Roulette
There is no doubt that Roulette carries with
it a certain amount of excitement, flair if
you will. This image was created by that "Mother
of all super spies," James Bond, who, with
a beautiful woman nearby, preferred to play
this fast-paced game, when not beating the
bad guys at Baccarat.
Although a game favored by Europeans, Roulette
has managed to gather a strong following in
North America, most likely for its simplicity
and the chance to win big money.
HISTORY
Roulette means "little wheel" in French. The
invention of the game that we're familiar
with today is generally attributed to the
French philosopher and mathematician, Blaise
Pascal, who is also credited with originating
the probability theory.
But forerunners of Roulette, basically carnival
wheel games, were in use throughout Europe,
as early as the mid-1500s. In fact, the earliest
gambling action in Monaco consisted of two
gaming wheels in a barn.
HOW TO PLAY
Roulette is a very easy game to learn. It's
simply a guessing game with a little white
ball and a big spinning wheel.
The ball spins in one direction as the wheel
spins in the other, until the ball lands in
one of the 38 pockets on the wheel.
If your money is on the right number, set
of numbers, or color, you collect. What could
be easier than that?
BETTING
There are a dozen different bets to be made
on a Roulette wheel. They fall under one of
two categories: "inside" bets and "outside"
bets.
Inside bets are made on the individual numbers,
one through 36, and the zeros.
Betting on a single number is called a "straight-up"
wager. Say you bet on number 23. If the ball
drops into the number 23 pocket, you're paid
off at 35-1. Not bad, huh?
To bet on two numbers, place your chips on
the line between the two numbers you wish
to bet on, such as between 1 and 2, or 1 and
the single zero, or 1 and 4. This "split"
bet pays off at 17-1.
You can also bet on three numbers at a time,
paying 11-1, four numbers (8-1), five numbers
(6-1) and six numbers (5-1). Those are all
the inside bets.
Outside bets are the wagers
made on the outside of the layout. These
are the bets on red-black, odd-even, and
high-low.
If you place your chips in the even box
and the ball drops into the number 24, you
win. If it drops into number 23, you lose.
Simple as that. These bets pay even money.
You can also bet on 12 numbers each in the
"column" boxes at the far end of the layout.
The first 12, second 12 and third 12 all
pay 2-1. If you put a $5 chip in the second
column and the ball drops into number 17,
you win $10.
You can mix, match and make as many bets
as you like on a single spin. Read a book,
ask a dealer, study the layout, or just
watch for a while and you'll quickly know
how to make every bet that's offered.
BETTING CHIPS
The chip system for Roulette is a little
different from the other table games. You
can buy in and play with standard casino
chips, but each table also has its own set
of special "wheel chips."
Wheel chips, which come in several different
colors, are used so that the dealer can
distinguish among all the different players'
bets on the layout.
When you go to exchange your cash, or casino
chips, for wheel chips, inform the dealer
of the denomination (within the stated betting
limits) that you want your chips to be.
Say you want each chip to be worth $1. If
you give the dealer a $20 bill, he'll give
you back 20 wheel chips worth $1 each. The
player next to you might be betting with
brown chips worth $5 each, and the player
next to him might be using white wheel chips
worth $25 apiece.
Wheel chips allow for a practice that's
unique to Roulette: the co-mingling of different
players' bets. Unlike other casino games
where bets must be kept separate, Roulette
players can stack their bets on top of one
another's. If you've got one of those feelings
that the next number will be 15 and somebody's
already on that number, just pile your wheel
chips right on top.
BETTING RULES
Before sitting down to play, take particular
note of the table-minimum betting rules.
There will be a table minimum and a chip
minimum.
The table minimum applies to all bets on
the table. It indicates the lowest wager
allowed on any outside bet and the lowest
total bet inside.
The chip minimum tells you the least amount
you can bet inside on a number.
Here's an example. A $2 table minimum and
50-cent chip minimum, means that you must
bet a minimum of $2 on any outside bet,
but you can combine four 50-cent bets to
satisfy the minimum requirements for your
inside bet. In other words, you can bet
50 cents on four different numbers.
You are allowed to place bets even while
the wheel is spinning, up until the point
when the dealer announces, "No more bets."
This is the fun part. On a table that's
really jamming, players twist, lunge and
sometimes elbow their way past other players
to get their bets down before the deadline.
When you're ready to cash out, don't forget
to redeem your wheel chips (for real chips)
right at the table. You CAN'T exchange them
anywhere else in the casino, not even at
the cashier's cage.
SOME INFO AND ADVICE
Most Roulette wheels in Las Vegas have two
green-colored pockets, one displaying a
zero, and a second with two zeros. The zeros
are called house numbers, because when the
ball lands in one of them, the casino collects
all bets except those placed on the zeros.
The casino advantage on a double-zero Roulette
wheel is 5.26%. On occasion, you'll encounter
Roulette wheels that have only one zero.
The house edge on a single-zero wheel is
only 2.7%. The double-zero game has one
bet that you should always avoid: the five-number
bet on 0, 00, 1, 2, 3. It has a whopping
casino edge of 7.89%. Some casinos provide
reader boards that track the last 20 to
30 spins. While interesting to observe and
look for patterns, they don't provide much
information of practical use. Roulette is
a game of independent trials, which means
the ball has no memory of what has occurred
in the past, and cannot become more predictable
because of prior results. Since the casino
edge on both the inside and outside bets
is the same, it doesn't really matter which
you choose to play. For excitement purposes,
it's better to divide your stake into smaller
units (defined by the chip minimum) and
spread chips over several numbers inside.
RECAP
Be sure to read the placard that lists the
table minimum and chip minimum, then buy
your wheel chips from the dealer.
You can place your bets anywhere and everywhere
on the layout, even on the top of the chips
of other players, up until the time the
dealer says, "No more bets."
Then stand back, relax, and pray that the
ball drops into the pocket with your money
in it.
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
Did you hear the one about the young woman
playing Roulette who asked her boyfriend
which number she should play.
The boyfriend said, "Bet your age."
So his girlfriend placed a chip on 23.
The ball landed on 29 and the woman fainted.
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