The outsides

The first bets are the OUTSIDES. Named so because they are on the outside of the layout from where the dealer stands. So in this group we have red, black, odd, even and high and low nos.

All outside bets pay 1:1. So you get one chip for every winning bet you place. You bet �500 and if you win, you win �500. Pretty obvious really. So to be absolutely clear, a winning outside bet will pay the same as whatever you stake, if you bet �500 you end up with �1000.

---

The Dozens

The Dozens are the next bets to mention. The dozens are a bet on a group of 12 numbers 1-12, 13-24, 25-36. A winning bet pays 2:1, or double the stake, so a bet of �500 pays �1000, with the stake always being returned (remember!) you've got �1500.

The ratio of 2:1 can be confusing to new players. It seems that 2:1 would relate to doubling up but that's not the case because of your stake being returned. Just think double up for outsides and triple up for dozens. Got it? Of course you have.

The columns

Same principle [payout :) ] as the dozens, 2:1 or triple up. Only difference is that your betting on a line of numbers across the layout. Still 12 no's in total. So for example, if you place a chip on the first column, then you are betting that the ball will land on one of the numbers 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31 or 34. Simple as that.

A Straight up

A straight up is a bet on a single number and pays 35 to 1. So you bet a chip on lets say no1, and if it comes in then you win 35. 35:1, so with your original bet returned you end up with 36 chips total. If you bet 5 chips on number 1 you would win 35*5 which is 175, plus your stake of 5 gives you 180 total. That's enough about stake being returned, hopefully I've drilled it in and I wont mention it anymore. It applies to ALL roulette bets - except call bets but that comes later and its easy so don't worry.

Splits

Corner

Street

A street is a bet on 3 numbers. Its made by placing a chip on the line at the back of the layout by the outsides - see pic.

Pays 11:1

Six line

A six line is a bet on six numbers made by placing a chip as in the pic.

Pays 5:1

OK that is ALL of the basics. Phew. Its easy peasy when you get used to it.

Call Bets
The final bets to mention are the call bets. You may or may not have the option to use these with online play but they are very popular with live play in the casino. The idea is that you are betting on the ball landing on a section of the wheel.

The 3 call bets have French names as follows:

• Tier
• Orphelins
• Voisons du Zero (the neighbors of zero)

And they are the sections of the wheel as shown in the diagram below.

The call bets are often used by people staring at the roulette wheel who think that they can predict where the ball will land by judging the spin of the wheel and the ball. Of course they cant. But it can be an effective way of betting a good spread across the layout in a single bet.

Call bets are normally placed on the racetrack and not as chips on the layout. The racetrack is this - not everyone notices it at the roulette table but call bets are mainly what its used for:

The Racetrack
Its basically a squashed down replica of the roulette wheel

Tier
A 6 chip bet. Normally, casinos make the call bets a x5 minimum or multiples of 5 such as 10,15,20. I will write the examples as if they are by 5 "Tier by 5, 30 the bet" When you make a call bet by 5, 10, 15 or whatever, what you are fundamentally doing is allocating the value of each chip in the pattern. Tier by 5 makes each chips a $5 chips, tier by 15 makes each chip a $15 chip. Easy.

For tier by 5, 30 the bet, each chip effectively becomes a £5 chip and is paid accordingly as to where it lies on the table. Tier is comprised of 6 splits. Only one of these could possibly come in so the maximum you can win on a tier bet by 5 is 5x17=85

Your stake is not returned for a call bet, the effect being, betting 30 can make you a 55 profit from the 85 win.

Orphelins/Orphans
A 5 chip bet "Orphans by 5, 25 the bet"

You can see here that in the orphans bet that there is a straight up bet on number 1. This means that you can potentially win more with an Orphans bet than any other neighbors/call bet. 5x35=175 or of course if any of the others come in, you get paid the split - 85.

Voisons du zero/neighbors of zero
A 9 chip bet "Voisons by 5, 45 the bet"

This one has another few intricacies, the first being the 0,2,3 bet which is covering 3 numbers and paid the same as a street - 5:1. There's 2 chips on that so you get two 5 chips (10) *5 =50

The other unique placement for voisons bet is two chips on the corner of 25,26,28,29. Corners pay 4:1, two 5*chips(10)x4=40.

The nature of call bets/neighbor bets - betting on the ball landing on a section of the wheel is that the player usually calls out the bet while the ball is spinning. If you were to place the chips there yourself before the ball is spun or at least in time, it would be better value as in this way as your winning chip(s) would be returned.

Roulette Systems - The Martingale Technique

One popular betting system for roulette is called the Martingale technique, a mathematical strategy. Starting with $1, you bet on the same color - black or red over and over.
If the bet loses you double the bet - 1,2,4,8,16 and if you win you go back to $1 again. So on the fourth losing bet you bet $8. Its very popular and it does make sense and it can be used loosely just for fun and a way to play in a structured way. The massive problem with it is that it does work, but only for an infinite bank balance. If and when it does eventually spin in many many times in the same color - the losing colour, then it takes everything you have in a single spin.

To make this as clear as possible you can check out the grains of wheat on a chessboard example on wikipedia. In this example it shows how that 64 consecutive losing bets using the martingale system would cost a gambler..

$18,446,744,073,709,551,615

Its derived from this equation:


If you were to seriously consider risking hard earned money to use the martigale technique to attempt to make a massive profit then it is advised to have caution that you can lose everything of it goes wrong.

It is still a popular and fun way to play and a lot of roulette players like to play in this manner, especially when playing online. Spread betting is the most common sense way to play because you can minimise your risk and keep control of the probability of the ball landing on the bets you place.


How do you win at roulette?

You are better off over long periods using spread bets which cover many different outcomes. Sometimes you could get lucky, very lucky and good luck. There isnt a fool proof way of beating a roulette wheel, but because of the high payouts of straight up nos, if you do hit them, you get paid quite a lot. Easily enough winnings to keep playing on and on for a while and it does get quite addictive. You can maximise your return for online roulette play by opening many accounts in different online casinos so that each deposit gives you a new player 100% deposit bonus. You can then use a spread betting technique and hope that you make a profit. Unless you are David Blane or Derren Brown or perhaps Chris Rock, the house edge remains constant. However, there does exist a site on befair - see links, where the house edge is removed - giving completely fair odds on roulette. Aside from that site, depending on the format such as european or american style wheels, there will always be 0 or 0 and 00 against you. You shouldnt really trust online roulette systems because you cannot deny the house edge of the 0 no matter how hard you try. But thats not to say you wont win using roulette systems because you very likely will sometimes. Sometimes you just hit and then you cash out, that happens and you can make money doing it. I love playing online roulette, its often offered to have live dealers which is a really fun expereince from your home pc.