Roulette Game- Basics of Play

Today most roulette games are played on double zero wheels instead of the single zero wheels. While you can still find single-zero wheels (usually in larger casinos) they tend to have a higher minimum bet. Some locations have a feature called “surrender” for the outside even-money bets. What happens with the surrender option is that if the ball lands on a zero or double zero, half of the bet is returned to the player.

The surrender option reduces the house edge to about 2.63 percent on even-money bets and is even more favorable on the European single zero wheels, as it reduces the casino edge to about 1.3 percent on the outside bets.

Before you can start placing bets, you must purchase special roulette game chips which are different from the other chips used in the other areas of the casino. Roulette game chips can be obtained in stacks of 20 from the croupier using either money or regular casino chips. Each table has its own supply of six or seven distinctly colored chips in sets of 300, one color is assigned for each different player. That color can only be used when the current player leaves the table. When a player is leaving the table they must surrender the roulette game chips for regular casino chips. These chips can be used at other games or cashed out at any cashier’s station. The roulette game chips do not have any monetary value printed on them. Each buy declares their value when he or she purchases them. The croupier will place a numbered marker on the table’s supply to indicate their value, which can be any amount from 50 cents up to the table maximum. These chips are rarely valued over $25.

The roulette game layout allows only one spot to place a bet, so it is likely that more than one person will bet on the same number. If someone has bet on the number you wish to bet on, you simply place you chips on top of the other player’s. The croupier can easily keep track of each player’s chips because of the different colors, thus eliminating any possible dispute between two players claiming the same bet. This American innovation is a distinct improvement over the European game, where frequently there are arguments over who placed which bet.