The above features combine to allow you to bet on far more than a single number. You can also bet on groups of numbers. There are two main kinds of groups. The first is numbers that share characteristics, such as all the Odd or Even numbers, or the Red or Black numbers. The second is groups that are formed by the layout of the wheel or the betting area.
This results in many different types of bets and it is important that you understand them all if you are to give yourself the best chances of winning. In the vast majority of games, the standard bets are as follows:
- Straight Up: A bet on an individual number.
- Split Bet: A bet on two neighbouring numbers on the betting area.
- Street Bet: A bet on three numbers in the betting area that form a vertical line (a street).
- Corner Bet:A bet on four numbers whose corners meet and make a square on the betting area.
- Four Bet: A bet on the numbers 0, 1, 2 and 3.
- Line Bet:A bet on two adjacent streets on the betting area, a total of six numbers.
- Column Bet: A bet on one of the horizontal lines on the betting area that consists of twelve numbers.
- Dozen Bet:The numbers 1 to 36 can be split into three groups of twelve and this is a bet on the first, second or third group of 12 numbers (1-12, 13-24 and 25-36 respectively).
- Red/Black Bet:A bet on the ball landing on any of the red numbers or any of the black numbers.
- Even/Odd Bet: A bet on the ball landing on any of the even or any of the odd numbers.
- Low/High Bet: A bet on whether the ball will land on a low or high number (1 – 18 or 19 – 36).
To place any of the above bets you simply need to place your chips on the appropriate segments of the betting area.
You will see a second betting area that has an oval shape in many games. Due to its shape, it is often referred to as the Racetrack, and it is used to place complex betting patterns quickly and easily. The bets are known as Announce or Call bets and they are:
- Voisins du Zero:A bet on the neighbours of 0 on the Roulette wheel. It includes every number on the wheel between 22 and 25. It places nine chips on the board, 2 on the triplet 0/2/3, 2 as Corner Bets on 25/26/28/29 and one chip each as Split Bets on 4/7, 12/15, 18/21, 19/22 and 32/35.
- Tier: A bet on the sector of the wheel that is opposite the number 0. It covers a third of the wheel, between 27 and 33. The bet places six chips on the board as Split Bets on 5/8, 10/11, 13/16, 23/24, 27/30 and 33/36.
- Orphelins:A bet on the numbers 17, 34, 6, 1, 20, 14, 31 and 9. The bet involves five chips, one Straight Bet on the number 1 and five chips as split Bets on 6/9, 14/17, 17/ 20 and 31/34
Most Roulette games also allow you to place Final, Complete and Neighbours bets. These are as follows:
- Final Bet:A bet on all the numbers sharing the same last number. For example, a final bet on the number 3 would place chips on 3, 13, 23 and 33.
- Complete Bet:This is a bet on all the positions that feature a specific number. It includes a Straight Bet, Split Bet, Corner Bet, Street Bet and Line Bet.
- Half-Complete Bet:This is almost the same as the Complete Bet, but it does not include the Street and Line Bets.
- Neighbours:This is a bet on a number and the two numbers adjacent to it on the wheel. It is made up of five Straight Up bets. For example, a neighbours bet on 7 would place chips on 18, 29, 7, 28 and 12.
Most Roulette games payout 1:1 for bets on Reds, Blacks, Odds or Evens. Column and Dozen bets payout 2:1, Line bets payout at 5:1, Corner bets payout at 8:1, Street bets payout at 11:1, Split bets pay at 17:1, and Straight Up bets offer the largest payouts of 35:1.
Common Roulette Variants
There are three common versions of Roulette. The most common is European Roulette and this is the version described above. The other two are French Roulette and American Roulette.
French Roulette is very similar to European Roulette but there are two differences. The first is that it tends to use the French names for bets, so you may have to learn some new terminology before playing. The second difference is far more important. It features a rule called La Partage and the rule means that if the ball lands on 0 then half of all even money bets are returned to the player. Thanks to this, it has slightly lower risk than standard Roulette.
American Roulette has one very important difference. There is an extra segment on the wheel, a 00. This means that the house edge is slightly larger, but that the game features a few more types of bet, such as the Five Bet, which is a bet on the numbers 0/00/1/2/3.
Basic Roulette Betting Strategies
There are many different systems that people use when betting on Roulette, some of which are simpler than others. The most common and basic is the Martingale System, it requires that you double your bet after a loss. This means that if you bet €1 and lose then your next bet would be €2, if you lose again then you should bet €4, and so on. When you eventually win then your winnings will cover all of your losses. However, you need to be sure to start with very small bets as if you hit a long losing streak then your bets can grow to very large amounts.
A slightly more complex system is the Split Martingale, or the Labouchere System. It does not aim to win back all of your losses in a single bet. When using the system you first need to set a target amount that you want to win, for example €100. You then need to split that target up into small numbers that total it when added together, for example 10-20-10-10-10-20-10-5-5. Next, you add the leftmost and rightmost numbers together and bet that amount, in this example that would be €15. If you then win your bet, you cross off each figure and move to the new leftmost and rightmost numbers (20 and 5). However, if you lose you do not cross out the numbers. Instead, you add the amount that you bet to the right-hand side of your sequence, so the sequence would then become 10-20-10-10-10-20-10-5-5-15. When you have successfully crossed all the numbers off your sequence then you will have reached your target winnings.
Start Playing Roulette Today
Roulette can seem like a complex game at first, but you will find that you get your head round it in no time at all and that it can provide you with hours of fun. Start playing today and hopefully you’ll soon be enjoying plenty of winnings.