Online Roulette
Roulette Online is a casino and online gambling game named after the French word meaning “small wheel”. In the game a croupier spins a wheel in one direction, then spins a ball in the opposite direction around a tilted circular surface running around the circumference of the wheel. The ball eventually falls on to the wheel and into one of 37 (in European Roulette) or 38 (in American Roulette) colored and numbered pockets on the wheel.
Roulette Online Wheel layout
The main pockets are numbered from 1 to 36 alternating between red and black, but the pockets are not in numerical order around the wheel, and there are instances of consecutive numbers being the same color. There is a green pocket numbered 0, and in American Roulette there is also a second green pocket marked 00.
Roulette Online Betting
Players can place a variety of ‘inside’ bets (selecting the number of the pocket the ball will land in, or range of pockets based on their position), and ‘outside’ bets (including bets on various positional groupings of pockets, pocket colors, or whether it is odd or even). The payout odds for each type of bet is based on its probability. There are usually posted rules for table minimum and maximum bets, and these rules usually apply separately for all of a players ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ bets for each spin.
Roulette Types of bets
Roulette Inside Bets
1. Straight: a single number. The chip is placed entirely on the middle of a number square.
2. Split: a bet on two adjoining numbers, either on the vertical or horizontal (as in 14-17 or 8-9). The chip is placed on the line between these numbers.
3. Street: a bet on three numbers on a single horizontal line. The chip is placed on the edge of line of a number at the end of the line (either the left or the right, depending on the layout).
4. Corner (or square): a bet on four numbers in a square layout (as in 11-12-14-15). The chip is placed at the horizontal and vertical intersection of the lines around the numbers.
5. Sixline (or ’sixaine’): a bet on two adjoining streets, with the chip placed at the corresponding intersection, as if in between where two street bets would be placed.
Roulette Online Outside Bets
1. Even Money Bets: a bet on 18 numbers. This is placed in the a box representing the attribute (black/red/low/high/even/odd) that you wish to bet on.
2. Group Bets: a bet on the first, second, or third group of twelve numbers.
3. Column: a bet on all 12 numbers on any of the three vertical lines (such as 1-4-7-10 on down to 34). The chip is placed on the space below the final number in this string.
Bet odds table (American Roulette)
(in addition to the mentioned payout the bet is returned)
| Bet name | Winning spaces | Payout | Odds of winning (against) |
Expected value (on a $1 bet) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 35 to 1 | 37 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| 00 | 00 | 35 to 1 | 37 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| 1 | 1 | 35 to 1 | 37 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| 2 | 2 | 35 to 1 | 37 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| … | … | … | … | … |
| 36 | 36 | 35 to 1 | 37 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| Row 00 | 0, 00 | 17 to 1 | 18 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| Row 3 | 1, 2, 3 | 11 to 1 | 11.667 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| Row 6 | 4, 5, 6 | 11 to 1 | 11.667 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| Row 9 | 7, 8, 9 | 11 to 1 | 11.667 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| … | … | … | … | … |
| Row 36 | 34, 35, 36 | 11 to 1 | 11.667 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| five number bet | 0, 00, 1, 2, 3 | 6 to 1 | 6.6 to 1 | -$0.079 |
| Column 1 | 1, 4, 7, …, 34 | 2 to 1 | 2.167 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| Column 2 | 2, 5, 8, …, 35 | 2 to 1 | 2.167 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| Column 3 | 3, 6, 9, …, 36 | 2 to 1 | 2.167 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| First 12 | 1, 2, 3, …, 12 | 2 to 1 | 2.167 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| Middle 12 | 13, 14, 15, …, 24 | 2 to 1 | 2.167 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| Last 12 | 25, 26, 27, …, 36 | 2 to 1 | 2.167 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| Odd | 1, 3, 5, …, 35 | 1 to 1 | 1.111 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| Even | 2, 4, 6, …, 36 | 1 to 1 | 1.111 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| Red | 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32, 34, 36 |
1 to 1 | 1.111 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| Black | 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 31, 33, 35 |
1 to 1 | 1.111 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| 1 to 18 | 1, 2, 3, …, 18 | 1 to 1 | 1.111 to 1 | -$0.053 |
| 19 to 36 | 19, 20, 21, …, 36 | 1 to 1 | 1.111 to 1 | -$0.053 |
Note also that 0 and 00 are neither odd nor even in this game.
House edge
The house average or house edge (also called the expected value) is the amount the player loses relative to any bet made, on average. If a player bets on a single number in the American game there is a probability of 1/38 that the player wins 35 times the bet, and a 37/38 chance that the player loses their bet. The expected value is:
-1*37/38 + 35*1/38 = -0.0526 (5.26% house edge)
For European roulette, a single number wins 1/37 and loses 36/37:
-1*36/37 + 35*1/37 = -0.0270 (2.70% house edge)
In roulette the house has the same edge on all other kinds of bets also, because the pay outs are always set as if the zero square(s) did not exist. The only exception are the five numbers bet where the house edge is considerably higher (7.89% on an American wheel) and the ‘even money’ bets in the some European games, where the house edge is halved because only half the stake is lost when a zero comes up.
The house edge should not be confused with the hold. The hold is the total amount of cash the table changes for chips, minus the chips taken away from the table. It may be significantly more than 5.26%/2.70% of all players money because players are making repeated bets after winning and losing portions of their total money. A player with a certain total amount of money may not win or lose all their money instantly, such that the total of all bets they make will often be greater than the total of the money they actually started with. The house edge applies to each bet made not the total money, which means the player can end up losing significantly more than 5.26% of his starting money.
For example it is likely that a player with $100 making $10 bets on red will be able to bet more than 10 times, because sometimes he wins. He may end up betting a total of 20 times on red. This means the expected value is 20*$10*5.26% = $10.52, over 10% of his money is now in the ‘hold’ despite the game having a 5.26% house advantage. A player who continually bets until they run out of money will give the house 100% hold.
Called (or call) bets
There are a number of series in roulette that have special names attached to them. These are placed by betting a set amount per series (or multiples of that amount). They are based on the way in which certain numbers lie next to each other on the roulette wheel. Not all casinos offer these bets, and some may offer additional bets or variations on these.
Voisins du Zero ("Neighbours of Zero")
This is a name for the numbers which lie between 22 and 25 on the wheel including 22 and 25 themselves. The series is 22,18,29,7,28,12,35,3,26,0,32,15,19,4,21,2,25 (on a single zero wheel).
9 chips or multiples thereof are bet. 2 chips are placed on the 0,2,3 street; 1 on the 4/7 split; 1 on 12/15; 1 on 18/21; 1 on 19/22; 2 on 25/26/28/29 corner; and 1 on 32/35.
Tiers ("The third")
This is the name for the numbers which lie on the opposite side of the wheel between 27 and 33 including 27 and 33 themselves. The series is 27,13,36,11,30,8,23,10,5,24,16,33 (on a single zero wheel).
6 chips or multipes thereof are bet. 1 chip is placed on each of the following splits: 5/8; 10/11; 13/16; 23/24; 27/30; 33/36.
A variant known as "Tier 5,8,10,11" has an additional chip placed straight up on 5, 8, 10 and 11; and so is a 10-piece bet.
Orphelins ("Orphans")
These numbers make up the two slices of the wheel outside the Tiers and Voisins. They contain a total of eight numbers, the Orphans comprising 17,34,6 and the Orphelins being 1,20,14,31,9.
5 chips or multiples thereof are bet. 1 chip is placed straight-up on 1 and 1 chip on each of the splits: 6/9; 14/17; 17/20 and 31/34.
"xx and the Neighbours"
A number may be backed along with the 2 numbers on either side of it in a 5 piece bet. For example, "0 and the Neighbours" is a 5 piece bet with 1 piece straight-up on 3, 26, 0, 32 and 15. Neighbours bets are often put on in combinations, for example "1, 9, 14 and the neighbours" is a 15 piece bet covering 18, 22, 33, 16 with 1 piece; 9, 31, 20, 1 with 2 pieces and 14 with 3 pieces.
Any of the above bets may be combined, eg "Orphelins by 1 and Zero and the Neighbours by 1." The "…and the Neighbours." is often assumed by the Croupier.
Roulette Online Game Strategy
Betting strategies and tactics
Albert Einstein is reputed to have stated, "You cannot beat a roulette table unless you steal money from it."
Nevertheless, the numerous even-money bets in roulette have inspired many players over the years to attempt to beat the game by using one or more variations of a Martingale betting strategy, wherein the gamer doubles the bet after every loss, so that the first win would recover all previous losses, plus win a profit equal to the original bet. As the referenced article on Martingales points out, this betting strategy is fundamentally flawed in practice and the inevitable long-term consequence is a large financial loss. Another strategy is the Fibonacci system, where bets are calculated according to the Fibonacci sequence. Regardless of the specific progression, no such strategy can statistically overcome the casino’s advantage.
While not a strategy to win money, Los Angeles Times editor Andres Martinez described an enjoyable roulette online betting method in his book on Las Vegas entitled "24/7". He called it the "dopey experiment". The idea is to divide one’s roulette online session bankroll into 35 units. This unit is bet on a particular number for 35 consecutive spins. Thus, if the number hits in that time, the gambler wins back the original bankroll and can play subsequent spins with house money. However, there is only a (1 − (37 / 38)35) * 100% = 60.68% probability of winning within 35 spins (assuming a double zero wheel with 38 pockets).
There is a common misconception that the green numbers are "house numbers" and that by betting on them one "gains the house edge." In fact, it is true that the house’s advantage comes from the existence of the green numbers (a game without them would be statistically fair); however, they are no more or less likely to come up than any other number.
Various attempts have been made by engineers to overcome the house edge through predicting the mechanical performance of the wheel, most notably by Joseph Jagger, the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo in 1873. These schemes work by determining that the ball is more likely to fall at certain numbers. Claude Shannon, a mathematician and computer scientist best known for his contributions to information theory, built arguably the first wearable computer to do so in 1961.
To try to prevent exploits like this, the casinos monitor the performance of their wheels, and rebalance and realign them regularly to try to keep the result of the spins as random as possible.
More recently Thomas Bass, in his book The Newtonian Casino 1991, has claimed to be able to predict wheel performance in real time. He is also the author of The Eudaemonic Pie, which describes the exploits of a group of computer hackers, who called themselves the Eudaemons, who in the late 1970s used computers in their shoes to win at roulette by predicting where the ball would fall.
In the early 1990s, Gonzalo Garcia-Pelayo used a computer to model the tendencies of the roulette wheels at the Casino de Madrid in Madrid, Spain. Betting the most likely numbers, along with members of his family, he was able to win over one million dollars over a period of several years. A court ruled in his favor when the legality of his strategy was challenged by the casino.
In 2004, it was reported that a group in London had used mobile cameraphones to predict the path of the ball, a cheating technique called sector targeting. In December 2004 court adjudged that they didn’t cheat because their special laser cameraphone and microchip weren’t influencing the ball – they kept all £1.3m.