Whether you’re playing at an offline or an online roulette table for the first time, it can often feel confusing as more experienced players splay chips around the green felt and the dealer either sweeps them off to the house or divvies up the winnings.
Of course, there is always the option to keep things simple and to merely place your bets on red or black, but sooner or later you are probably going to want to branch out and become better acquainted with more interesting plays and tactics.
If you find yourself in exactly that position then this is the article for you, because here within its paragraphs lie a plethora of silky bets you can make that will have your live dealer or fellow players nodding in appreciation.
Before visiting gaming capitals of the world like Las Vegas, it is worth knowing exactly how to look the part at the roulette table
Remaining Aware of the Version You Are Playing
Before anyone starts to think about making moves at the roulette table, it is important that they first understand exactly which version of the game they are playing.
This is because a standard roulette table boasts 37 numbers, whereas on an American roulette table there are 38 numbers. Once you begin to get a better grasp of the odds and probabilities at play in roulette, you will understand just how important such seemingly minor differences can be.
When playing online there are even more options that a player should be aware of, such as whether they are playing at a single player game or a multi-player game.
They can even choose whether to play at a table with a real-life live dealer or at a table with a computer generated croupier, although neither option should have any effect on the outcomes a player receives.
Straight Up or Split
Once you have decided to ditch the relative simplicity of betting red or black, the first bet to think about is what is known as a Straight Up.
This is when a player bets on a single number. The odds of such a bet coming off are of course slim with there being 37 numbers available to choose from.
This means that many players choose to double their chances of getting some sort of return by placing what is known as a Split bet. This is where the player straddles two numbers with their bet, meaning either number can bring home the bacon for them at odds of 17/1.
Whether you are playing on laptop or via a mobile device, knowing how to spread your chips most effectively will increase your enjoyment of the game of roulette
First 12, Second 12, and Third 12
Away from the numbers and the colours, you no doubt will have noticed a plethora of other boxes both to the side and the bottom of the online roulette table.
Some of these are relatively self-evident, with the “Odd” section referring to odd numbers on the roulette wheel and the “Even” section allowing players to bet solely on the ball landing on even numbers.
However, there are other sections such which are not so straight forward to fathom.
Good examples are the First 12, Second 12, and Third 12 sections. Essentially these allow players to bet on a third of the available numbers. This is a nice halfway house between betting lone numbers or colours. It can also be a good option if you want to hedge other slightly more daring bets.
Neighbours
This has nothing to do with an Australian soap opera nor noisy players at a nearby table, but instead is the name of a crafty bet that few roulette players ever think to try out.
It essentially means that a player bets on five adjoining numbers as they appear on the wheel itself. This makes the gradual slowing of the wheel particularly exciting, as a player can easily track the grouping of five numbers they hope the ball will nestle into.
