Equipment.

The Roulette table is composed of two sections, the wheel itself and the betting layout, better known as the Roulette layout. There are two styles of Roulette tables. One has a single betting layout with the Roulette wheel at one end; the other has two layouts with the wheel in the centre. The wheel spins horizontally.

Heading the layout design, which is printed on green baize, is a space containing the figure 0 (European style), or the figures 0 and 00 (American style). The main portion of the design is composed of 36 consecutively numbered rectangular spaces, colored red and black alternately, arranged in three columns of 12 spaces each, and beginning with 1 at the top and concluding with 36 at the bottom. Directly below the numbers are three blank spaces (on some layouts these are marked 2 to 1 and are located on the players' side of the table). On either side of these, or along one side of the columns, are rectangular spaces marked 1st 12, 2nd 12, and 3rd 12. On European-style layouts these terms are 12^p (première), 12^m (milieu), and 12^d (dernière douzaine). Six more spaces are marked red (rouge), black (noir), even (pair), odd (impair), 1-18 (low, or manque), 19-36 (high, or passe).

The Roulette wheel consists of a solid wooden disk slightly convex in shape. Around its rim are metal partitions known as separators or frets, and the compartments or pockets between these are called canoes by Roulette croupiers. Thirty-six of these compartments, painted alternately red and black, are numbered from 1 to 36. On European-style wheels, a 37th compartment, painted green, carries the sign 0, and on American wheels two green compartments carry the signs 0 and 00. The wheel, its spindle perfectly balanced on a single ball bearing, spins smoothly in an almost frictionless manner.

The standard Roulette table employs five, six, or seven sets of wheel checks (usually called chips). Each set is differently coloured, each consists of 300 chips, and there is one set for each player. The chips usually have a single basic value, although some casinos also sell chips of lesser value. The colour of the chips indicates the player, not the value of the chips. If a player wishes to buy chips of slightly higher value, the croupier places a marker indicating that value on top of the table's stack of chips of the colour corresponding to the chips purchased. Most casinos have high-value chips that can be wagered at any gaming table. Unlike Roulette chips, these have their numbered values printed on them.

Bets.

It is possible to place the following bets in Roulette: (1) straight, or single-number (en plein), in which the chips are placed squarely on one number of the layout, including 0 (and also 00 on American layouts), so that the chips do not touch any of the lines enclosing the number; a winning single number bet pays 35 to 1; (2) split, or 2-number (à cheval), in which the chips are placed on any line separating any 2 numbers; if either wins, payoff odds are 17 to 1; (3) street, or 3-number (transversale pleine), in which the chips are placed on the outside line of the layout, betting the 3 numbers opposite the chips; payoff odds on any of the 3 numbers is 11 to 1; (4) square, quarter, corner, or 4-number (en carre), in which the chips are placed on the intersection of the lines between any 4 numbers; payoff odds are 8 to 1; (5) line, or 6-number (transversale six), in which the chips are placed on the intersection of the side line and a line between two "streets"; payoff odds are 5 to 1; (6) column, or 12-number, in which the chips are placed on one of the three blank spaces (some layouts have three squares, marked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd) at the bottom of the layout, thus betting the 12 numbers above the space; payoff odds are 2 to 1; (7) dozens, or 12-number, in which the chips are placed on one of the spaces of the layout marked 12, betting the numbers 1-12, 13-24, or 25-36; payoff odds are 2 to 1; (8) low-number or high-number, in which the chips are placed on the layout space marked 1-18 (manque) or on the space marked 19-36, (passe); payoff is even money; (9) black or red, in which the chips are placed on a space of the layout marked black (noir), or on a space marked red (rouge; some layouts have a large black or red diamond-shaped design instead of the words); payoff is even money; (10) odd-number or even-number, in which the chips are placed on the space of the layout marked odd (impair), or on the space marked even (pair); payoff is even money.

On layouts with a single zero (European style), the 0 may be included in a 2-number bet with any adjoining number, in a 3-number bet with 1 and 2 or with 2 and 3, and in a 4-number bet with 1, 2, and 3 at the regular odds for these bets; with the American style 0 and 00, a 5-number line bet also is possible, the player placing his chips on the corner intersection of the line separating the 1, 2, 3, from the 0 and 00, with payoff odds of 6 to 1.

The play.

The game begins when one of the croupiers (dealers) in attendance calls for the players to make their bets, which they do by placing chips on the spaces of the layout on any number, group, or classification they hope will win.

The croupier starts the wheel spinning in a counter-clockwise direction, then spins a small ivory or plastic ball on to the bowl's back track in the opposite direction. Players may continue to place bets while the wheel and ball are in motion until the ball slows down and is about to drop off the back track.

When the ball falls and comes to rest between any two metal partitions of the wheel, it marks the winning number (or a 0 or 00), the winning colour, and any other permitted bet that pertains to a winning number or symbol. The dealer immediately announces the winning number and its colour and points to the corresponding number on the layout. He first collects all losing bets, not disturbing the chips that are resting on winning spaces. Then he pays off the winner or winners with the correct amount of chips due to each winning bet.

House odds.

When using the American-style wheel with the 0 and 00, the advantage for the bank arises when either the 0 or 00 shows. Only bets on the winning symbol (0 or 00) and the line or 5-number bet (combination bet 0, 00, 1, 2, 3) are paid. Thus the bank should win 2 parts in 38 or 5 ⁵/₁₉ percent of all bets. The only exception is the line or 5-number bet where the house percentage is 7 ¹⁷/₁₉ percent.

Roulette as played elsewhere than in the United States is the same except that the wheel and layout contain only a single zero (0). When the zero appears, all even-money bets, such as Red, Black, Odd, or Even, are "imprisoned." On the next spin of the wheel, if the zero appears again the house collects half of each imprisoned bet; if not, it collects all losing bets and returns the original bets to any winners. The bank's percentage on red, black, odd, or even is 1 ¹³/₃₇ percent, and on all other types of bets it is 2 ²⁶/₃₇ percent.

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