Learn to Play European Roulette

The spinning wheel, the cheering crowds, the stacks of chips scattered over the table - It's a game of European Roulette, one of the most exciting casino games around. Many people have heard of Roulette or even seen in a game in action on the casino floor. But instead of watching the game from the sidelines, how about learning how to play, so you can have some fun too?

Let's Start with the Roulette Table

The first part of the game you'll need to understand is how to place your bets on a European Roulette table. This table is divided into two sections: one part for placing inside bets and one part for placing outside bets.
The inside betting section contains the numbers one through thirty-six, arranged in twelve rows of three numbers each, in addition to one spot for the number zero. If you'd like to place an inside bet, you can choose up to six adjacent numbers from this part of the roulette table and put down your chips.



The outside bets are listed on the other side of the roulette table. These bets are more general bets on larger amounts of numbers, which correspond to the numbers on the roulette wheel. For instance, when placing an outside bet, you can choose all of the even numbers, all of the odds, all of the red numbers, or all of the blacks. You could also place your bet on all numbers 1-18 or the numbers 19-36. Whatever you choose, it's important to keep in mind that placing an outside bet usually gives you much better odds, but also, much lower returns.

The Roulette Wheel

Once the bets are placed; the focus of the game shifts to the Roulette wheel. Take a look at the wheel and you'll see the numbers one through thirty-six printed randomly on alternating red and black slots around its circumference. The number zero gets its own special slot on background of bright green.



Now is where the fun really starts. The dealer, or croupier, gives the roulette wheel a spin and sends a little ball spinning around in the opposite direction. As the wheel slows down, the ball falls into one of the numbered slots. If you placed your bet on that number, well then, you've just won the game.

What's Different About European Roulette?

There's more than one way to play a good game of Roulette. You can take your pick from European Roulette, American Roulette, Roulette Royale, or even French Roulette. So what's so special about the European version of the game?
First of all, this game is played with only one zero slot as opposed to two. That means that your odds of winning on any number are 36 to 1 as opposed to 37 to 1 in American Roulette.


Another unique feature of European Roulette is the rule called En Prison. This rule comes into play when a player has placed his bet on all of the even numbers. If the ball lands on zero, the bet gets placed in prison as the croupier spins the wheel one more time. If the wheel lands on zero again, the player loses his bet. But the more likely outcome is that the wheel will land on another number, in which case the bet will be returned.



So, the next time you find yourself heading straight for the slots, don't miss out on the chance to play a great game of classic European Roulette. You know the rules - now get out there and play the game!