This game was first played back in the 17 th century in France. Today
it is an extremely popular game in Europe and especially in Monte Carlo
where it is played at the famous and well known casinos.
The Basics
There are usually up to eight players who play against the house. the house
is represented by the croupier or dealer. It is his job to spin the roulette
wheel and to handle the bets and payouts. The European and French versions
of roulette include a wheel with 37 slots that represent 36 numbers plus
one zero. Most roulette wheels in their United States have 38 slots since
a double zero is added.
Players buy chips with each player having their own color of chips.
This is so that the bets will not get mixed up. And the end of play,
the winners receive cash chips for their colored chips. These special
chips have their value printed on them and come in several denominations
of varying colors. These chips are than exchanged at the cashier’s
desk for real money.
The game is played by placing your bets on numbers (including the
zero) that appear on a table layout or on the outside in various printed
sections. When everyone at the table has had the opportunity to place
their bets, the croupier places the wheel in spin and throws out the
ball. Just before the ball is about to drop onto the slots, he calls
out ‘no more bets’. At this point no one is allowed to add or change
bets until the ball falls into a slot on the wheel. The croupier then
places the dolly on the roulette table over the winning number and
colors away all of the losing bets. Then new bets can be placed while
the winner is being paid off. Those bets placed on or around the winning
number are winners. In addition outside bets will win if that number
is represented.
The house advantage
When you are playing a single zero roulette table the house holds an advantage
of 2.7%. This climbs to 5.26% when playing a double zero roulette table.
The house gains its advantage by paying winning players a chip or two less
than what they should have received if there were no advantage to the house.
The 'En Prison' rule
This is a rule of roulette of some not all casinos that is applied only to
even-money bets. When the spin comes out on zero, there are some casinos
that will allow players to either remove half of their bet or leave the enter
bet for the next spin of the wheel. If by chance zero were to come up again,
then the enter bet is lost.
The ' La Partage' rule
This is similar to the en prison rule. However, in this case the player loses
half of his/her bet and is not given the option of letting it stay for the
next spin. This also applies when the outcome is zero but only to the outside
even-money bets which include Red/Black, High/Low, and Odd/Even. These two
rules, the La Partage and the En Prison, have the effect of essentially cutting
in half the house’s advantage on even money bets. That means that if you
were to bet on red coming up on the next spin of a single-zero table, and
the house had the la partage rule or the en prison rule, the house advantage
would be 1.35%, while if it were a double-zero roulette table the advantage
would be 2.63%.
The payouts
If you bet on a single number, called a straight-up bet, the payout is 35 to
1. (You collect 36. If there were no house advantage you would collect 37
or 38 if you were playing in the United States on a double zero roulette
wheel).
- The payout on a two-number bet, which is referred
to as a split bet, is 17 to 1.
- The payout on a three-number bet, which is referred
to as a street bet, is 11 to 1.
- The payout on a four-number bet, which is referred
to as a corner bet, is 8 to 1.
- The payout on a six-number bet, is 5 to 1.
- The payout on an outside dozen or column bet, is 2
to 1.
- The payout on the outside even money bets, is 1 to
1.
Object of the game
It is the player’s job to predict onto which slot the ball will fall with each
spin of the wheel. Obviously, this is not an easy task and luck is a major
factor of play in this game. There are players that stick with the winning
numbers, which are referred to as ‘hot’ numbers and therefore are more likely
to come up. While others will watch to see which numbers are not coming up
and will then bet on them believing that their time is due. Other players
will bet on a lot of numbers in order to increase their chance of to number
hitting on the spin. This of course means much less of a payout. Still there
are other more methodical players who will employ a particular roulette system
or method. They may also try a money management system.
French roulette rules
French roulette rules are similar to European rules. They use the
same 37 number wheel which includes the one zero. It differs in employing
a different layout for outside bets.
The odds for players in French roulette are the same as those in
European roulette with one zero, and better than those for American
relate which uses two zero slots. When the outcome is a zero only half
of even money bets are lost. This is known as the ' La Partage' rule.
In this game the object is the same, to predict which slot the ball
will fall into on the wheel for each spin. There are 37 possibilities.
Since the language used is French below are the equivalent English
terms for various roulette bets:
Inside bets
- One number or Straight up = En plein
- Two numbers or a Split Bet = Cheval
- Three numbers or a Street Bet = Transversale
- Four numbers or a Corner Bet = Carre
- Six numbers or a Line Bet = Sixainne
Outside bets
- Twelve numbers in a Column = Colonne
- Twelve numbers – a Dozen = Douzaine
- A Red or a Black = Rouge, Noir
- An Even or an Odd = Pair, Impair
- Low or High numbers = Manque, Passe
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