How to play roulette at the casino

I know a lot of people search online for “roulette tips“ or “how to win at roulette” because they plan on going to the casino and want to know the basics of this fun casino game…if this is you, then here is what you can expect.

When you arrive at the roulette table grab the first available seat and place your money on the table.  The person that runs the table, (called the “croupier“) will take your money once the current play finishes, and may ask you, “inside or outside?”.

It’s a way of seeing what kind denomination chips you prefer.  Will you be playing mostly inside or outside bets?

Just say “inside”. I mean, if I buy in for $100 and I’m playing mostly the “inside numbers” I’ll want (100) $1 chips.  If I preferred to play the outside (dozen bets, red/black, etc) I’d get  (20) $5 chips or even (10) $10 chips.

In any event, if you have $1 chips you can still play outside bets (for example $10 on red) you just have to make sure your bets meet the table’s minimum bet limit (which should be prominently displayed).

sidenote roulette tips: Most casinos assign each player a specific color chip stack so that it’s easy to keep track of who places which bets.

At this point I would watch the roulette wheel for one round without betting…ask the waitress for a gin and tonic (or whatever you drink). Look around, get a feel for how others are betting, loosen up. Tip the waitress with a $1 coin when she returns with your drink.

Wait until the croupier clears all the losing bets and pays out the winners before you place a bet on the next round.  Place your bet on the roulette numbers you want to hit (see betting options here).  There is a limited amount of time for you to place your bets.  The croupier will announce when they have spun the ball (consider this a “last call for bets”).

Once the ball has been spun you have a few more seconds to put in a bet before the croupier will wave their arm over the board indicating NO MORE BETS.

17! BLACK…You win!

sidenote roulette tips: The croupier pays winning outside bets first, followed by winning inside bets.

Sit back and allow the croupier to place the marker over the winning roulette number on the table.  Be patient.  Give him or her time to clear all other losing bets and individually pay out all winners, wait your turn.  Wait until the croupier indicates he’s done and pushes your chips toward you before you take them.  Enjoy the next round of roulette!

P.S. Don’t forget the other kind of roulette tips (ie. don’t hesitate to tip your croupier if you win a big bet).

A Europen Roulette Wheel

Before you learn how to win at roulette you should be familiar with the roulette wheel, so let’s take a look at it. 

THE ROULETTE WHEEL

The roulette numbers are numbered 1 through 36 and are colored either black or red.

Additionally, in European roulette there is one green number, and that is “zero.” In American roulette there is a green zero but also a green “double zero.”

On the left you have a picture of a European Roulette wheel with just one green zero.

As you can tell every other number is either black or red.

The double zero (American) wheel is predictably found in the Americas and the Caribbean, while the single zero (European) wheel is common in Europe and most other parts of the world.

sidenote roulette tips : Play European Roulette if it’s available, it has slightly more favorable odds.

Here is the exact order of the numbers on a roulette wheel:

European Roulette wheel

0-32-15-19-4-21-2-25-17-34-6-27-13-36-11-30-8-23-10-5-24-16-33-1-20-14-31-9

-22-18-29-7-28-12-35-3-26

American Roulette wheel

0-28-9-26-30-11-7-20-32-17-5-22-34-15-3-24-36-13-1-00-27-10-25-29-12-8-19-31

-18-6-21-33-16-4-23-35-14-2

American Roulette Table Layout

…and that’s all there is to the roulette wheel.   Next we’ll discuss the roulette table layout and how to actually play the game of roulette.

sidenote roulette tips: All-in-all, the best way to win at roulette is to quit while you’re ahead.

THE ROULETTE TABLE

Knowing how to win at roulette boils down to knowing your betting options.  So let’s take a look at the roulette table layout and betting options.  The presence of the zero (and double zero) is what gives the house it’s advantage.  So if you put one dollar on any single number on the table (a single inside bet), your chances of landing on it are 1 in 37 in European Roulette and 1 in 38 in American Roulette.

However, almost all casinos pay just 35 to 1 for any given number. That’s why in the long run there is what’s called a “negative expectation” for the outcome of your play.

In other words, you should generally expect to lose over the long run.  This is the basis for all casino games, and for gambling in general…or else the casino would also be gambling..and they don’t like to do that.

Of course, ever so often, someone finds a way to outsmart the casino and not only do they steal back the “house advantage” but can sometimes take an advantage themselves.  Before getting into any specific tactics or roulette strategies let me go over the type of bets you can place at the roulette table.

There are two groups of bets, inside bets and outside bets.

Inside bets are bets placed on the  individual numbers 1-36, including zero and double zero. They are generally smaller bets with higher payouts because they have tougher odds.

Outside bets are bets placed specific groups of numbers (ie. even/odd, red/black, etc.)  These bets are usually larger bets that have better odds but less payout.

Inside bets include…

Straight-up

a single number bet. The chip is placed entirely on the middle of a number square.

Split

a bet on two  numbers that are next to each other, either on the vertical or horizontal (as in 1-2 or 4-7). The chip is placed on the line between these numbers.

Street

a bet on three numbers on a single horizontal line. The chip is placed on the edge of the line of a number at the end of the line.

Corner (or square)

a bet on four numbers in a square layout (as in 1-2-4-5). The chip is placed at the horizontal and vertical intersection of the lines between the four numbers.

Other inside bets

Other roulette bets include the “six bet” which is basically a double street bet, and “basket” bets which involves betting on combinations of 0, 1, 2, and 3.

Outside bets include…

1 to 18

a bet on one of the first low eighteen numbers coming up.

19 to 36

a bet on one of the latter high eighteen numbers coming up.

Red or black

a bet on which color the roulette wheel will show.

Even or odd

a bet on an even or odd nonzero number.

Dozen bets

a bet on the first (1-12), second (13-24), or third group (25-36) of twelve numbers.

Column bets

a bet on all 12 numbers on any of the three vertical lines (such as 3-6-9-12 on down to 36). The chip is placed on the space below the final number in this string.