How to play roulette

Let’s learn how to play roulette, on a real table.

This is European roulette. The wheel has thirty-seven pockets. Numbers one to thirty-six, in red and black, plus a single green zero. You place your chips on the table, and then the wheel spins.

The simplest bets are the outside bets, like red or black, odd or even, and high or low. Here we’ve put one chip on red. The ball lands on thirty-two. That’s red, so we win one chip.

These bets pay even money, but they win just under half the time, eighteen times in thirty-seven, because the zero counts against you. Here we’ve bet on even, and it lands on twenty-three. That’s odd, so we lose our chip.

You can also bet on a dozen, like one to twelve, or on one of the three columns. These pay two to one, and win about a third of the time.

Inside bets go on the numbers themselves. A single number pays thirty-five to one. Here we’ve put one chip on number eleven. And it lands! That’s thirty-five chips, plus our chip back. But a single number only wins about once in every thirty-seven spins.

Always look for European roulette, with a single zero. American roulette adds a double zero, and that almost doubles the house edge, from two point seven to five point two six percent.

So, three simple tips. Pick single zero tables, remember that bigger payouts mean fewer wins, and set a budget, because spins come round quickly. Our free session cost calculator shows what a session costs on average.

Play for fun, and set your limits. You’ll find more guides at UKCasinoTips.com.