Mastering the Wheel: European Roulette Rules
Roulette is one of the most popular games played in casinos everywhere. There have been two different variations of this game; one being the U.S. developed, aptly-named American Roulette. But the original European Roulette is the classic version that is being played in most casinos throughout the world.
The wheel of the European Roulette, also known as the Single-Zero Roulette, has 37 slots numbered from 0 to 36. These slots are alternately-colored red and black while the 0 slot is colored green. The players place bets on which numbered slot the small ball which will later be dropped into the wheel shall land in. After the bets have been made, the croupier spins the wheel and tosses the ball in. A player wins once the wheel stops and the ball falls on the number, combination of numbers or color of numbers that they chose; they can even bet on whether the number the ball lands in will be even or odd. The payout depends on where and how the bet is placed. Every bet made in European Roulette is covered with different numbers and have different distributions.
The betting system in European roulette is divided into two parts. The first, the Inside Bet, is when a bet is placed on any number from 0 to 36. This type of bet consists of the following categories: the Straight Up, wherein players can bet on any number including 0 and puts their chips on the center of the number; the Split Bet, where one bets twice the amount of the Straight Up on two numbers close to each other, placing the chips on the line dividing the two numbers; and the Street Bet, where three times the Straight Up is bet on three numbers in a row, placing the chips on the roulette table's boundary line at the end of the corresponding row.
According to the European Roulette's rules, other categories under the Inside Bet include the Four-Number Line or Square Bet, the Five-Number Line Bet, and the Six-Number Line Bet. Wagers are placed at maximum and the multiplier depends on what numbers the bet is placed on.
In the Outside Bet, the second betting component in European Roulette, the bet is placed outside the table layout. The categories of this bet are the following: the Column Bet, where a bet is placed on one of the three vertical columns; the Dozen Bet, a bet made on twelve numbers; and the Even-Money Bet, in which one bets on eighteen numbers, placing the chip on one of the following squares: 1 to 18, 19 to 36, Red, Black, Even, or Odd.
Payouts in European Roulette depend on where the bet is placed. In a Straight-Up Bet, the payout is 35 to 1; 36 coins are paid out if one bets with a single coin. A Split Bet yields a 17 to 1 payout; a payoff of 18 coins when the bet is made with one coin and one of the two numbers come up. The Street Bet's payout is 11 to 1, and the Corner and the Four Bet's are both 8 to 1. The Line Bet has a payout of 5 to 1, the Column and Dozen Bets are 2 to 1, and the Even-Money Bet pays out only 1 to 1.
European Roulette is a familiar game that seems simple enough to play, but there is more to its rules than just guessing which pocket the little ball shoots into. Further familiarity with the rules gives the player an edge over an already familiar game.
