pay out 2/1, meanwhile column betting, which is placed by putting your chips on the 2 to 1 section at the end of each column of 12 numbers, also pays 2/1.
The bets along the bottom of the table pay out the lowest amount of money with only evens on offer, as mentioned above. These are pretty straightforward bets and it is basically what you see is what you get. Place your chip on red and if the ball lands on a red number you win if it doesn’t you don’t – the same applies every section of the bottom row.
