What is American Roulette?

American Roulette is a fun, exciting and often nail-biting, table game. The game does not require any skill or gaming ability to play, and it's a lot of fun to win. American Roulette is also sometimes referred to as Double Zero Roulette (as opposed to single-zero European Roulette). In the game of American Roulette, there is a wheel and a table. There is no limit to the amount of people who can play the game at any one time. The idea of the game is very simple for all to understand. Basically, the roulette table has a spinning wheel with "pockets" ranging from 00 to 36. These are colored either red or black. There are two special pockets (known as "zero" and "double zero"). Players place a wager on where the ball will end so when the wheel is spun, the ball spins around the wheel until it loses momentum and drops into one of the pockets. Players await the outcome of the landing of the ball. Once the ball stops spinning, the player who bet it would stop in that pocket wins. American Roulette is a total game of chance.

Rules of How to Play American Roulette

The rules of American Roulette are very basic. Anyone can play, no matter how new you are to the world of gambling. Initially the betting part of the game may seem complicated, but once you understand the basics of the "inside" and "outside" bets, you will come to realize that it really is a very simple game to play. Players choose to either place a bet on the inside part of the table (closer to the center) or the outside. The only limit in the amount you can bet is a basic minimum and a high maximum. The rest is totally open, but once the wagers have been placed, the wheel spins, and all that is left for the player to do is sit and wait to see how it pans out, and if his or her predicted number will be home to the ball! It is important to remember that it really does not make any difference where players decide to predict the ball will land since the ball has the same chance of falling anywhere since the way the numbers are arranged is balanced around the center. Players are free to place lots of different wagers on the table at any one time, in one game. There are only very minor differences in how to play American Roulette, versus how to play European roulette.

How to Win at American Roulette

You win at American Roulette by making the right prediction for where the ball is going to land in the wheel. There are all sorts of different places for the ball to fall (on the "inside" or "outside" of the wheel) and it is up to you to determine where it will fall so that you will have made the right prediction. One good thing to do before trying to win at American Roulette is to become familiar with the table.

The way one wins American Roulette is by placing the right bet. Back to the subject of 'inside' and 'outside' bets. With inside betting, players have to place a wager with the same money as the lowest bet on the table. The chances of winning a straight up wager on one number are thirty-five to one (35:1). Or, players can choose to place a "split" wager on two squares that are next to each other (saying the ball will land on one of them) and if the ball does land on one of them, the player will automatically receive half of the payouts. With this kind of bet, the player will put the chip on the rim of the line. In this case, the player's chances of winning are 11 to 1. Or, one can place a wager on four squares that join together. In this case, the payout is 8 to 1. Alternatively, players can make two street bets in a line bet. In this case, the payout is 5 to 1.

Coming to outside bets now, each player must place a bet that a least matches the smallest bet on the table (as with inside bets). But with outside betting, the two zeros are irrelevant. One type of outside bet is called a "dozen" bet, which is double the wager. Players put the chip on either first 12 - hence the name dozen - second 12 or third 12. This is basically a bet on 12 numbers. Another type of outside bet is the "column" bet where the chip is placed at the bottom of one of the three vertical columns. And then there is the "even money" outside bet, whereby the chip is placed on the Even, Odd, Red, Black, 1-18 or 19-36 spots. It may seem complicated, but if you're looking at the picture of the Roulette Table as you read, you'll see it's really not.

Definitions and Terms for American Roulette

Basic Bets and Payouts
The types of bets you can win on are: straight up (35:1); split (17:1); street (11:1); square (8:1); five-number line (6:1); six-number line (5:1); column (2:1); dozen (2:1); even-money (1:1). If you put one coin on a straight up bet and you win, you get 36 coins, as you receive the original coin, plus 35.

More about Betting Terms
In greater detail, a straight up bet is when you bet on a single number and you place the chip in the center of that number. A split bet is betting on two numbers, since you put the coin in the center of two different numbers. A street bet is betting on three numbers and you put the coin on the outside column. A square bet is betting on four numbers - you put the coin in the center of the straight up numbers. A five-number line bet is betting on five numbers (being 00, 0, 1, 2, 3) and you put the chip between 0 and 1. A six-number line bet is two rows together and you put the chip on the line above the dozen bets, covering the rows you need to cover.

A column bet covers three vertical columns and the chip is placed at the bottom of the column. A dozen bet is over 12 numbers and you choose high, middle or low and the chip is on the first, second or third. An even-money bet is a bet on 18 numbers and the chip is placed on even, odd, black, red, 1-18, 19-36.