Ask any amateur how to play roulette and he’ll probably tell you just to choose a number and hope for the best. Considering that we here at AceHoyle.com are no amateurs, you can expect our “Roulette Rules” section below to cover all the proverbial bases. But, honestly, basic roulette rules really are as straightforward as our example amateur would have you believe: Naturally, part of playing roulette is getting involved in what’s going on. But it’s hardly a contact sport or a chess championship. And while truly playing roulette often entails obsessing over systems and strategies, more often than not, you are just following a ball around a wheel and praying it lands on your number.

The following fundamental roulette rules, then, are all you really need to know to play roulette. And although we do suggest the fantasy of thinking a roulette strategy will help you “break the wheel’ as part of immersing yourself in the roulette experience, it’s hardly necessary. Really, roulette is just a glorified, old-fashioned version of keno, except its odds (See our “Roulette Odds” section for more info) and bets are slightly different:

Roulette Rule No. 1: Place Your Bet on the Table
The first step in learning how to play roulette is placing your chips on the table. There are many options as to where you can place your chips, and the slightest variation in their position can completely alter your bet. Read below to learn about roulette bets in depth.


Roulette Rule No. 2: Don’t Touch the Table Once the Dealer Ends Betting
After the players at a roulette table have placed their bets, the dealer - or “croupier,” if you want to impress the Europeans around the table – will set the roulette wheel in motion, spinning it in one direction and the ball in the other. You will still have a limited opportunity to bet once this happens. But you must place your bets before the dealer waves his hand over the table or announces, “No more bets.” When he does, players may not touch their chips even to straighten them.


Roulette Rule No. 3: Wait for Your Winnings
After the ball and roulette wheel have both come to a stop the dealer will pay out the winning bets according to their odds. This process is a little strange but, if nothing else, charming for those into tradition and fanfare: First the dealer will place a marker that looks vaguely like an old-fashioned milk can or the Stanley Cup on the winning number. Then, he will usually call up a “mucker,” or “checkracker” (See our “Roulette Glossary” section for more info) to help him tally the payouts and gather up the chips bet on losing propositions. During this time, you may not collect your winnings, but must wait until the dealer removes the marker.


Roulette Rule No. 4: Collect Your Winnings
Once a roulette dealer removes his marker, you are free to pull your chips to your side of the table or leave them where they are. Beware, however, that you do not put your winnings in your pocket. The reason we say this is that most roulette tables issue their own tokens, called “checks” or “cheques,” which you must cash in for general casino chips before proceeding to the cashier’s window. Away from the table that issued them they have no value, and if you remove them you risk losing their value entirely.

A Note on Playing Roulette at Online Roulette Tables

Many of the rules mentioned above aren’t applicable if you’re playing at an online roulette table because most online casinos use software that won’t allow for amateurish mistakes. Our fifth and final roulette rule, then, might read something like: “Play at an online roulette table to avoid confusion.”

 

Roulette bets typically fall into two major categories, “inside bets” and “outside bets.” These terms come from the table layout itself: Inside bets, such as individual numbers, are on the inner part of the table, while outside bets run along the outer edge. The layout is generally the same at both offline and online roulette tables, but you should note that there are differences between American and French Roulette wheels; insomuch as French Roulette wheels have one zero pocket, not two, their layouts only feature one zero bet.


Inside Roulette Bets

Inside roulette bets are those you place on a single number or group of numbers within a table’s central layout. Note: This has nothing to do with a group of numbers’ position on the roulette wheel. Below is a list of inside bets, as well as a short explanation of how to place them and their payouts:

• Straight-up: The classic roulette bet, you only win if the ball lands on the number you chose. Place the entire chip in the middle of any number square. Payout: 35 to 1

 

• Split: A bet on two adjoining numbers. The numbers must either share a vertical or horizontal line on the table. Place your chips on the line between the two numbers. Payout: 17 to 1

• Street: A bet on three numbers that share a single horizontal line on the table. Most online roulette tables and casino tables feature special squares for this bet, located at the end of the horizontal line. Payout: 11 to 1

• Corner (or “Square”): A bet on four numbers that share an intersecting point on the table. Place your chips on the point where the lines between all four numbers meet. Payout: 8 to 1

• Six-Line (or “Double-Street”): A bet on the six numbers that make up two adjoining rows. Place your chips on the line between the two rows. Payout: 5 to 1


Outside Roulette Bets

Outside roulette bets are additional number groupings and combinations not found on the central layout. Some of these include wagering on the pocket colors – red, black – or the numbers’ status as odd or even. These are considered “outside roulette bets” because you play them by placing chips in designated boxes on the outer portion of the table. Outside bets give smaller payouts than inside bets, but they also offer far better odds. Below is a list of outside roulette bets, as well as a short explanation of how to place them and their payouts:

• Red or Black: Ace has repeatedly voiced his opinion that it was loosing this very roulette bet that inspired the Rolling Stones’ classic hit “Paint It, Black.” Though we can’t back him up scientifically, the opening line makes a strong case: “I see a red door and I want it painted black.” To get to the point, though, this bet entails choosing one of the two colors on a roulette wheel. Zero, of course, is green and therefore counts as neither. Payout: 1 to 1

• Odd or Even: Another popular and straightforward roulette bet, in this case players are betting on whether the winning number will be even or odd. Again, zero is neither. Payout: 1 to 1

• 1 to 18: A bet on all the numbers from 1 to 18. Payout: 1 to 1

• 19 to 36: A bet on all the numbers from 19 to 36. Payout: 1 to 1

• Dozen Bets: A bet that the first (1-12), second (13-24), or third group (25-36) of twelve will contain the winning number. Payout: 2 to 1

• Column Bets: A bet on one of the three 12-number columns at the bottom of a roulette layout. Payout: 2 to 1