One thing that makes roulette popular to casino goers, both newbie and veteran, is the simplicity of its rules. It is so simple that even those with no prior experience in gambling can play roulette like a pro after reading a brochure or by mere observation of how other players wager on the table. If you're a newbie player or a veteran of other games and would like to learn more about the game, here are some of the things you should know about it.

The Basics

Roulette is a game played by up to eight players playing against the croupier or the dealer. The dealer is responsible for facilitating the game, declaring the betting open and closed, spins the wheel, declaring the winning number, paying out winnings and collecting losses. Roulette is played on a special table with markers indicating where the players can bet, a roulette wheel with numbered and colored slots, and a small metal ball. The objective of the game is to accurately predict the where amongst the numbered slot in the roulette wheel the ball will land after the wheel is spun.

Before the game, players are required to purchase a special roulette chips at the cashier because ordinary casino chips are not used in roulette. Each player has his own colored set of chips he can use to wager on the table. After the game, these chips, or what was left of it, can be exchanged for casino chips or money at the cashier.

There are three types of tables used in the game. There are the French, the American and the European tables. The French and European roulette tables have grids numbered 0 to 36 as well as other regions dedicated for outside betting. The American table, on the other hand, has grids numbered 0 to 36 with an additional slot for a 00, apart from the pre-marked regions for outside bets. The difference in the tables is also apparent in the roulette wheels. French and American Roulette wheels have 37 numbered slots, while the American wheels have 38 numbered slots.

The Bets

There are several bets available for roulette players. They are classified based on where you would normally put them, either inside the grid (inside bets) or outside the grid (outside bets). Placing the wager in a specific manner on the roulette table executes a specific bet.

There are six kind of inside bets, namely the straight, the spit, the street, the corner, the five-liner, and the six-liner. Inside Bets have the biggest payout of the game, but it has also the hardest one to make. Straight is a kind of bet made squarely on a number. Split is a bet made on two adjacent numbers, while street is a bet made on a set of number belonging in the same line. Corner is a wager on four numbers adjacent to each other. Five-liners is a bet that can be made only in American table because it is a bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 while the six-liner is a bet made on two adjacent rows.

Other Rules

There are several rules that are not generally implemented on all roulette tables. Some casino offers an 'En Prison" rule where, when the number 0 appears, the players have the option to take the bet or to leave it there for another round. There is also the 'La Partage' option where players who bet on even-money bets loses only half of their bets made on the table when the outcome is zero.