Each roulette table moves in
sessions, each session is associated with a spin of the wheel and that spin's
result. 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. On inside bets, the total of all
of your bets must add up to at least the table minimum. Split bet - you
can place a single bet on two individual numbers if those numbers are beside
each other on the table layout. The outside bets on a roulette board are
simply the bets that reside 'outside' of the main playing area of 38 numbers. There
are the different types of outside bets. 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. Columns - at one end of the set of 38 numbers are
boxes with the words '2 to 1' written in them. Dozens - a bet very similar to
the columns bet, dozens lets you place a bet on either the first dozen numbers
(1-12), the second dozen (13-24), or the third dozen (25-36)
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. For most bets it's fairly obvious - you can't miss the
Red diamond for Red bets, and things like Even, 1-18, and 1st 12 are written out
in plain English. In most games players can continue
making bets even while the ball is still spinning. Then he'll scoop up all the losing bets towards the dealer area. 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. Roulette games have minimum bets, which will be posted on a
placard at the table. Inside bets can
usually be as small a you like, as long as the total of all your inside bets is
the table minimum. 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. It's more important to know what the house edge is, than how to calculate
it, but here's a quick analysis in case you're interested. On an American wheel,
there are 38 spots - numbers 1-36, plus 0 and 00. if you win, the
casino doesn't pay you 37 to 1, they pay you less - 35 to 1. The difference
between the true odds and what they actually pay you is 2/38, or 5.26%. The European
wheel has a lower house edge (2.63%) because it has only 37 slots instead of 38
(no 00) The
last time we checked, Single 0 Roulette was available at the Stratosphere and
the Monte Carlo on the Vegas Strip. You don't get paid for the win, though, but it's better than losing
it outright. In effect, this variation has the ability to turn a loss into a tie.