Roulette
United States Rules
A U.S. roulette wheel consists of 38 numbered slots:
numbers 1 to 36, a zero, and a double zero. The betting
layout consists of every individual number as well as a host
of "outside" or combinations of numbers. After the players
make their bets the dealer spins the wheel and a ball and
after several seconds the ball will land in one of the
numbered slots.
The following table displays the available bets, the
win (on a "for one" basis), and the probability of winning under U.S. rules. All
casinos in the U.S. follow these rules except for in
Atlantic City. The house edge on all bets is 1/19, or 5.26%,
except for one bet. The exception is the 0-00-1-2-3
combination, which carries a house edge of 7.89%.
| United States Roulette Rules |
| Bet |
Pays |
Probability Win |
House Edge |
| Black | 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| Odd | 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| Even | 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| 1 to 18 | 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| 19 to 36 | 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| 1 to 12 | 2 | 31.58% | 5.26% |
| 13 to 24 | 2 | 31.58% | 5.26% |
| 25 to 36 | 2 | 31.58% | 5.26% |
| Six number combination | 5 | 15.79% | 5.26% |
| 0,00,1,2,3 combination | 6 | 13.16% | 7.89% |
| Four number combination | 8 | 10.53% | 5.26% |
| Three number combination | 11 | 7.89% | 5.26% |
| Two number combination | 17 | 5.26% | 5.26% |
| Any one number | 35 | 2.63% | 5.26% |
European Rules
European roulette is played on a single wheel and and only has one zero, thus the house advantage is half that of the US version ( 2.7%)
French Roulette
French Roulette is even better. Roulette with
"La Partage" Rule -- If the ball lands on zero, half of
bets on 1-18/19-36, red/black, and even/odd are returned. For example, if
you bet £100 on red, and the ball lands on zero, then you would receive £50.
With single zero roulette and the "La Partage", the house edge is 1.35%. This combination is available with Microgaming French Roulette,
Boss Media French Roulette, Cryptologic European VIP Roulette, Wagerworks,
Chartwell, and Kismet. Cryptologic also offers double zero roulette with the
"La Partage" rule.
Number Placement
To the casual observer, it would appear that the numbers
on the wheel are not organized and seem to be distributed
randomly. The only obvious patterns are that red and black
numbers alternate and that usually two odd numbers alternate
with two even numbers. However the distribution of numbers
was carefully arranged so that the sum of the numbers for
any given section of the wheel would be roughly equal to any
other section of equal size. Most numbers are part of a
pair, with one number between them. These pairs add to
either 37 or 39.
Strategy
There is no strategy
to roulette. All wagers have the same house edge in American and European
roulette. So all of these so called great roulette betting systems will fail over time. However Roulette remains one of the most popular online casino games, and its easy to see why once you start playing it.