A session ends when the ball lands where it may, and the dealers clear
the board of losing bets (and pay winning ones of course) At this point the
dealer will say 'place your bets' and everyone at the table will start throwing
chips down like crazy. 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. On inside bets, the total of all
of your bets must add up to at least the table minimum. 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. Split bet - you
can place a single bet on two individual numbers if those numbers are beside
each other on the table layout. 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. The outside bets on a roulette board are
simply the bets that reside 'outside' of the main playing area of 38 numbers. When you place an outside
bet your bet must meet the table minimum. 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. 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. Making a bet is easy - you just place your chip(s) on the number(s), color, or
sets you want to bet on. 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. Then he'll scoop up all the losing bets towards the dealer area. 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. 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. It most other games a bet usually wins only even money, but
Roulette gives you the chance to win 35 times your bet (a winning bet placed on
a single number) It's important to
understand that the outcome of the roulette wheel is truly random. Here's another example: Since there are 38 slots on the wheel,
we expect any given number to hit 1 out of 38 spins on average. Your odds of winning a
one-number bet are 37 to 1 (37 ways to lose, 1 way to win) If you play Roulette, the most important thing is to find a casino that
offers the European wheel (which is called "Single 0" Roulette) Atlantic City has a special rule which
reduces the house edge to 2.7% on even money bets (Red/Black, Odd/Even,
1-18/19-36): If 0 or 00 comes up on on even money bet, you lose only half your
bet. 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.