Roulette Basics

Roulette is one of the most popular casino games—the roulette wheel itself is a universally acknowledged symbol of gambling. Playing roulette is relatively simple: you bet on a number or numbers, the dealer spins the wheel and ball, and if the ball lands in the numbered space on the wheel that corresponds to your bet, you win. Roulette is a favorite among gamblers looking for a relaxing, sophisticated game that’s still easy and fun to play.

Roulette is played at a large table, up to 15 feet long and 4 feet wide, set on the casino floor among the other table games. The roulette table accommodates four main elements:

The roulette wheel is a sight to behold: it’s almost 3 feet across and can weigh more than 100 pounds. All roulette wheels contain 36 black and red pockets, numbered 1–36. The pockets alternate between the two colors. A pocket is black if the sum of its digits is an even number ; it is red if the sum of its digits is odd. For example, number 15 is black because 1 + 5 = 6, an even number. The numbers are arranged so that high and low and even and odd numbers are spread evenly around the wheel. Modern roulette wheels also have a number of small, metal, diamond-shaped bumps, or obstacles, that strike the ball as the wheel is spinning, making the path of the roulette ball more unpredictable.

In addition to the 36 red and black pockets, a roulette wheel has one or two green pockets. Most American roulette wheels have two green pockets, marked 0 and 00. These are called double zero wheels. Almost all European and some American wheels have only one green pocket, marked 0. These are called single zero wheels. It’s better to play on single zero wheels because the house edge is lower. (For more on this strategy, see Roulette Strategy.)

On one side of the wheel—or on both sides, if the table is exceptionally large—is the betting area. This felt surface has marked spaces for all the common bets in roulette. When you want to make a bet, you put your chips on the space in the betting area associated with that bet.

The betting area is also where the dealer places a marker to indicate the winning number for the most recent spin.

Attached to the betting area is an electronic display that shows the winning numbers for the most recent spins. The size of the display varies, but a typical display will show the winning numbers for the last 20 spins. Some players use this history of spins in a vain attempt to predict which numbers are more likely to come up on the next spin of the wheel.

Reflecting roulette’s French origins, the roulette dealer is called a croupier. At the beginning of each turn, the croupier spins the wheel in one direction and rolls a small white roulette ball in the opposite direction of the spinning wheel. When the ball eventually comes to rest in one of the wheel’s pockets, the croupier announces the winning number. The croupier also exchanges chips for money, pays winning bets, and collects losing bets.

The players generate most of the action at a roulette table. They place their bets on the outcomes they think will win and are paid by the croupier if they guess correctly. When a player wins a large wager, the excitement can often break up the typically refined atmosphere of the game. The number of players that can play at a single roulette table depends on the size of the table, but a typical table accommodates 6–8 players.