Roulette Rules

If you are going to walk into a casino to play the game of roulette, you better be sure you know the rules. A roulette table can become quite chaotic even when everybody is on the same page, but when you don't know how to behave the table can become bogged down, or worse, the casino security might want to have a word with you.

The Croupier

The croupier is the official name of the dealer at any given roulette table. They have a lot of responsibilities ranging from making change, paying winning bets, and running the wheel. They have to deal with a lot of crap, so when you win a bet, make sure to tip your croupier, especially if they have been doing a good job. These people depend on tips as they are only being paid minimum wage by the casinos.

Making Change

When you walk up to the table, you will need to get special roulette chips that are different from the normal house chips. Each player gets their own colored chips, whose values depend only on the amount of money you are playing with. For instance, you might be given blue chips which are all worth $5 since you gave the dealer $50. After you leave the table, the next player to sit down might give the dealer $300 and be given the same blue chips, but this time they are worth $25.

By making sure each player has their own color, the croupier can easily tell which bets belong to which player by simply looking at the color. Because of this system, you must cash out your chips when you leave a roulette table to ensure you get the proper amount of money.

The Gameplay

When players start making bets, the croupier will get the wheel spinning. When most of the bets are in place, the dealer will shoot the ball along its track and let it roll around the wheel. When the ball begins to slow down, the croupier will call out "No more bets" at which point you cannot make any more bets. If you make a bet after this point, it is considered 'past posting' which is cheating, and illegal in most countries.

When the ball slows down, the centrifugal force that was holding it to the track will diminish and allow the ball to fall into the spinning wheel. Because the ball is going the opposite direction of the wheel, it will bounce randomly a few times before landing in its final pocket.

When the croupier sees that the ball has come to a rest, they will put a marker on the layout to designate the winning number. At this point the first order of business is clearing the losing bets. The croupier will go around and get all of the losing bets off of the layout, leaving behind only the winning bets. Only when all of the losing bets have been cleared will the croupier pay out the winning bets. Outside bets are paid out first, and then the inside bets follow.

When at last all of the bets have been paid, and the layout is completely cleared, you can place your new bets for the coming round.