The history of Roulette

It is very difficult to pin point how or when Roulette came into existence, but experts believe that the game originated in China and came to Great Britain and Europe through the traders of that time. The similarity between the original game and the modern one is not known, however there are examples of European Roulette tables that were made in 17th and 18th centuries which do not follow the same rules as nowadays. But the basics are the same – the wheel and the ball.

History indicates the 18th century Parisian Casinos had the modern Roulette, as we now know it. The game contained all the features that we have now, excepting the zeros – single zero were coloured red and double zeros were coloured black. This again was changed to single green coloured zero to avoid confusion between single and double zeros in Europe. Monaco pioneered this in the 1930s. It was about this time that the Roulette entered the United States with the existing system of double zeros, hence the wheel is called ‘American Wheel.’

In Europe, the odds were also improved in favour of the player with the introduction of ‘en prison’ option which allows the player to lay an even money bet, like even-odd, red-black, 1-18 or 19-36. If zero is the outcome, the player can use this option to either let the bet stay where it is with the next spin deciding whether the bet is won or lost, or the player can surrender half the bet and start anew. This now is the most popular version of the game played today worldwide in the casinos, especially in Europe.

How to Play

Roulette is one of the easiest games to play in the casino and is very easy for the beginners to start with. Though there are systems available for a player to increase his odds at winning, it essentially is a game of chance. The object of the game is to correctly guess the number where the ball will land on the spinning wheel.

In the casinos, Roulette is played in a table that seats one to six players. The player decides the number the ball will fall on and places his bet in the area of the table called the layout. The croupier then spins the wheel and releases the ball. When the ball finally settles on a number, he will pay out to those that won and collect the rest.

The amount a player collects on a correct guess depends upon the way the player betted. The odds range from 35 – 1.

Betting at the table

The idea behind Roulette is a simple one. There are chances however that complications arrive in the betting, as there are several different ways to do it.
Lesser the chances of the ball landing, higher is the payout. In casinos the chips are different to other games and each player has his own unique colour chips. This avoids any confusion on whom the bets belong to. The chips are normally received and cashed in at the Roulette table.

Types of bets

There are various types of bets in Roulette indicated by the placement of chips on the table they are however normally divided into two major groups, the inside and the outside bets.

Inside bets

These are called inside bets as they bets are placed on the area directly inside the layout.

• Single Number or Straight Bet (Pays 35 to 1)
Is a bet on one single number known as a straight bet. You are required to place your chips in the centre of the square of the number you wish to bet on.

• Split Bet or Two Number Bet (Pays 17 to 1)
Is a bet on two numbers. You are required to place your chips on the line in between the two numbers you wish to bet on.

• Street Bet or Trio Bet (Pays 11 to 1)
Is a bet on three numbers. You are required to place your chips on the edge of the layout for the numbers you wish to bet, indicated by placing the chip on the line at the edge of the number layout on the row you wish to bet on.

• Corner Bet or Four Number Bet (Pays 8 to 1)
Is a bet on four numbers also known as known as a Square or Quarter Bet. You are required to place your chips on the corner of the four numbers you wish to bet on. The chip should be placed on the intersection of the horizontal and vertical lines.

• Line Bet or Six Number Bet (Pays 5 to 1)
Is a bet on six adjoining numbers. You are required to place your chips on the line at the edge of the number layout straddling the two rows you wish to bet on.

Outside bets

Outside bets are made on the betting area on the roulette table bordering the layout. Different tables have slightly different layouts for outside betting, you just find the location for the bet you want to make and place your chip there.

• Red or Black (evens) (Pays 1 to 1)
There are only two ways to make this bet, on all the red or all the black numbers. You are required to place your chips on the location outside the number layout.

• Odd or Even (evens) ( Pays 1 to 1)
There are only two ways to make this bet, on all the odd or all the even numbers. You are required to place your chips on the location outside the number layout.

• 1 -18 (evens) ( Pays 1 to 1)
There is only one way to make this bet, on the first half of the numbers on the wheel. You are required to place your chips on the location outside the number layout.

• 19-36 (evens) ( Pays 1 to 1)
There is only one way to make this bet which is on the second half of the numbers on the wheel. You are required to place your chips on the location outside the number layout.

• Dozens or Section Bet (Pays 2 to 1)
There are only three ways to make this bet - on the first 12 numbers, the second 12 numbers or the third set of 12 numbers. You are required to pllace your chips on the outside the number layout.

• Column Bets (Pays 2 to 1)
There are only three ways to make this bet - on the first column, the second column or the third column of numbers. You indicate this bet by placing the chip on the location outside the number layout.

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