A beginner’s guide to roulette: rules, bets, and odds explained

Roulette is a classic casino table game built around a spinning wheel, a small ball, and a betting layout marked with numbers and colours. Your aim is simple: predict where the ball will land after the wheel stops. European wheels have numbers 0–36, while American wheels add 00, which increases the house edge. Understanding the wheel type matters because it directly affects your long-term odds, even when the rules at the table feel identical.

To play, you place chips on the layout before the dealer calls “no more bets”. Bets fall into two broad groups: inside and outside. Inside bets target specific numbers (straight up, split, street, corner, six line) and pay higher returns but hit less often. Outside bets cover larger groups (red/black, odd/even, high/low, dozens, columns) and offer steadier results with lower payouts. On a European wheel, a straight-up bet pays 35:1, but the true probability is 1/37; outside even-money bets pay 1:1 but win 18/37, with the zero tilting the edge to the house. If you want a beginner-friendly approach, focus on outside bets first, track your stake size, and remember that no pattern “due” on the wheel changes the maths.

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