The Rules of European Roulette

Roulette had its origins in 1700s France. The game became popular very quickly and soon migrated to the North American continent where it was soon found in the gambling casinos along the Mississippi River and far into the American West.

The game went through some variations during its travels, and today the original French version is quite different from the European and American versions, which are much more familiar to most people.

There are very few differences between the American and European variations of Roulette; in fact the only difference is on the Roulette wheel itself. The European version has a single green slot with a “zero” printed on it, while the American has two green slots (situated directly across from one another), with a single “zero” printed on one and a double “zero” printed on the other.

Why did the Americans do this? Because Roulette is a game of chance and percentages, the addition of another house slot (all bets are lost on a spin of the “zero”, with the exception of those who wagered on the number itself) means a smaller chance of the player winning. Basically, the European version of Roulette is more favorable to the player.

A player enters a game of European Roulette by taking a seat at the table and purchasing chips. This is a hard and fast rule for any game of Roulette – bystanders must remain standing, and not seated at the table, and chips cannot be purchased from the cashier, only the dealer or “croupier”. This is because chips in a game of Roulette have their value or denomination assigned by the player. The dealer gives each player a different color of chips, and places a marker on the rail of the table to indicate what the dollar amount is for that player. At the end of the player’s gaming they must cash in only at the Roulette table, where the dealer knows the value of the chips.

After buying chips the player makes their bets. They do this by trying to guess what number the Roulette ball will land on after the next spin. There are thirty-six possible single numbers to choose from and a variety of other bets. These are called “inside” and “outside” bets because of where the chips are placed on the layout table. Inside bets are on very specific numbers or sets of numbers, while outside bets are much more general such as odd or even numbers.

Outside bets are:

Red/Black bets are placed on a specific color and pay one to one.
Odd/Even bets are placed on an odd or even number and pay one to one.
High/Low bets are made on the “1-18” or the “19-36” spaces and pay one to one.
Dozen bets are made on the “1-12”, the “13-24”, or the “25-36” spaces and pay two to one.
Column bets are made by placing chips in the space at the bottom of one of the three columns on the layout table and pay two to one.

Inside bets are:

Straight bets on a single number that pays thirty five to one.
Split bets are on two neighboring numbers and pay seventeen to one.
Street bets are laid at end of one row on the panel and pay eleven to one.
Corner bets are laid on intersections of four numbers and pay eight to one.
Line bets are for six numbers and are placed on lines between two “streets”. They pay five to one.