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Roulette Rules Guide for Irish Players

James Smith
July 13, 2020
Modified: May 13, 2024

Whether you’re a total beginner wondering, ‘How does roulette work?’ or already familiar with roulette, this online roulette guide will provide all the necessary information about casino roulette rules. Although it’s a game of chance, it’s important to understand the rules of roulette and betting options before you start playing.

How Does Roulette Work?

Roulette is a game of chance, meaning that every result generated is entirely random. The basic rules of roulette are rather simple: a ball is launched into a spinning wheel where it will eventually fall into one of the slots along the edge.

The idea of roulette is to place a bet wherever you think the ball might land. You can place several types of bets, including a single-number bet, betting on odd or even, or corner bet, to mention just a few types. Before placing your bets, however, it’s good to learn about the setup used in the game.

Roulette Equipment

The roulette equipment you’ll come across is a roulette table, a roulette wheel, a white ball, and casino chips. The roulette table is a rectangular table with a spinning wheel at the end of it. The croupier stands behind the table next to the wheel while players sit on the opposite side of the croupier. A typical roulette table can seat up to seven players.

The roulette ball is usually metal or ivory, and it’s thrown into the wheel to generate the winning result. Only the croupier can handle this ball, and they must wait for it to fall into a pocket naturally before touching it. A marker or dolly is then used to mark the winning number on the roulette table. This is usually a small glass object the croupier uses to indicate the result until the next round.

roulette equipment

Casino chips are the last piece of equipment required in casino roulette. These chips have different colours to denote different values. You can use a combination of these chips to get different bet sizes, or you can use the lowest-value chips only if you want to place a small wager.

In live online roulette, much of the same equipment and game elements as a brick-and-mortar casino are also used, but in a virtual RPG version, a computer animation will play while the results are finalised through a random number generator.

Basic Rules of Roulette

The standard roulette rules are easy to grasp and get the hang of within just a few game rounds. The basic roulette rules indicate how to play roulette, how to place your bets, and how the equipment described in the previous section is used. In the following section, we’ll examine the roulette basic rules for the roulette wheels and tables.

Rules of Roulette Table

The roulette table displays the betting layout, including all the possible bets in the game. Here’s a summary of the basic rules of a roulette table:

  • Bets must be placed on the roulette table using your chips.
  • The numbers on the roulette table are in chronological order and correspond to the numbers on the wheel.
  • Roulette tables always have limits which indicate the minimum and maximum bets that can be placed.
roulette table

Roulette Wheel Rules

The roulette wheel rules depend on the type of roulette table chosen, but a typical wheel has the following rules:

  • A typical roulette wheel consists of 37 numbered pockets, with numbers ranging from one to 36. This depends on whether it’s a European or American roulette table.
  • The zero or double zero pockets are always green.
  • The numbers on the wheel are not in chronological order.
roulette wheel

European Roulette Rules

European roulette is the most common roulette table at any casino in Ireland. It’s also the most popular roulette game at online casinos like Betiton because it offers favourable odds due to the wheel’s layout.

Below are the basic European roulette rules to keep in mind for this game:

  • European roulette uses a single-zero wheel with 37 numbered pockets.
  • The game has a house edge of 2.70%.
  • You can place one or multiple bets, including inside bets and outside bets.
  • Some European roulette tables allow special bets usually available in French Roulette.

Rules of American Roulette

The rules of American roulette are the same as the European rules regarding gameplay, but offer a different house edge due to a different wheel being used. In this variant, the odds aren’t as favourable for players, making it a far less popular option at online casinos in Ireland.

european roulette rules
  • American Roulette is played on a 38-pocket wheel.
  • The numbers range from one to 36. The other two pockets are the single and double zero.
  • The casino’s advantage (or house edge) is around 5.40% because of the double zero.
  • American Roulette is the only wheel with a ’00’ pocket.

French Casino Roulette Rules

French roulette is as popular as European roulette, if not more. Both variants are similar because they use the same wheel, but French roulette has some special rules.

These are the basic rules of French casino roulette:

  • French roulette uses the European wheel with 37 slots and one zero.
  • Apart from inside and outside roulette bets, there are also call bets.
  • According to the usual online roulette rules, call bets (or announced bets) are usually found in an area known as a ‘racetrack’, separate from the main betting area.
  • The La Partage and En Prison rules also apply (explained later).

Rules of Mini Roulette

Mini Roulette is a unique way of playing roulette that’s significantly different from the common game variants you might be familiar with. As you can deduce from the name, it’s a smaller version of the classic table game, and it has the following rules:

mini roulette rules
  • Mini Roulette uses a smaller wheel with only 13 pockets.
  • There’s only one zero pocket, and numbers range from one to 12.
  • The betting options are more limited in this variant.
  • The odds of winning are higher in Mini Roulette, but payouts for the usual bets available in traditional roulette are lower.

Multi-Ball Roulette Rules

Multi-Ball Roulette is a fun variant that doubles the excitement with not one, but two or three roulette balls in action. Here’s what the casino game roulette rules are like for this game:

  • Multi-Ball roulette uses a European roulette wheel with a single zero.
  • Two to three roulette balls are used. These are spun at the same time for every round.
  • The odds of winning a bet are higher with up to three balls in play.
  • The same inside and outside bets can be placed in this roulette game, but the odds and payouts are different.
  • The rest of the usual roulette rules apply.

Multi-Wheel Casino Roulette Rules

As you can probably guess from the name, Multi-Wheel roulette is a unique twist on classic roulette that uses multiple wheels at once. Up to eight roulette wheels can be activated in this game, giving you a higher chance of winning your bet.

american roulette rules

Below, we review the essential rules of Multi-Wheel roulette:

  • You can activate between two to eight wheels.
  • Must Multi-Wheel variants use the European version of the roulette wheel.
  • The same bet size must be placed for all active wheels because there’s only one betting table.
  • You can win the same bet on multiple wheels, although, like regular roulette, it’s possible to lose all your bets, too.

Special Rules of Roulette

We mentioned that French roulette has a few special rules that aren’t found in many other roulette games. They might apply in European roulette, but it’s not always the same. Remember to always read the specific rules of the table you’re playing at to avoid confusion.

‘En Prison’ Rule

The En Prison rule is one of the special roulette rules that applies to losing even money bets if the zero comes up. If this happens, you can leave your bet ‘in prison’ for the next round, giving you another chance to win it. If it loses again, the entire bet is lost.

roulette wheel

‘La Partage’ Rule

The La Partage rule is similar but instead of giving you a second chance at winning an even money bet, you’ll receive half of your bet if you lose. Like the En Prison rule, it only applies if the ball lands on zero and you’ve placed any bet that pays even money (1:1).

Roulette Etiquette When Playing

If you’re playing live online roulette, there’s some basic etiquette to be aware of. It’s always important to follow the appropriate casino etiquette on roulette tables to ensure a smooth and pleasant gaming experience for yourself and your fellow players.

  • Always be polite and respectful to the dealer and players.
  • Don’t try to place roulette chips when the croupier announces that bets are closed.
  • Don’t complain about the outcome of a game – the live hosts have no influence over the results.
  • Remember that the chat will be monitored – don’t use offensive language.

Frequently Asked Questions about Roulette Rules

This refers to the ‘En Prison’ rule, which applies in French roulette and some European roulette tables. If you lose an even money bet because the ball lands on zero, the bet is ‘imprisoned’ for one round, giving you a second chance to win your bet.

The number 666, or the ‘Number of the Beast’, as it’s sometimes referred to, is the sum of all the numbers on the wheel added together.

A hot number is one that comes up frequently in roulette. Many players believe they can take advantage of ‘hot numbers’ by betting on them, thinking their winning odds will be higher. However, the concept of hot and cold numbers in roulette is a myth.

The aim of all roulette games is to predict which pocket in the wheel the ball will fall in. This is done by placing one or more bets on the roulette layout, depending on your prediction. If your guess is correct, you receive a payout according to the paytable. If not, no payout is awarded.

A single-number bet requires one chip placed on the chosen number, a two-number bet requires a chip placed on the line between two adjacent numbers, three numbers require a chip on the outside line of the row of numbers and a four-number bet is placed by putting a chip on the corner connecting them.

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James Smith

At the age of 28, James, an expert in technology and video gaming with a passion for online casinos, pursued studies in Creative Writing and Media Studies at the University of London. As an active contributor to the Gizmodo Twitter account, his goal is to share his knowledge of video game culture and technological advancements with you, the readers.

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