Roulette is one of the most popular games at the casino. The “little wheel” that captured the attention of Europe's royalty and high society in the 19th century became a favorite of high-stakes players and casual gamers in casinos around the world thanks to its combination of simple gameplay and savvy betting strategies. Today, you can play roulette at any time and from any location on your PC or your handheld mobile device.
When you sign into the Grande Vegas online casino, you'll have access to the low-house-edge European roulette and Grande Vegas casino no deposit bonus give-aways that allow you to play more real money roulette without adding additional bets. If you want to simply test your luck, just let the wheel start spinning! If, however, you want to boost your winnings, check out the basic roulette strategy so that you can look forward to bigger and better results.
Roulette
Blaise Pascal, a French inventor, physicist and mathematician, is credited with having invented the roulette wheel. Pascal wasn't focused on creating a new game when he created the roulette wheel – his goal had been to invent a perpetual motion machine that, once set in motion, would continue to spin forever without any external energy source in order to prove that a "closed system" of energy was possible.
Pascal didn't succeed in his physics experiment but his machine became an object of fascination for bettors who were looking for a game of chance to add to the game options available at Europe's first casino – the Ridotto of Venice.
Pascal refined his perpetual motion machine and it continued to function as a gaming machine as he had intended. The original roulette wheel actually had 2 zero pockets (a single zero pocket and a double zero pocket) but in 1842, two brothers, Louis and Francois Blanc, removed the double zero pocket, which lowered the house edge and made the roulette wheel a more attractive game in Europe.
Roulette was already known in America thanks to early French immigrants who introduced it to gaming rooms in New Orleans and in America, the double zero pocket continued to be featured. This divergence game birth to the terms "European Roulette" and "American Roulette".
Anti-gambling activists often refer to roulette as the “Devil’s Game” due to its addictive nature. Church officials have also been critical of roulette and warn people not to play because the numbers on a European roulette wheel add up to 666 – "the Number of the Beast" according to the New Testament.
Roulette Basics
If you're going to play roulette, your first decision involves which roulette variation to choose. Simply put, you should choose European roulette, which has a house edge of 2.70% -- American roulette has a house edge of 5.26%. Other than that, the rules and basic strategies of both roulette variations are the same. Choosing European roulette is rule #1 in a basic roulette strategy but some roulette players are ready for a bit of additional risk.
Next, you spin the roulette wheel and wait to see into which pocket the tossed ball lands in the spinning wheel. If you're applying basic roulette strategy, you'll want to focus on:
- the differences between “inside” and “outside” bets.
- the importance of spreading bets out on the table and placing bets on different numbers.
- remembering where each number appears on the wheel.
- when to bet high and when to bet low.
Other elements that you'll want to watch involve how to:
- find an advantage.
- know your limits.
- use your wagers wisely.
- understand the odds.
Spend some time learning about various betting "strategies" even though it's advised to avoid those strategies, you may find yourself being lured into trying a betting strategy that sounds logical but, in reality, isn't in any way helpful.
Getting Started
The roulette table layout is comprised of colors and numbers. The oval-shaped betting area, located in the center of the table, is where you place your bet. The layout shows:
- inside lines where you place inside bets that cover multiple pockets (odd numbers, even numbers, etc).
- outside line where you can place wagers on any number.
- the corners where you place corner bets.
- lines that consist of six adjacent numbers for six-line bets (line bets).
- 12 different spaces for dozens bets.
- Areas that cover combinations of inside and outside bets (splits which cover 2 numbers in the same area).
Player Skill
To start playing, you toss the ball into a spinning wheel and wait to see where the ball will land. The pocket in which the ball lands determines the payout. There's no skill needed thus far. The part of the game that demands strategy comes when you make your bet – you have to understand the betting table layout so that you know when and how to place bets so that you can maximize your chances to win.
Unlike blackjack or poker, in roulette there are only a few simple rules that you need to know in order to gain the advantage. Some of the top roulette tips include the guidance to:
- Focus on inside bets. Inside bets are the bets that deliver the highest payouts. If you want to place outside bets, keep those bets low so you lose less money over time and stretch your gaming budget.
- Keep your bets low at the beginning and move on to bigger risks later on.
- Remember the odds of the various bets. Single number bets, black/red bets and odds/evens wagers deliver the highest payouts but have the lowest odds. Evens/odds, black/red, and high/low bets have higher chances of winning the payouts are low.
- When the house number is chosen, bet on high odds because you’ll lose less money on losing wagers.
- Stay away from "betting strategies" (i.e. the Martingale system, the Fibonacci system, the D’Alembert system, etc). The systems sound logical, but in actuality, if you use such a system you'll simply be chasing losses and won't enjoy the wins that you're anticipating.
Get the most out of your roulette adventure by learning more about the game and about pros' techniques for achieving wins.
