How to Play Roulette

Even if you’ve never set foot in a casino, you probably recognise the sight of the iconic roulette wheel. One of the most famous gambling games of all time, roulette has a universal appeal because of its striking appearance and the simplicity of play.

Roulette remains a big part of casinos, but you don’t need to visit one in person to be able to play. We’ve got a whole host of fun roulette games online which are available at your fingertips whenever you’re in the mood to play.

One of the great things about online casinos is that you don’t need to feel daunted. It’s possible to take things at your own pace without being worried about how you look to more experienced players who are around.

If you've always liked the look of roulette but never been quite sure how to play, this is the perfect opportunity. To help you get started, we've put together a simple guide that walks you through everything you need to know. 

Roulette is one of the easiest games to play. At the most basic level, all you need to do is predict where the ball is going to land.

Before each spin, the player must decide how much they want to bet, and they make a prediction about where the ball will finish. If the player gets it right, they win - if they get it wrong, they lose. It's that easy.

You can make roulette as simple or as complicated as you want. There are different types of bets you can place, and each of these has a different potential prize. Now you know the basics of playing roulette, we're now going to look at the various bets in more detail. 

Although the roulette rules are simple, there are a large number of different bets that can be placed.

The player can just bet on a single number if they want to keep things simple. However, this is one of the most challenging types of bet to win, and they might get bored with a long losing streak. On the flip side, it's the bet that pays out the most if the player wins, so the prize is substantial if you get lucky - albeit this does not mean it is guaranteed.

There are other types of bets which have a better win rate, but the payouts are much lower. You choose the type of bet depending on your personal attitude to risk and reward.

The bets can broadly be split into inside and outside bets. Inside bets are much more difficult to win but have higher prizes. Outside bets have a greater probability of winning, but the payouts are lower. Betting on a single number is a type of inside bet: high risk but high reward. Betting on red or black is an example of an outside bet: almost a 50/50 chance of winning but the payout is lower.

Some games of roulette may have special bets, but the main ones you’ll find and their payout rates are as follows:

• Low/high - 1:1
• Odds/evens - 1:1
• Red/black - 1:1
• Dozen (choose one of three groups of numbers 1-12, 13-24 or 25-36) - 2:1
• Column (a set of 12 numbers on the board) - 2:1
• Square (a corner of the board which contains four numbers) - 5:1
• Six number (usually two horizontal lines known as a double street) - 6:1
• Five number (a group of five numbers) - 8:1
• Street (three numbers in a line horizontally) - 11:1
• Split (two numbers which are next to each other on the board) - 17:1
• Straight (a single number) - 35:1

Although all roulette is played on the same principle and with the same main bets, there are actually three types of roulette and two different wheels. These may look identical and first glance but look closer, and it's easy to see the difference.  

American Roulette is played on its own wheel; European Roulette and French Roulette are both played on a European wheel.

An American wheel has two green zero pockets: 0 and 00. A European wheel only has one green pocket: 0. As any bets that land on the green pockets are an automatic loss, the house edge is higher for American roulette. This means your odds of winning are slightly better on a European wheel, which is one of the reasons why it's more popular.

As well as the differences in the green zero pockets, the layout of the numbers is also different. The European wheel is often described as more balanced, as there’s a more equal distribution between low and high numbers around the wheel.  

Both wheels run from 1-36, and the bets are played in the same way. French Roulette has some additional roulette bets that can be placed, which is primarily what makes it distinct and separate from European Roulette.

That’s all you need to know to get started playing roulette. We hope that’s helped explain the basics - why not take a look at our other roulette guides or check out the online roulette games we’ve got available?