Basic Roulette Rules
On-line Roulette can be huge fun and, with the advances in gaming technology, extremely realistic! The first thing to remember when getting into Roulette is that it's a game of prediction – you predict in advance which slot the ball will fall into after a spin on the Roulette wheel, and stake your bet on your prediction accordingly - and of luck: there are no real strategies that can help you to win, it's all down to a lucky spin!
There are few actual rules in roulette although there is quite a lot of general information relating to the table and betting that will help you to get acquainted with the game quickly - this is always useful if you are using on-line casinos which offer games with a exciting, speedy pace!
There are only three variations of the wheel: the European Roulette wheel has 37 slots (numbers 0-36); the American Roulette wheel has 38 slots (0-36 and an extra 00 slot); the Mini Roulette wheel, popular in on-line casinos, has just 13 numbered slots, including one zero.
Rules
- All bets are placed in designated places on the roulette table, before the wheel is spun.
- The croupier will declare that bets are finished as a sign that the spin is about to start (if it's live roulette, you will be able to see the ball being dropped into play on the wheel).
- Winning bets are paid out once the ball has landed in a slot. No new bets can be placed until the betting table has been cleared from the previous spin.
- Bets are divided into two options, known as "inside" and "outside" bets (this relates to the position of the bets as laid out on the betting table):
- Inside bets are generally bets made on a specific number (straight bet) or one of two adjacent numbers (split bet) – these bets are popular with the 'lucky number' betters!
- Outside bets relate to a wider range of bet possibilities, for example whether the slot will be a black or red number or will be an odd or even number. These are 'evens' bets as the roulette wheel offers a 50:50 chance of this happening.
- Outside bets also allow players to choose a column or a line of numbers on the betting table as being possible outcomes for the spin or can allow the wider choice of betting that the final number will be one of the first twelve numbers, second twelve or third twelve, known as a "Dozen Bet".
- o If you are playing European Roulette, some online casinos include the traditional European rule known as the "En Prison Rule". This comes into play if the ball lands on the zero and means that the player can be refunded half of the bet, or can leave the stake "in prison" for a further spin. If the second spin result is another zero then the player loses the whole bet.
The only other real rules may come in the form of casino's own rules on the size of bets. This is often known as "table limits", which could specify a minimum expected bet or a maximum limit on acceptable bets.