.: Roulette Casino Game Review

Roulette has become a staple in just about every casino with appeal from the Vegas Strip to Monte Carlo in Monaco - and of course just about every online casino! Movies and TV has captured the excitement around a roulette wheel and made it one of the most recognized casino games in the world. The game is very easy to play, and offers a range of bets from the simple "bet on black" to more complex and higher paying number bets.

There are two primary games of Roulette - American and European. You will also see french roulette, which is very similar to European roulette with a different table layout. The European roulette wheel contains one green zero, while an American roulette wheel also has a double zero space. You can guess which would be preferred by the gambler - the single zero! The colored spaces are numbered 1 to 36, half of which have a red background, the other half black. The wheel is spun and a small marble rolled in the counter direction. After everything stops moving, whichever number the marble lands in is the called number.

To play, just get a stack of chips. At land based casinos, you trade your traditional casino chips used to play blackjack, craps, etc with special roulette chips. You will be given a color, to distinguish your bet from everyone else - usually up to 8 bettors at a single roulette wheel. When gambling online you are usually playing alone.

Types of Bets at the Roulette Wheel

Odd/Even Bets: You will win even money if the called number is odd, if you bet on odd. Unfortunately, the zero's are not considered even - this bet always loses on zero. As an example, if you bet on 'odd' and black 17 is called, you would win because 17 is an odd number.

Red/Black Bets: Of the 36 numbered spaces, 18 are red, 18 are black. You bet whether you think the called number will be a red or black number - if you win, you earn even money back. Once again, a zero causes this bet to lose.

Low/High: For even money, you bet whether you feel the number will be between 1 and 18 - Low, or between 19 to 36 - High.

Dozen Bets (Third Bets): Similar to the High/Low, only the numbers are further split up. You can bet whether the called number is between 1 and 12, 13 and 24, or 25 and 36. These bets pay $2 for every $1 risked. But this bet can also be played as a column bet. You still get 12 possible number in each bet, only they aren't consecutive numerically. For example, betting the third column would give you numbers 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, etc to 36. This bet too pays 2:1.

Inside Bets: The grid of numbers allows you to bet on anywhere from 1 single number to combinations of up to 6 numbers.

• Straight Bet: To bet on a single number, simple place a chip in the middle of the box for the number you want to bet on. This bet has the highest payout for any other bet - but you will only win one out of every 38 times on average.
• Split Bet: You can bet 2 numbers by putting a chip on the line between the two numbers you want to bet on. You'll win twice as often as a straight bet, but the payoff drops by more than 50% - down to 17:1.
• Trio Bet: Place your bet on the outside line for the 3 numbers in the row you wish to bet. If the number lands on any of the three numbers in the row, you win a payout of 11:1. Once again, the house advantage grows - but you now win more frequently.
• Corner Bet: You can bet 4 at a time by putting a chip at the intersection of the lines between the four boxes you wish to bet. You now have 4 chances to win with each spin, but the payoff drops to 8:1.
• 5 Number Bet: Pretty rarely played - but place a chip on the ine between the 0 and the 1 in any American roulette wheel (with double zero). You will win a 6:1 payout if a 0, 00, 1, 2, or 3 is rolled. This is the worst bet on the roulette board!
• 6 Number Bet: Win a 5:1 bet payout if the number rolled is in either of the two rows where your chip is placed. Your chip should be in the outside corner between the two rows you are betting for.

Bet on Zero or Double Zero: This is the same as a straight number bet and pays 35:1

Basic Roulette Strategy

If you are looking for a game with good house odds, it isn't roulette. Roulette collects 2-3% on average for a single zero game... and over 5% for double zero. This puts Roulette behind other table games when talking about the house advantage. However, it is one of few table games with a big payoff - 35X your bet for a straight wager. A little luck on an early roll makes all the difference. In other words - you should refuse to play at roulette wheels with double zero - seek out the single zero wheels. There is absolutely no advantage to playing at an American double zero roulette wheel!

Modern roulette wheels are designed to be fair to all numbers. They are perfectly balanced and show no bias - at least not one detectable in a couple hundred spins. Avoid the fallacies - some people think if a number was called recently, it is more likely to be called again. Others think numbers not called recently are due to be called. Remember each spin is unique with the full range of outcomes.

There are three theories when betting at roulette: Board Coverage: In this mode, you want to cover as many numbers as possible, without risking your whole stack. This is often accomplished by betting on red or black as well as a column which has more of the color you didn't pick. Or, bet two column and two dozen bets. These have high winning percentages, so with a little luck, you'll hit more numbers that score both in the dozen and column than instances where neither hit.

Beat the Odds: By betting straight on any 5 numbers each spin over the course of 8 spins, you've chosen 40 numbers. Odds are you will hit at least once. If you can be lucky and hit a second time, you've made a nice profit. Of course, if you dont get lucky, you are out 40 chips!

Progressive Even Money Bets: Betting on Red/Black or Odd/Even will hit nearly half of the time - the only catch is the zero (or double zero). Each time you win, press your next bet. Do not double or nothing, but try betting an extra .25 - .50 unit in the next bet. If that wins, bet 2 units the next time. Until you lose - when you go back to a single unit bet. Always press bets after you win - avoid a martingale type strategy where you multiply your losses exponentially!

If you are playing roulette at an online casino, be warned! If you claimed a bonus, many casinos will stipulate roulette as a game you cannot play. It is silly really, as roulette has a high house advantage. However, many gamblers have simply played betting even/odd or black/red to satisfy the rollover requirement. The 2% house advantage isn't enough to cancel out a huge 100% cash bonus - so gamblers were making easy wagers and cashing out whatever was left after they played long enough. Bonus abuse is a major problem in the industry and the casinos are very keen to it. Even if you play other games, even one spin at the roulette wheel could cause trouble - be sure to check with the casino if you've gotten a bonus recently!