Each player plays with their own color chips. When the new session starts you can put your
chips down where you want to bet, and you don't really have to be in a hurry. Most roulette sessions move at a fairly slow pace, to accommodate the number of
people betting, and the variety on which they can bet. If you have a player you
likes to put down twenty different bets each time they play, the sessions are
going to move a little slower. Just sit back and let the ball fall where
it may. Straight-up bet - this
is the classic roulette bet. Choose any one of the 38 numbers and put your
chips down on that number for the chance to win back at 35 to 1. Corner bet -
lets you bet on four adjoining numbers. Placing your chips at the point where
four numbers meet will indicate you want a corner bet. When you place an outside
bet your bet must meet the table minimum. Red or Black - you can choose to bet on
the outcome either being a red number, or a black number. Low or High - this bet lets you predict whether you
think the next number to come up will be part of the range from 1 to 18, or part
of the range from 19 to 36.
Roulette would be a great game were it not for the high
house edge - usually 5.26%, sometimes as low as 2.63%, which is still higher
than blackjack, craps, or baccarat. You should always calculate your expected
loss and how long you can play on a given bankroll before playing any game, but
with roulette it's especially important. We've added blue circled letters to the diagram to point out
how to make the not-so-obvious bets (the sets of 2-6 numbers) You don't have to make just one kind of bet for
each spin, you can make several, and you win if the ball lands on any of your
numbers. The house edge is the same whether you
make one bet per spin or several. When the ball falls into a slot, the dealer will announce the
number and the color, and place a marker on the layout where the winning number
is. Don't reach for your winnings until the dealer
removes the marker, or the dealer will scold you. That way if
two players bet on the same number (or set of numbers), then the dealer knows
who to pay, and arguments can't arise over who bet what. Sometimes the dealer
will ask you "Inside or Outside? That's because if you're betting only inside and someone else is
betting only outside, he can give you both the same color chips and there won't
be any confusion. If you're asked Inside or Outside, always answer "Both",
even if you only intend to bet one or the other. Remember that
you can bet inside or outside if you like; there's no requirement to bet both on
a given spin. Now let's say
you've been playing Roulette for a few hours, betting on Red every time, and
you've been keeping track of what numbers have hit. Your odds of winning a
one-number bet are 37 to 1 (37 ways to lose, 1 way to win) The difference
between the true odds and what they actually pay you is 2/38, or 5.26%. The
last time we checked, Single 0 Roulette was available at the Stratosphere and
the Monte Carlo on the Vegas Strip. If
you win the second spin, your bet is "released from prison" and you
get it back.