Roulette Table - Find out what's what!
The roulette table is something to behold. When you first walk up to one, you may be quite intimidated by all the numbers and colors. Where should I put my bet? Black or red? Odd or even? Should I pick one of the rows or bet on one of the groups of 12? There are a lot of choices on the roulette table, and this page will help to explain as many as possible.Here, we have a typical roulette table layout, using American roulette with the '00' at the far left. As far as the roulette table goes, there's little difference caused by the American vs. European styles. The only thing to take into account is that in American Roulette, you have the option of betting on the 0, the 00 or both. So there are, in effect, two extra bets you can make. That's the only difference in the roulette table layout and the effect on the bets.
If you can ignore the numbers with the red and black coloring on them for the moment, you will easily see the areas at the bottom of the picture, where you can bet on larger sections of numbers at once. This is typical of all roulette table layouts, no matter what part of the world you're playing in. You'll see that you have the option of placing a blanket bet on either red or black (indicated byt the red and the black diamonds). This bet is traditionally paid back at 1:1 (or even) odds. Also, in the same horizontal area are the "High/Low" bets and the "Even/Odd" bets. Each of these bets covers 18 of the 37 (or 38 for American) numbers on the wheel, and all are usually paid back at even odds. So if you bet $100 on red, and the ball lands in a red pocket, you'll win $100, and get that back, along with your original $100 bet. The same holds true for all the other bets in that horizontal plane of the table.
Above those bets are the "Dozen" and the "Column" bets. You can see them where it says "1st 12", "2nd 12" and 3rd 12", and at the far right hand side where it says "2 to 1" at the ends of the 3 columns. All of these bets will usually pay out at 2:1 odds, so you'd double your winnings over the last bets we discussed. With these bets, you're betting on 12 numbers at once, and as you can see, depending on which one you choose, the ratio of blacks to reds is not always the same. This might be something you want to take into account at the roulette table, and it might not. Remember, it's just a little ball rolling around the spinning wheel, and it could really land anywhere.
Other than those bets, you'd generally be betting on single numbers (which includes the 0 and 00) or combinations of groups of numbers, by placing your chips on the intersections of the green lines. More on these bets can be found on our roulette rules page. But be sure, when you're at the roulette table, to carefully put your chips in the exact area you are betting, otherwise, you may be surprised when the ball lands in the pocket!