What You Need to Know About Roulette Bets, Odds and Payouts

Roulette is a game of chance. While the dealer spins the wheel, wherever the ball lands decides the outcome of the spin. Anticipating the outcome while placing bets, figuring out the odds, and calculating the payouts is a thrilling challenge.

Roulette’s homeland is France, where the game as we know it today evolved throughout the centuries. The game reached American soil in the late 18th century, and since then it has been an entertainment across the states. The spinning of the Roulette wheel is bound to stop somewhere; the ball lands in the pocket and separates the winners from losers. The dynamics of the Roulette gives the player little time to perceive the possibilities of an outcome.

Placing Wagers on the Roulette Tables

The online tables are similar to their land-based counterparts. The casino has a mathematical advantage over the player in the form of a house edge, which can not be changed by any roulette strategy or betting system.

The bet starts when the table is cleared of chips. Players have a choice with a variety of fields to spread their bets across the betting layout. The Roulette game is one of the casino games which offers multiple ways of winning once the ball stops on the correct field.

The zero pocket number on the wheel does represent the casino advantage. Nonetheless, the players can still place wagers even on the zero. All of the bets in Roulette are split into two major categories:

• Inside
• Outside

Inside Bets

On the inside part, there are columns with 36 numbers. The gambler who plays Roulette can spread the bet between one or several fields. Depending on the area the player chooses to place a bet on, there are various types of stakes.

Straight Up Bet — The type which includes a bet on a single number.

Split Bet — Placing a chip on the line between two numbers means betting on both.

Street — A sequence of three numbers within the same line. A chip is placed at the border between the columns and outside fields.

Square — A bet placed on the junction of four different numbers in the column.

Line — Includes the six numbers in the column, and a chip is placed at the outer edge of the two columns.

Trio — Placing a bet on two numbers and a zero.

Basket — Means that the player is betting on 0, 1, 2, and 3, when a chip is placed on the edge between the zero and the line of the first three numbers.

Outside Bets

The outside bet covers the fields outside each of the three columns with numbers. The player has to place the bet corresponding to the table limit.

Colors — Placing a chip on either red or black field includes 18 different numbers. The wager marks a color you are betting on.

Highs and Lows — There are two distinct groups of numbers; 1–18 are low numbers, and 19–36 are high numbers. Placing a chip in the corresponding field places a bet on those numbers.

Even and Odds — Placing a chip on either of the two fields means placing a bet on even numbers or odd numbers.

Columns — The chip placed within three fields of the different column marked with “2 to 1” means placing a bet on an entire column.

The Bets and Strategies

During the years of studying land-based wheels, some players pointed out that there is a small chance of predicting the outcome of the spinning ball. The research included the physics of the wheel, the dealer’s distinct way of spinning it, and many other variables. In online casinos, the virtual game is slightly different, and the microchip decides the outcome randomly.

Games of chance leave little or no room for predictions. Albert Einstein said: “You cannot beat a roulette table unless you steal money from it.”

The inside and outside wagers have their benefits, but it is important to be familiar with their disadvantages as well. For example, outside wagers have higher odds offering a bigger chance to win than the inside wagers.

The table of the probability of winning the inside and outside bets:

Roulette is a game based on calculations, but the majority of players confuse it with expecting a miracle. Numerous gamblers tried the tactic of counting the spins and looking for repetition. That one repetition appears after every 38 spins.

However, the knowledge of rules and different Roulette strategies can change the player’s position in the game — from a mere observer to a winner. But, unless the player uses a plan, it could very well mean a sudden end of the game and depleted bankroll.

Different Types of Roulette Strategies

Martingale

The strategy revolves around the outside wagers with almost 50% probability of a win, which includes odds and evens, highs and lows, and colors. The plan is to place wagers in equal amounts starting from the lowest, for example, 10$. While the placed bet keeps losing, the player increases the bet, to the point when they win, and then the stakes are reversed to the initial state.

Oscar Grind

The strategy is based on winning small amounts of money. Much like with the Martingale, the wagers are doubled, for example, the initial 10$ become 20$. The concept is to increase the following bets as long as they are winning.

Paroli

The strategic move in this type is the reverse of Martingale, which means increasing stakes while losing, and when the player wins return the bet to the minimum.

D’Alembert

The strategy is based on doubling the minimum bet. This means that the player will have to memorize and multiply the wagers. As long as the winning streak lasts, the bet remains the same. If the player loses, the tactic is changed by doubling the wager.

James Bond

The strategy consists of splitting the bet into three different amounts. For example, the $20 bet gets split on $14, $5, and $1. The majority of the sum would be placed on high numbers. The average amount on the line bet on 13–18 fields, and the minimum would go on the zero.

Column Betting

The majority of players use this type to even the smallest of winnings since it is the low-risk strategy. There are three different columns in the American Roulette; each has a potential of winning, the same is with dozens. The player places a minimum bet on column or dozen, and another 50% of the initial bet on another column or dozen.

Labouchere

The strategy involves memorizing the number sequence. For example, when betting $10, the bet is represented in a number sequence corresponding the total bet amount 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1. To determine the bet size, the player sums up the first and last number in the sequence. As the game progresses and the player wins, the used numbers are removed from the chain.

Many gamblers consider increasing stakes a bad idea, especially when there is no chance of knowing the outcome. In the old-school casinos, people would place several small stakes on the table like columns, dozens, reds or blacks, evens or odds, etc. By placing the wager all over the table, they were ensuring a certain win.

What Are the Odds of Winning?

The odds are affected by the type of Roulette; both the American and European versions have different rules. The difference between the two is in a number of zeros on the table and on the wheel. While European Roulette has only one, the American has two zeros. Therefore the house edge for American is 5.2%, and for European it reaches 2.7%. The house edge is an advantage that the casino operators use to dominate the game, in the sense that with a zero there is less probability of the ball landing on other numbers.

The odds represent the possibility of winning different stakes. American Roulette wheel contains 36 numbers plus 0 and 00. With 38 numbers in total, the true odds of hitting a single number in a bet is 38 to 1, but the house pays only 35 to 1. Roulette odds are set in such a way that the player loses a small amount of money in the long run.

Payouts

Roulette payouts are fixed and proportional to odds. The numbers in odds represent the amount of money the casino pays to the winning player — the lower the number of odds, the higher the payout.

The table of payouts on placed stakes:

The table defines the amount of money the player gets while winning the bet. For example, 1:1 and the players bet of $1, means that player will keep the bet and receive the additional dollar when winning.

Roulette is a straightforward and exciting game of anticipation and a distinctive rush. Many players claim that this feeling of awaiting the spinning wheel to stop is like no other casino game. The game which has been played for centuries is now in its virtual form and more popular than ever.