Introduction to the Roulette 2000: Getting Started
Finding Places to Play roulette
Roulette is a game found in most, though not all, casinos in the United States. Laws vary from state to state and, as a result, there are differences in when and where you can find roulette. For example, most riverboat casinos have roulette tables, though typically not many. The fewest number of tables I have ever seen in a riverboat casino was three, the most are six. Some casinos on Native American reservations have video roulette, but I have not been in a reservation casino that had live roulette.
Accordingly, if you are going to visit either a riverboat or reservation casino, I recommend that you call ahead to ask if they have roulette and to ask what the table minimum bets are.
If you are heading toward Las Vegas, Reno, or Atlantic City, then you will find many roulette tables virtually every which way you turn. You can find roulette in almost any casino outside of the United States, as well. Finally, most online casinos that have opened up for business on the world wide web offer roulette. In other words, you can find roulette just about anywhere, including in your own home over the computer.
There are only two things you need to know before starting to play. First, it is to your advantage to know if the wheel is a "single zero" or "double zero" roulette wheel. The difference is quite simple. All roulette wheels in the U.S. have either 37 or 38 numbers on the wheel you can bet on. The numbers run from 1 to 36, plus a 0 and 00 for a double zero wheel, 1-36 plus 0 on the single zero wheel. Because both types of games pay off at the same rate, there is a small mathematical advantage to playing on a single zero wheel. The "house edge," which I explain later, is slightly less with a single zero wheel.
Inside the U.S., over 95% of all roulette wheels are double-zero wheels, so that is the type of game I will spend most of my time describing. The few single zero wheels you will find are at high-stakes tables that require a minimum bet of $25 per spin or more. If you are a beginner or casual player, stay away from such tables for now. Outside of the U.S., on the other hand, more often than not you will find single-zero wheels.
Second, you need to know what the "table minimum" bet is. If you have been to a casino before, then you know every game has a minimum bet you must make to play each turn. As you approach each table, there will be a small sign that states what the minimum (and maximum) bets are. Sometimes these signs are color-coded to match the colors of the different denominations of casino chips ($5 = red). If you are in doubt, just ask the dealer at the table what the table minimum is.
If you have played blackjack, then you know that there are some casinos where you can find $1 tables, $3 tables, $5 tables, on up to $10, $15, $25, $100, and higher. The most common minimum roulette bet you will find is $5. However, when casinos get busy, they raise the minimum bets. In the Mirage in Vegas, for example, during a busy time, almost all the tables will require a minimum of $10 or $15 to play each spin. Be picky. If the live dealer casino you are in does not offer a $5 table, feel free to move on to one that does. If you look during morning hours or other slow times, you may be able to find tables where the minimum is $2.50 or even $1 per spin.
What do we mean by "minimum bet"? Let us say you are playing on a $5 table. That means that if you are placing a bet on an "outside" bet like red or black, you must bet at least $5. If you place bets directly on the numbers (this is known as "inside" bets), then your bet must total $5. How you distribute that $5 is up to you. You can put five one-dollar chips all on one number straight up, or you can spread them around. You can make your money stretch farther on a lower limit table.
I strongly recommend that you start by playing on $5 tables. The Buy-in OK, so you have picked out a table to play at and you see from the sign that it is a $5 table. What next? The next step is to buy your chips from the dealer. There are strict rules for how this must be done because any exchanges of money in the casino are videotaped from above and the dealer must keep all the bills and chips clearly in view. Accordingly, when you have the dealer's attention simply say "I'd like to buy some dollar chips." Then lay your money down on the table. The dealer will not take money from your hand, ever. If you try to hand money to a dealer s/he will simply ask you to place it on the table. The dealer will then count out your money so that the overhead video can see. At that point, the dealer will give you your chips in stacks of 20.
To keep each player's bets clear, each player is given a different color of chip. Sometimes the dealer will ask you if you have a preference in color, but most of the time s/he will pick a color for you. Notice above I suggested you say "I'd like to buy some dollar chips." This means that each chip the dealer gives you is worth $1. If you handed the dealer $100, you will get 5 stacks of twenty $1 chips. For beginning and casual players, the typical buy-in is for $50 to $100, though I have seen people buy in for as little as $5 or $10.
Now, chips can be assigned a higher value. Except for very high stakes tables, the usual chip value is either $1 or $5. You should begin with dollar chips, though down the road if you can afford it and if you feel confident in your play, then you may want to move up to $5 chips. If you want to play with $5 chips, when you place your money on the table for the dealer just say "$5 chips please." $5 chips are also called "nickels" in casino slang, so you can simply say "nickels, please" and all dealers know that you mean you want $5 chips.
So, to review: You have picked a $5 table at which to play. You have bought your $1 chips and have them in front of you ready to go. Now what?
Placing Your Bets
A betting cycle begins once the dealer says "Place your bets." At that point, players can put their chips on the betting area. Take a look at Figure 1 to see what the betting layout looks like. I will describe these bets in the
next section. For now, let's just assume you place $1 chips straight-up on five different numbers. Let's say the numbers you picked were 7, 14, 23, 27, and 0. How long do you have to place your bets? That depends on the dealer. Some dealers like a fast game and will give the players only 15 or 30 seconds before spinning the ball. Others will give players up to several minutes. You will get a sense of the dealer's rhythm soon enough. The betting area is long enough that if the table is full and you are at one end or another, you may not be able to reach the spots where you want to place your bets. If the table is crowded, do not leave your chips unattended to walk around to place your bets. Instead, put the chips you want to bet on the table near the dealer and say "could you place these bets?" All dealers will help you do this--just tell them how many chips to put where. A good dealer will quickly memorize where you want your bets and you just have to put the chips near them in subsequent spins. Once again, do not hand them your chips directly, but put them down on the table. Do not be shy about asking the dealer for help. That is what they are there for.
After a pause that can run for a few seconds to a few minutes, the dealer will put the roulette ball into its spin. For a spin to "count," the ball must travel around the wheel at least 3 times. Sometimes the ball jumps out of the wheel area or drops immediately into a number slot by accident. When that happens, the dealer will call "no spin," which simply means the spin did not count. No big deal. The spin is restarted immediately.
Some time while the ball is spinning around the wheel, the dealer will call "No more bets." Again, each dealer will vary a bit concerning when s/he will call no more bets. Some dealers call is very soon after the ball starts spinning. Other dealers will wait until the ball falls out of its spin and begins to settle into part of the wheel. Again, you will learn your dealer's rhythm.
Some players like to wait until the ball is spinning before placing their bets. I think this is a bad idea. You could run out of time and not get all your bets placed. There is no reason to delay placing your bets. Once you hear the dealer call "Place your bets," go ahead and place them.
As soon as the ball has come to a complete stop by landing in one of the numbered slots on the wheel, the dealer will declare the winning number. Every once in a while, a dealer will make a mistake at this point. Accordingly, if a seat is open near enough to the wheel to see, it is smart to see the results for yourself. Most dealers are grateful if you catch an error before they start paying out money incorrectly.
The dealer will place a marker on the winning number. The marker is typically a piece of molded plastic or glass. The dealer then clears away all of the losing bets. In other countries, the dealer often uses what is called a "rake" to collect the losing bets, but in most USA live casinos the dealers just use their hands.
Do not touch anything near the betting area during this process. Some folks try to cheat by removing a losing bet before it is collected or adding a chip to a winning bet before the dealer can finish the payoff process. Don't even try to do this. The "eye in the sky" - the casino video surveillance and security operation-- will catch you if the dealer doesn't.
The dealer then pays off the winning bets. Dealers are taught a very specific procedure for paying off bets, so don't try to talk to them during this process. First, they pay off the outside bets, then the inside bets.
Now, there is an important courtesy rule you must follow during the payoff. Do not place any new bets until the marker is removed from the table and the dealer explicitly says "Place your bets." Do not reach across the table to collect your money from a winning bet until the dealer removes the marker or until s/he puts your winnings directly in front of you. These rules are designed to protect the dealer from becoming confused about who has or has not been paid, plus they are designed to stop cheaters. A bit of cooperation and patience on your part will help the process move swiftly and smoothly.
After the dealer finishes all the payouts, the marker will be removed and the dealer will call "place your bets." Then you can pick up your winnings and start to place your next round of bets.
Should you need to buy more chips or cash in your chips, the time to do it is after the dealer has called "place your bets." Once the ball has been put into play, the dealer will transact no business until after the spin is over and all bets paid.
Understanding the Betting Options & Payoffs
There are a lot of options, but they are not difficult to understand. Take a look at Figure One as we go through each of these betting options. Let's begin with the outside bets. There are a total of five outside bets. Three covers 18 numbers, two covers 12 numbers.
Red or Black Perhaps the most famous of all live roulette bets and the one on which many fortunes have been won or lost is the bet on red or black. The bet is quite simple. Assuming you are playing on a $5 table, simply place a bet of no less than $5 on the red or black betting spots. The bet wins even money, which means if you win you get $5 for a $5 bet. Assuming you are on a double zero table, there are 38 slots on the wheel. 0 and 00 are "green," and half of the remaining 36 slots are red and half are black.
That means this bet hopes that one of the 18 (of 38) slots on the wheel that are your color will be the winner. If 0/00 or the other color hits, you lose.
1-18, 19-36 Despite the popularity of the red/black bet, the bet as to whether the number will be one of those 1-18 or 19-36 has the same odds and pays off the same amount as the red/black bet. In this case, you are simply betting whether the winning number will be in the first half (1-18) or the second half (19-36). If you guess correctly, you win even money (1 to 1). If the other half of the 0/00 hits, you lose.
Odd or Even Got this one figured out yet? Same deal as above. You are betting as to whether the winning number is going to be odd or even, and the bet pays even money. These three bets have identical odds. All have 18 chances out of 38, or a probability of winning of 47.37%. It is not purely a 50/50 chance because of 0/00. All three bets pay even money.
A dozen Bets Notice that the numbers 1-36 are divided into three dozen: 1-12, 13-24, 25-36. This bet is also very simple. You place a bet on one of the dozens - let's say, for example, the first dozen (1-12). If the winning number falls within the first dozen of 1-12, you win. If not, you lose.
This bet pays 2 to 1, so some players find it more attractive than the even money bets described above. This means if you wager $5, you are paid $10 if your dozen comes in.
Column Bets At the bottom of the betting layout are three spaces that are known as columns. The columns cover the numbers that appear on the board above them. Specifically:
- Column A covers 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34
- Column B covers 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35
- Column C covers 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36
Like the dozen bets, each bet covers 12 numbers, and winning bets are paid at 2 to 1. If you bet on column A and one of the other columns or 0/00 hits, you lose. If your column hits, you win $10 for each $5 bet. The dozen or column bet has 12 chances out of 38, or a probability of winning on any given spin of 31.58%. Note that the odds are slightly less than 33.33% which would be truly 1 in 3.
One of the ways the casino makes its profit is known as the "house edge" or the vig it takes. I will explain this concept soon, but for now, it is enough to note that the true odds of winning are slightly less than the rate the casino pays you for winning bets, so in the long run the house will win at least that amount.
We are now ready to talk about "inside" bets. With a single chip, it is possible to bet on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 numbers of the 38 on the wheel. Straight-up A bet on a single number is known as a straight-up bet and it pays 35 to 1. To place a straight-up bet you simply put your chip directly in the center of the number on the betting area. If there are already chips there, just place your chip on top of them. If you bet on number 23 (often referred to now as "Michael Jordan") with a $1 chip and 23 hits, then you are given 35 chips plus your original bet is left in place on #23. If you decide to leave at that point, don't forget to pick up that chip still resting on #23, or else play it for one last spin if you want to go for the back-to-back repeat. The casino pays you 35 to 1 (36 if you count the return of your bet), but the true odds are 38 to 1. This means the house edge is 5.26%.
That figure is one of the highest house advantages you will find in any game in the casino and it explains, in part, why roulette is tough to win consistently.
Split A bet into two numbers is known as a split bet. You place a split bet by putting your chip on the line in between two numbers, such as 1 and 2, or 8 and 10 (see Figure 1). A split bet pays 17 to 1, plus your bet is returned. The split bet is my favorite bet. Because you cover two numbers instead of 1, you will win at literally twice the rate as you will if you just bet straight-up. Plus, the payoff is large enough that you can accumulate a lot of chips in a short time.
Trio or Street A bet on three numbers is called a trio of street bet. You place a trio bet by placing your chip on the outside line of column A. That is, you place the chip on the left-hand edge of a set of three numbers that begin with one of the following: 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34. The bet then covers the three numbers in that "street," such that a chip on the outside edge of 1 covers 1, 2, 3; a chip on the outside edge of 4 covers 4, 5, 6; etc. This bet pays 11 to 1, plus your bet is returned.
This is a fairly economical bet, as 5 chips can cover 5 streets or a total of 15 numbers. If you win, you lose 4 of the chips on the losing streets but gain 11 with the winning street for a net profit of 7 chips.
Corner A corner bet covers 4 numbers and you place it by putting your chip on the corner of four adjacent numbers. For example, look at the layout and you see that 1, 2, 4, & 5 share a common corner. Placing a chip there covers all four numbers and pays 8 to 1 plus your bet is returned. You can cover 20 numbers with 5 corner bets, but your net profit is now down to 4 chips so I don't recommend this bet unless you are seeking just one more hit.
Basket Bet The basket bet covers 0, 00, 1, 2, & 3. The problem is that this bet pays at a rate that gives the house an even larger edge (over 7%) because it pays only 6 to 1. It is considered the worst bet in roulette and I recommend against ever using it. If you want to cover these numbers, I suggest a split bet to cover 0/00 and a trio bet on 1, 2, 3.
Line or Double-Street This bet covers 6 numbers. You place it like the trio of street bet, but instead of putting the chip on the edge of one number, you put it on the edge and on the corner where two streets meet. The line bet is paid at a rate of 5 to 1 plus your bet is returned.
A bet on the outside corner of 1 & 4 covers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
A bet on the outside corner of 4 & 7 covers 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
A bet on the outside corner of 7 & 10 covers 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
A bet on the outside corner of 13 & 16 covers 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18.
And so forth...
The Courtesy Line The only remaining bet to describe is the same as a split bet but it covers only the 0 and 00. The "courtesy line" is the line that divides the outside betting boxes that house the second and third dozen. If you put a chip there, it is not considered a bet that covers the second and third dozen, but rather a bet on the 0 and 00. It is considered a "courtesy" to players at the far end of the betting area since putting chips directly on the 0 and 00 may be inconvenient. Like all other split bets, this bet pays 17 to 1.
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When and How to Tip
Should you tip? This is an entirely personal matter as far as I am concerned.
The matter is also somewhat different at low-stakes tables versus high-stakes tables. Let's assume we are playing at a $5 table. I think the service staff like cocktail servers should be tipped 50 cents or a buck.
But what about the dealers?
There are two considerations here. First, has the dealer been helpful? Has the dealer been fairly pleasant and cooperative? Has the dealer been helping you place your bets? In short, has the dealer served you well and made the experience more positive? If so, a tip may be in order. If the quality of service has been bad, don't tip.
The second consideration is whether you are winning or losing money. Here you must find that fine line between being stingy and stupid. If you are winning, it is typically considered a bit rude not to give the dealer anything. On the other hand, if you are losing or barely keeping even, you are simply whittling away potential earnings by tipping too much. So, tip only when you are winning unless you just feel like being generous.
When should you tip? There are three ways to handle tipping. The first is to "pay as you go." Most players will toss the dealer a chip or two after a good win (of at least 35 chips) and say "this is for you." That is not a bad way to handle it, but you might want to consider that you decrease your winnings by almost 3% for every single chip you tip out of 35! That adds up fast. So be frugal.
The second way to tip is at the end of your playing session. The advantage of waiting until the end of the session is that you can better assess the quality of service you have been receiving and evaluate how much you can afford to tip without unduly cutting into your profits.
The third way to tip is my favorite. It is the most fun and potentially the most profitable for the dealer. If you are winning, now and then place a bet "for the dealer." You can pick the number or ask the dealer where they want you to place the bet. Now, recognize that this is truly the dealer's bet. If it hits, the dealer is supposed to receive the winnings, whether the winning is 1 chip or 35. So if you also want to bet on that number, make sure you have your bet there as well.
How much should you tip? There simply is no standard or agreed-upon rate, unlike a restaurant or taxi tipping. My rule of thumb is to tip about one chip for every 50 chips in wins. This results in a pattern where I tip a chip every other time I win, approximately.
Cashing Out
OK, so you have played for a while and are ready to leave. What do you do?
You must cash your chips at the roulette table where you have been playing. If you take the colored roulette chips away to a cashier, they will not cash them in because they do not know whether they are $1 or $5 chips. So, when you are done, wait until a pause in the action (right after the dealer calls "place your bets" is the ideal time) and say to the dealer "I'm cashing in."
Let the dealer pull your stacks of chips to count them--they know better than you do how to move those stacks of chips without spilling them and making a mess. The dealer will count your chips and give you regular casino chips equal in value. You can then take those chips to a regular cashier to get cash.
If you have not tipped the dealer previously but wish to do so now, wait until the roulette chips have been converted into regular casino chips.
After you are paid, you can place your tip on the table and say "this is for you" so they know it is a tip.
Dont forget: This strategy collected from internet. LiveCasinoGuru is not responsible for the accuracy of this information. It is presented for information purposes only. Our task is to collect and present strategies to share experiences. Any possible wins and losses are the responsibility of the player.