BEGINNER ROULETTE GUIDE
Master the roulette table with our complete guide. Learn the rules, odds, betting options.
How to Play Roulette
Roulette is one of the simplest casino games to learn. A dealer spins a wheel numbered 0 through 36 (European) or 0 through 36 plus a double zero (American), then rolls a small ball in the opposite direction. When the wheel slows, the ball settles into a numbered pocket, and all bets that cover that number are paid out.
Before each spin, players place chips on the betting grid to predict where the ball will land. You can bet on a single number, a group of numbers, a color, or whether the result will be odd or even. Once the dealer announces no more bets, no chips may be moved until the outcome is confirmed and all winnings are paid.
Betting Types & Payouts
Inside Bets
| Bet Type | Payout |
|---|---|
| Straight Up | 35:1 |
| Split | 17:1 |
| Street | 11:1 |
| Corner | 8:1 |
| Six Line | 5:1 |
Outside Bets
| Bet Type | Payout |
|---|---|
| Red / Black | 1:1 |
| Odd / Even | 1:1 |
| High / Low | 1:1 |
| Dozen | 2:1 |
| Column | 2:1 |
Popular Betting Strategies
Martingale
The most widely known betting system and by far the most tested roulette strategy in our simulator. Start with a base bet on an even-money outcome (Red/Black or Odd/Even). Each time you lose, double your bet. When you win, return to the base bet. In theory, one win recovers all previous losses plus a small profit.
Warning: A losing streak of 8 or 9 consecutive spins - which happens more often than intuition suggests - can push your required bet beyond the table maximum or wipe out your entire bankroll. The Martingale does not overcome the house edge.
Fibonacci
Bet sizes follow the Fibonacci sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21... After a loss, move one step forward in the sequence. After a win, move two steps back. This results in slower escalation than the Martingale but still requires a growing bankroll to survive losing runs.
Warning: Like all negative-progression systems, Fibonacci cannot change the mathematical house edge. Extended losing streaks will still exhaust any finite bankroll.
D'Alembert
A gentler approach. Increase your bet by one unit after a loss and decrease it by one unit after a win. The system assumes that wins and losses will balance out over time, resulting in slower variance than the Martingale.
Warning: Wins and losses do not have to balance within any particular session. The house edge means that over a large sample, losses will always slightly outnumber wins on even-money bets.
Tips for Using the Simulator
- Start with outside bets (Red/Black, Odd/Even) to get comfortable with the payout rhythm before moving to inside bets with higher variance.
- Set a session bankroll limit before you begin. Decide in advance how many virtual chips you are willing to lose in a session, and stop when you reach it - even in a simulator, this builds discipline.
- Use the simulator to test a strategy over at least 200 to 300 spins before drawing any conclusions. Short sessions produce misleading results due to natural variance.
- Compare European and American modes with identical strategies. You will observe the real cost of the double-zero pocket over a large sample of spins.
- Remember that each spin is independent. Past results displayed on the screen have no predictive value for the next outcome - the wheel has no memory.
