Roulette Guide

Here's my complete guide to roulette. The following pages will guide you through everything you need to know about how to play roulette and how it works.

There isn't a huge amount to learn about roulette because it isn't actually a game of skill like poker or chess. But still, there are quite a few different bets you may not have heard of, and I find the mathematics of the game particularly interesting too.

I hope you find this section useful. I've tried to keep these guides as simple as possible.

How To Play Roulette

A simple introduction on how to play roulette. Covers the layout of the wheel and table, and the different types of bets and their payouts.

Bets and Odds

A complete list of all the different bets you can make at the roulette table along with the varying odds and payouts.

Probability

A guide to the probability of each bet winning (in percentage, fractions, and ratios), along with a simple explanation of how you can work out various probabilities in roulette for yourself.

House Edge

An explanation of what the house edge is in roulette and why different variants of the game have a better house edge than others.

Mathematics

A complete guide to the mathematics of roulette. Contains formulas for working out the most interesting probabilities, as well as a brief introduction to binomial distribution and standard deviation.

Call Bets

A full list of the call bets found in European and French roulette (e.g. Voisins du Zero, Orphelins, and Tiers du Cylindre). These bets allows you to cover fixed sections of the roulette wheel.

Racetrack

A quick guide to using the racetrack betting section on the roulette wheel, which allows you to easily place the various call bets on offer.

Snake Bet

An explanation of the popular snake bet and how to use it.

Strategy

A comprehensive strategy guide to roulette for beginners. Fundamental strategy for improving your chances of winning money when playing roulette by choosing the right tables, finding the most advantageous rules, and understanding which bets and strategies work the best.

Tips

Some quick tips for playing roulette if you're just getting started.

Terms

A list of the most common words and phrases used in the game of roulette.

Facts

Some interesting facts about roulette that you may not have heard before.

History

A brief history of the the invention and development of roulette.

What's the best way to learn roulette?

Just play the game and you'll figure it out as you go along.

Roulette is a lot easier than other games like craps and blackjack because the rules are so simple: you just bet on where you think the ball is going to land. So honestly the fastest way to learn is to place a few bets and see what happens. I can assure you there are no hidden pitfalls or rules to worry about.

Most online casinos offer a free play version of their games. I'd start with those if you don't want to risk any real money when you're new to the game.

What's the most important thing to learn?

The most important part of roulette is learning the different types of bets.

After that it's a good idea to understand house edge so that you can find the variants of roulette that give you the best chance of winning money.

Lastly, you might be interested in learning about the different call bets, as these allow you to quickly and easily cover different sections of the wheel. These have French names, so it's not always immediately obvious how these bets work.

And that's about it. Have fun.

I'm a big fan of the mathematics of the game, but this is not an essential part to playing roulette. This guide is primarily so that you can confirm for yourself that on average you can expect to lose slightly more than you win.

What else is there to know?

Once you've got a handle on all the information in these guides you'll probably want to familiarize yourself with the systems people use to try and win money (so you can see why they don't work and avoid losing money yourself).

Beyond that, you may be interested to hear stories about famous people who have played roulette in the past. Roulette is a simple game, but it draws fascination from people from all walks of life.

But ultimately, the key thing to remember is that you can't beat roulette. If you want to experience this for yourself instead of finding out the hard way (with real money), play with this winnings simulator to see how you can expect your roulette sessions to run out over time.