Live Roulette Rules

In a game of roulette, a wheel, with numbered and coloured pockets around its inner circumference, is spun, and a ball bearing is sent spinning around above the pockets. The red and black pockets are numbered from 1 to 36, and the green pockets are numbered 0 and (in American roulette) 00. Eventually, the ball loses momentum and falls into one of the pockets, which decides the winning number and colour for that round of play. Players can bet on single numbers, a range of numbers, red or black, odds or evens, or a combination of numbers. There are essentially two types of bet in roulette, known as 'outside' and 'inside' bets. These names refer to the parts of the betting layout that you have to lay chips on to make these bets.

Payout Odds

The payout odds for each option are dependent on their probability.All the long odds 'inside' bets, such as those on single numbers or small groups of numbers, are located on the inner part of the betting layout. The short odds 'outside' bets, such as odds and evens, or 1-18, are located on the outside of the betting layout.

Bets

While you can place inside bets on the green zeroes, none of the possible outside bets include the option of betting on green. There are usually minimum and maximum betting amounts, with a different maximum for inside and outside bets. Sometimes, different chips will be used for inside bets, with each player having chips of a different colour so that they can be easily told apart. The players can continue to bet after the wheel has started spinning, up to the point where the dealer says 'no more bets'. Once the ball has fallen into a particular pocket, the winning bets are paid out according to their odds, and the process begins again.

Versions

There are essentially three main versions of roulette, French, American, and European. The original French version of the game features two identical layouts on either side of the roulette wheel, and one green zero pocket. The American version features a slightly different layout, and only one per table as opposed to two. American roulette also features a second double zero pocket, which increases the house edge, as you cannot win an outside bet if the ball falls into one of the green pockets. The most popular version of roulette, especially in live casinos, is European roulette, which is essentially similar to the American version, except that it only features one green pocket.