Spin the wheel. See what happens. Such is the simple promise of roulette. Visit any casino. You’ll find the game prominently displayed and busy with activity. People love to spin the wheel. The rules are simple. Where is that ball going to go? And when things go well, the potential payouts can be huge.
You don’t need to know much. Pick a number. Pick a color. See what happens. You don’t influence the outcome of the spin. Strategy comes in the form of bet management. Understanding the wager structure. Striking a balance between probability and payout potential.
The key? Understand your risk tolerance and develop a betting structure that compliments your desired results.
How Does Roulette Work?
Roulette is a game that was created in the 17th century. A wheel spins one way, a ball, the other. Players gather overcrowded tables with the purest of motives: Guess where the ball will land.
Choose correctly and win big. Fail, and it’s better luck next time.
The wheel includes numbered pockets between 0-36 which alternate between red and black. The zero pocket is colored green.
When you arrive at the table, the dealer invites all guests—virtual or in-person—to place their bets. The player chooses which number they think the ball will land on. When all the bets are finalized, the dealer launches the wheel and the ball.
The ball eventually stops. Winners are paid. The losers are disappointed. And the wheel does just what Tina Turner would want it to. It keeps on turning.
The nice thing about this game is that you can jump right in with minimal knowledge. The core concept is simple enough. Where is the ball going to go? The answer, of course, is never certain. While there are “odds,” they reset on each spin. In other words, what happened last has no bearing on what will happen next.
You can’t predict where the ball will land. You can study the betting and payout structure to make more strategic wagers.
Roulette Betting Structure
Roulette features inside and outside bets. In other words, where you place your chips on the table. Inside bets, naturally enough, fall in the inner area of the betting layout. To make an inside bet is to wager on a specific number—or a small set of numbers.
You can get really bold. Seven! The roulette payouts for single-number bets will be 35 to one because the odds of choosing the correct number are so low.
Within the inner ring, you can improve your odds slightly by betting on slightly larger spreads:
- Bet on two adjacent numbers for a payout of 17 to 1.
- Bet on three numbers in a row for a payout of 11 to 1.
- Bet on four numbers that meet at a corner for a payout of 8 to 1.
- Bet on six numbers across two rows for a payout of 5 to 1.
Despite the beautiful payout potential of a single number bet, most people won’t wager their car payment on something so uncertain.
The risk-averse can take even more comfort in outside bets. Wager on large groups of numbers but with lower payout potential. You could choose a color. An all-even number wager. An all-odd number wager. High numbers (19-36) or low numbers (1-19).
Zero can be included in an inside bet but not an outside bet. Small note for zero enthusiasts: American-style roulette includes two zero pockets. European roulette features only one.
This gives the house marginally better odds for outside bets in the U.S. than it does in other parts of the world.
Inside Versus Outside: What makes the most sense?
Gambling is super personal. The way you bet is influenced by the experience you want to have. Are you killing time, nursing small bets over the course of an hour? Or maybe you’re looking for high-octane thrills.
These motives will put you on different sections of the roulette betting system.
As a general rule, inside bets are less sustainable. Your odds of consistently choosing the right number—or small segment of numbers—correctly is almost non-existent. It’s a thrill-motivated decision. Akin to going all in on a bluff in hold’em.
Betting the outside is still chance based but the odds are so much better. You can play for hours in the world’s finest casinos and maintain a steady balance. Your payouts will be smaller, but your losses will be too.
Conclusion
It’s all for fun. Betting odds don’t guarantee results, and as casino skill games go, roulette isn’t very high on the list. Strategy is more of a factor here than it is with, say, slots, but this isn’t a game like blackjack or poker, where ability can make a substantial difference in the outcome.
You want to arrive at the table knowing what you are doing. Understanding the best structure will help you make informed choices. At the end of the day, though, no one can tell where that ball will land.