by Alan Krigman
You may have itched to try roulette ever since you heard Captain Louis Renault
say he was "shocked, shocked" to find it being played at Rick's Cafe Americain
in Casablanca. It's a good game for solid citizens seeking a leisurely pace, a
menu of bets with a range from highly probable small wins to remotely possible
big returns, and almost nothing they can do to look foolish.
Start by finding a table where the limits let you size your bets to your budget.
Novices would be wise to go for $5 minimum. This offers several distinct options
involving $10 in action at once.
Grab a seat, then buy-in by dropping cash or casino chips on the layout in front
of you. The dealer will swap your money for tokens. At low-limit tables, tokens
are normally assigned values of $1; if the dealer asks, say this is what you want.
The dollar value won't be marked, but the dealer has a way to keep track of
what the tokens are worth. This, so each bettor at a table gets a unique color
which shows who's on what and tells the dealer whom to pay. Before you leave,
redeem the tokens for regular chips.
After settling all wagers on a round, the dealer will open the betting for the next.
Put your tokens on the parts of the layout corresponding to the wagers you
select. You needn't rush. The dealer will allow ample time for this activity; in
fact, you can put down tokens while the ball is in motion until the dealer
announces "no more bets." Different players may stack their tokens atop one
another's because the colors distinguish them. You can drop most of the tokens
at the desired locations yourself, but the dealer will do it for you if you can't
reach. Put the tokens on the table but off the layout; the dealer will know they
are yours by the color and ask you where you want them.
The edge alongside the layout is for "outside" bets. These pay 1-to-1 for low
(1-18), high (19-26), odd, even, red, or black. Between the outside and the grid
of numbers are the "dozens" (1-12, 13-24, and 25-36), paying 2-to-1; you can
also get 2-to-1 on the 12-number columns by betting in the boxes at the foot
of the grid. And, of course, you can bet on particular spots, dreaming of 35-to-1,
by covering the corresponding numbers. There's lots more. For instance, tokens
on lines between two spots are split in half between the numbers and pay
17-to-1. You can learn these fancy touches later, when you're comfortable
with the basics.
Here are three variants on a $10 bet at a table with a $5 minimum, offering a
beginner a decent set of alternatives:
1) Put $5 on each of two dozens or two columns. The odds are almost 2-to-1
you'll win, but you risk $10 to net $5 (the hit gets you $10 while the miss takes
away $5).
2) Put $10 on any outside proposition. This is slightly shy of a 50-50 shot at
even-money. In most casinos you either win or lose $10. In Atlantic City and
a few enlightened joints elsewhere, probabilities are equal to win or lose $10,
tempered by a small chance of losing $5 - on a 0 or 00.
3) Put $2 on each of five spots. You have a modest but not insignificant 13.2
percent chance of earning $62 ($2 pays $70 on the spot that hits, minus $8 on
those that don't), and the complementary 86.8 percent likelihood of losing $10.
Say you have a $200 budget and wish either to stay in action for three hours or
double your money. The accompanying table compares the suggested alternate
strategies according to these criteria.
Endurance and earnings probabilities for alternate proposed bets:
|
Bet
|
Probability
of lasting
three hours
|
Probability
of winning
$200 before
losing $200
|
$5 on each of two
dozens or columns |
87%
|
2%
|
$10 outside, lose $5
on 0 or 00 |
84%
|
25%
|
$10 outside, lose $10
on 0 or 00 |
75%
|
10%
|
| $2 on each of five spots |
41%
|
41%
|
Some roulette players track past spins and bet according to what they perceive
as trends and patterns. Stuff and nonsense! Spins are random -- matters of luck.
Valid roulette strategy involves spreading or concentrating wagers to balance
survival and earnings potential, recognizing the associated tradeoffs.
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