Roulette

Roulette Rules and Gameplay

The roulette rules and guidelines highlighted on this page apply to online and the physical roulette wheel, but we are primarily focusing on the digital version of the game. Most players opt for real money roulette online due to the added flexibility.

Basic Rules

The following principles are essential to get started with the game, so ensure you read them carefully:

• The roulette table will have 36 slots (called pockets) and either one or two zeros. These are equally separated into black and red colors, except the zero.
• The payouts and odds will depend on the roulette variant you are playing.
• All bets must be placed within a given time frame, usually 30 seconds.
• Players must adhere to the minimum bets applying on the inside and outside bets.
• All wins are paid according to the rulebook outlined within each variant. As a standard practice, bets inside the table payout are significantly higher than outside bets.

Getting your head around the above rules should be easy enough. Get a good grasp of these since we will now get into the nitty-gritty roulette gameplay.

How to Play Online Roulette

The first steps mainly concern getting inside the roulette game, with the 4 – 8 detailing the exact betting process:

1. Select one of the top online roulette sites listed on this page. We benchmark them against several factors, but they stand out for their safety, security, and roulette variants.
2. Tap the sign-up button when the online casino loads. A few basic information will be required, but nothing overly complicated; username, password, email, address, etc.
3. After signing up, you can play online roulette for free in demo mode. Alternatively, you can fund your account through the cashier page and play roulette for real money. This option comes with more excitement and additional roulette games. A first deposit will also provide a roulette bonus to double or triple your money.
4. Select one of the available roulette options. Beginners should stick with video roulette, as it is a more slow-paced game with more flexible bets. As soon as you click on the game from the lobby, it should take seconds to view the roulette table.
5. The first step required to bet is to set your stake. You can do this by selecting a chip from the available options; these can range from $0.25, $0.50, $1, and up to $1,000 each, depending on the game.
6. As soon as the round starts, you can bet one or more chips to participate in the action. A combination of inside and outside bets is also permitted, although each might have minimum stake limits.
7. The dealer will announce the ending of the betting stage, and the ball will start spinning on the virtual wheel. A few seconds later, it will land on zero or one of the 36 pockets.
8. You will automatically receive the corresponding payout if your bet matches the outcome. And repeat.

When playing video roulette, some of the steps will be completed automatically when you hit the bet button. This happens since the outcomes are instantly determined by a random number generator, unlike in physical and live roulette tables.

Roulette Bets

In roulette, players are provided with several betting options. Each comes with its own rules, risk level, winning odds, and payouts. As you can probably guess, the roulette bets paying the most have the lowest chance of hitting. To clearly highlight the complete list of roulette bets, we will separate them into two main categories – the inside and the outside bets.

Inside Bets

Put simply, inside roulette bets are placed in the inner space of the table containing the 0 – 36 numbers.

• Straight bets are placed on exact numbers; i.e., betting a chip on 34. The payout is 35:1 and is the hardest one to win.
• Split bets are applied on the middle line separating two numbers, paying 17:1.
• Street bets apply on three numbers and reward 11:1.
• Betting corners means placing a chip in the middle of four connecting numbers. Players win for any of these, receiving 8:1 payouts.

Placing the chip in the middle of a line is called a six-line since you will be betting on six different numbers. Payouts are 5:1.

Outside Bets

In contrast to inside bets, all the following betting options are placed outside the roulette table. The payouts here are considerably lower, but the chances of getting one are much higher.

• Betting on color (red or black) pays 1:1.
• Betting that the number will be even or odd pays 1:1.
• Betting on a column by placing the chip on the row and betting on 12 numbers (1 – 12, 13 – 24, and 25 – 36) pays 3:1.
• High and low bets pay 1:1, with the two options ranging from 1 – 18 and 19 to 36.

Roulette Terminology

The main terms concerning your bets have been highlighted above. However, players must become accustomed to a few other terms thrown around on the roulette table or as options when playing online.

A Round of Roulette

The basic roulette gameplay has been described above. Still, it might help to provide one practical case of ‘John’ betting on an American Live Dealer Roulette table at Las Atlantis Casino:

• John enters the room and says hi on the live chat to join the conversation and highlight his presence. Although this was also performed automatically by a room announcement.
• Since John has $20 available to play, he selected the minimum possible chips, each valued at $1.
• The moment the previous round ended, John quickly placed seven chips on the inside of the table on his lucky numbers: 2, 5, 7, 8, 12, 21, and 36.
• As soon as he placed his last bet, the bets were closed, and the dealer rolled the ball in the wheel.
• The number 34 landed, so John lost his bet; his current balance is $13, just enough to repeat the same bet or try a different strategy.

Best Online Roulette Casinos

Here’s a list of the best roulette casinos online:

Roulette Variants

To bring this guide to roulette home, we will highlight the most popular roulette game variants. Players can try most of these on any listed casinos, with additional options also available. The following are not just the most popular roulette games but also the ones with the best odds for players.

Keep in mind that the first four are not variants but rather ways to play roulette online.