A spinning wheel, a ball and a grid of numbers. Roulette is easy to follow once you know which wheel you are on and what each bet pays. Check the table you open for its wheel type.
The dealer sets the wheel spinning and launches a ball against its direction, and the ball settles in one numbered pocket. Chips are placed on the layout before the spin. A European wheel has 37 pockets numbered 0 to 36, while an American wheel adds a second zero for 38. That extra pocket raises the house edge from about 2.7 percent to about 5.3 percent. If the lobby lists roulette tables, check each table's wheel type before you sit down.
Inside bets sit on individual numbers or small groups and pay more when they land. Outside bets cover large groups and pay less for each win.
A single number that pays 35 to 1 when it lands. The payout is large, and the chance is one in 37 or one in 38 depending on the wheel.
Chips on the lines between numbers cover two, three or four numbers at once, with smaller payouts for each.
These pay even money, but a zero result takes them all on a single-zero or double-zero wheel.
A group of twelve numbers that pays 2 to 1 when it lands. Each group covers about a third of the wheel.
Whatever you pick, the zero pockets give the house the same long-run edge on each standard bet. Mixing bets changes how often you win, not the long-run cost of the chips you place.
About 2.7 percent on every standard bet, which makes it the lower-cost wheel for a player.
About 5.3 percent on every standard bet, so it is the weaker choice when both wheels are available.
Spreading chips across several bets changes how often you win, but not the long-run cost of the chips placed.
A lucky evening can beat the edge for a while, but a short run is not a pattern to rely on.
Keep a note of the spin and contact customer support rather than arguing the point with yourself at the table.
Record the table, the time and the bet you placed while they are still clear in your memory.
Look at any round history the game shows for the result and the stake, and compare it with your note.
Give the details and wait for a reply before you place another bet on the same table.
Plenty of systems circulate among players. None of them changes the odds built into the wheel, and several make losses bigger.
Doubling after each loss runs into table limits and into the size of your own balance well before it recovers a loss.
The wheel has no memory, so a number that has not appeared lately is no more likely to come up next.
Covering most of the layout wins often, but the small wins do not make up for the large loss on the rare miss.
Only adults may play. Whether roulette is permitted where you live is a question to check before you sit down.
Words you will see on a roulette layout and in the rules panel of a table.
One of the numbered slots on the wheel that the ball can settle in.
A wager on specific numbers or small groups of them.
A wager on large sections such as colour, odd or even, or dozens.
A rule on some French-style tables that holds an even-money bet when zero comes up, so the bet can be recovered on the next spin. Check whether the table uses it.
A named bet covering a set of numbers, found on some tables and placed by naming it rather than by putting chips on each number.
Typical questions before a first spin, with answers that apply to roulette in general.
A single-zero wheel if one is offered, since its house edge is about half that of the double-zero wheel.
No bet is safe. Even-money bets win more often but still lose to the zero pockets over time.
No. Each spin is independent of the last, so past numbers do not change the odds on the next one.
Both depend on randomness. What matters is that you read the table rules and know the wheel type before betting.
In general terms a live spin, including the betting window, takes roughly a minute, so budget time as well as money.
Yes, between spins. Self-exclusion for a period between 6 months and 5 years is also available through customer support.
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