Game Rules

Roulette

How the Game Is Played

The American Roulette wheel, used in Hoyle Casino, is divided into 38 sections

(European wheels have 37 sections), each of which has walls to hold a small ball

where it lands after the wheel is spun. The sections are numbered from 1 to 36 (half

red and half black, half odd and half even), plus two green sections marked 0 and 00.

European wheels have only the 0 green section. The addition of the 00 section greatly

increases the odds in favor of the house.

Numbers 1 to 18 are considered the lows; numbers 19 to 36 are the highs.

Roulette is a banking game; all bets are placed against the house. As many players

are allowed to play as can get close enough to the table to bet. Players bet on the

layout for a number, group of numbers, or color which they expect to win. After all bets

are placed for that turn, the dealer tosses the ball along the rim of the wheel. After the

ball comes to rest in a winning number, the bank pays or collects from each bettor.

Bets can then be placed again for the next spin.

The chips’ values are set for the table. For example, if you are playing a $5 table, each

of your chips will be valued as $5.

You can place a bet before every spin of the wheel. The bet you make must meet the

minimum bet requirement for the table.You can place as many chips on the table at a

time as you like (up to the maximum limit).

Roulette Odds

The following odds are in effect for Roulette bets:

1. Winning bet on red, black, low 1 to 18, high 19 to 36, even, or odd; the bank pays

even money.

2. Winning bet on the down (1 to 12, 13 to 24, or 25 to 36), or on the column in

which the winning number falls; the bank pays 2 to 1.

3. Winning bet on the number itself; the bank pays 35 to 1.

4. Bet on either of two numbers, one of which wins; the bank pays 17 to 1.

5. Bet on three numbers, one of which wins; the bank pays 11 to 1.

6. Bet on four numbers, one of which wins; the bank pays 8 to 1.

7. Bet on five numbers (0, 00, 1, 2, and 3 only), one of which wins; the bank pays

6 to 1.

8. Bet on six numbers, one of which wins; the bank pays 5 to 1.

9. When a zero or double zero comes up, the house pays bets on the zero (or

double zero), or on the zero (or double zero) and any other adjacent numbers in

combination with it, but collects on all other bets.

Roulette Bets

The two types of bets allowed on the Roulette layout are Combination bets and

straights bets.You need to know both bet types to be able to play the game.

Combination Bets

Combination bets refer to the bets you make by placing your chip on the lines between

the marked boxes to include more than one box in the bet. These bets have different

odds than the straight bets.

Inside bets (or straight up). Pay 35 to 1. Place a chip on any single number.

Split bets. Pay 17 to 1. Place a chip on the line between any two adjacent

numbers. If either number comes up, you win.

Street (Trio or Three number) bets. Pay 11 to 1. Place a chip on the horizontal

line across the top of the layout on any of the twelve columns of three numbers.

You get all the numbers in that street.

Quad (Corner) bets. Pay 8 to 1. Place a chip between any four number

groupings (for example 4, 5, 7, 8), and you get all four numbers in that group.

Quint bet. Pays 6 to 1. The only possible five number grouping in the Roulette

layout is 0, 00, 1, 2, 3. Place the chip on the upper horizontal line between the 00

and the 3. This bet favors the house by almost 8 percent.

Double Street (Six number) bets. Pay 5 to 1. Place a chip on the outside line

between adjacent streets to get all six numbers in the double streets.

Straight bets

A straight bet is any bet you make by placing your chip outside the 36 numbers

marked on the layout.

Dozen bets. Pay 2 to 1. Place a chip in the 1st 12 (1 to 12), 2nd 12 (13 to 24), or

3rd 12 (25 to 36).

Column bets. Pay 2 to 1. Place a chip in a box at the end of one of three

columns.

Outside (Even money) bets. These bets pay even money. Place a chip in Odd

or Even, Black or Red, High or Low.

Strategies for Winning at Roulette

The payoffs for the Roulette bets are based on a wheel with 36 numbers. For example,

if you make a straight up bet on the 13, the payoff is 35 to 1. That would be a great

bet, giving you true odds. However, the house must have its edge; the Roulette wheel

contains not 36 but 38 numbers, with the 0 and 00 added in. True odds, therefore, for

betting the 13 would be 37 to 1, which of course is a better payoff than 35 to 1. The 0

and 00 are also painted green, so that they are losers in the Red and Black bets.

Getting out our calculator, we can determine that these wheel modifications give the

house a 5.26 percent advantage on every bet (the only exception to this is the Quint

bet, which gives the house almost an 8 percent advantage!).

No matter what system of betting you use with Roulette, the bank will get this 5.26

percent in the long run. It is, however, a fact that winning and losing often takes place

in streaks. If you have a system and it’s actually working for a period of time, stay in

while it lasts, then get out as soon as it looks like it’s taking a turn for the worse.

If you choose to take your chances on Roulette, you should take advantage of being

able to place multiple bets on different parts of the layout using straight bets or

Combination bets.

Suffice to say, this is more a game of chance than a game of skill. Lay out your chips,

then sit back, and enjoy the leisurely pace of the spinning wheel. Maybe you’ll be

lucky!

Roulette Strategy Highlights

• Avoid the Quint bet, which gives the house a 7.89 percent advantage. In all other

Roulette bets, the house advantage is 5.26 percent.