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How to Play: Live Roulette Tutorial

Live dealer roulette provides players at home with the ability to enjoy a game that is being played live with real dealers and real wheels. If you want to find out how to play roulette online live, here's a simple guide.

The game presents the most realistic experience and is one of the top choices in live dealer casinos. Playing live roulette is pretty simple as the game rules are basic. Of course, there are plenty of ways to complicate things with extra features and strategies. This live roulette tutorial won't dive too much into those, however. Instead, we'll focus on the basic rules of roulette for beginners.

It is important to know how bets work in roulette before playing.

Basic Rules and How to Play

Playing roulette is not overly difficult, though some new players may find the game overwhelming. To keep things simple and beginner-friendly, we’ll guide you step by step.

Roulette is played using a betting table, a wheel, and a ball. The wheel is divided into 37 equally-sized sections with numbers ranging from 0 to 36. Half of these are red while the other is black, and the zero is green.

The betting table features all the numbers corresponding to the wheel. It also has specific fields with different types of roulette bets. The goal of roulette is for the player to accurately predict which section of the wheel the ball will land on after the dealer spins it.

Playing Roulette at Live Casinos Step-by-Step Guide

Find a good casino with live dealer roulette tables
Use the in-game chips to set your stake, then click on the betting table to make your bet. Every bet in roulette covers one or more numbers. You can make multiple bets by clicking on multiple sections of the betting table before confirming your selection.
You have a limited time to place bets, usually around 15 seconds. After this betting period is over, betting is closed and the dealer rotates the wheel and drops the ball into it.
The ball will land on one of the 37 pockets. Whichever number marks the pocket is considered the winning numbers. All bets that cover that number win, while all that do not lose.
Bets are settled, any winnings are paid out, the dealer removes the ball from the wheel and betting is open again.

Note that contrary to some beliefs, roulette is completely based on luck. There is no way to impact the outcome of a round of roulette. All numbers have the same chance of winning in every spin.

If you want to know how to win roulette more, our advice is to manage your money properly. You won’t win more rounds, but bankroll management can help you not lose money as you play.

Play Live Roulette at Mr Green Live Casino!

Note

Before playing live dealer roulette, be sure to review the available betting options and learn about payouts so better results can be enjoyed and players can have an understanding of the odds.

Roulette Bets and Payouts

There are multiple types of bets in roulette. The main betting options are often divided into Inside and Outside. This merely references their location on the betting table. Inside bets are near the center, while the Outside bets can be found along the edges.

Note that we already have a complete guide to all roulette bets. Be sure to check that out if you want more details. For now, we’ll highlight a few options and why they are useful.

The best bets for roulette beginners are called Even Money bets. essentially, these wagers have a roughly 50% chance of success and double your stake if you win. These include odd/even, red/black, and hi/low. They’re the safest options, which is why they’re good for rookies.

Many players will place a Straight-Up bet, which is a bet on a single number. This is the riskiest bet to place and offers the worst chance of winning, but the payouts are 35:1. There are also street bets, where one will bet on three numbers, offering 11:1 odds.

Other live roulette betting options include orphan bets, call bets, full complete bets, six number bets, and neighbor bets. These are not as common, but they can offer decent rewards at the table or cover large sections of the wheel.

Live Roulette Paytable

Below, you’ll find a full list of all basic bets in roulette. We’ve also included the industry-standard payouts, numbers covered, and the probability of winning. Most complex wagers in roulette are merely different combinations of the basic ones.

Note that the probabilities assume you’re playing European roulette – which you should be doing anyway.

As you can see, the payouts in roulette are inversely proportional to their respective probability of winning. In simple terms, the more likely a wager is to win, the less you’ll get.

Bet	Numbers Covered	Payout	Probability of Winning
Inside Bets
Straight Up	1 number	35:1	2.70%
Split	2 numbers	17:1	5.30%
Street	3 numbers	11:1	7.90%
Corner	4 numbers	8:1	10.50%
Line	6 numbers	5:1	15.80%
Outside Bets
Dozen/Column	12 numbers	2:1	32.40%
Red/Black	18 numbers	1:1	48.60%
Even/Odd	18 numbers	1:1	48.60%
Low/High	18 numbers	1:1	48.60%

How the House Edge Works in Roulette - Live Roulette RTP

Every casino game ever made has an inherent house advantage. In short, a casino will win in the long run, no matter how you play. That’s simply the nature of gambling.

In simple terms, knowing how to win roulette is all about managing risk vs. reward, as well as your bankroll. To do that, we must understand how RTP works in roulette. Thankfully, it’s a relatively simple matter.

Let’s consider an Even Money bet such as Red for a second. In theory, this bet is pretty much a coin flip. You have a roughly 50% chance of winning and it doubles your money. Statistically speaking, these odds are absolutely fair. The payout is completely proportional to the risk. However, if you were to flip a coin 1,000 times, statistically speaking you would win half and lose half. Neither you nor the casino would win or lose money.

There’s a catch, though. Your chances of winning aren’t 50% – they’re 48.60%. Why? Because of the green Zero. Instead of covering half the possible outcomes, the Red bet covers 48.60% of them because there’s an odd number of pockets. In the long run, this small discrepancy will mean that your bets lose more than they win.

The house edge in European roulette is thus 2.70%. Conversely, live roulette RTP is 97.30% (100% minus the house edge.) The good news is that this advantage affects all bets equally. This means that the house edge is consistent for all roulette bets and they all have the same RTP. As such, there is no “wrong” nor best bet to play in roulette. It’s all about how risky or how safe you want to play it.

However, American roulette has two Zero pockets – 0 and 00. This means that the house advantage is effectively doubled. That’s why American roulette is always strictly worse than European. Your chances of winning are much worse.

The Best Casinos to Play Roulette Live

When choosing a live dealer version of Roulette, players shod always look for the European version of the game. That much is clear. There are other factors to consider, though:

Wheel layout (European, French, American)
Payouts
Bonuses and extra features

The good thing about roulette is that the first two points are standardized. If you play a European or French variant, you’re good to go. If you notice a live roulette table with different odds than what we listed above, avoid it.

That just leaves the bonuses, extras, and other features of playing at the best live casinos. Finding a good live casino with great usability and attractive bonuses is key to having the best experience possible.

You can find out suggestions for the best roulette casinos online on our main roulette page. Conveniently, the page also lists the best live dealer roulette games to play. Here are some of the highlights of these casinos:

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FAQ

How to play roulette at home?

The best way to play roulette at home is through live dealer casinos. These can bring a life-like experience of playing roulette at a casino right to your computer or phone screen. They include professional dealers and real wheels, keeping the gameplay completely authentic.

How to play roulette and win every spin?

In short, that’s impossible. Unless you’re psychic or can affect the ball, the results of roulette always come down to luck. Theoretically, you could win every spin in roulette if you cover every possible outcome with your bets. You would end up losing more than you win, though, so don’t try it.

What number hits the most in roulette?

Every single number has a 2.70% chance of hitting in every spin. Believing that one number hits more often has no basis in science or statistics, and is usually the result of the Gambler’s fallacy. You can chase so-called “hot” numbers if you want, of course. Just be aware that they’re not actually any more likely to win than any other number.

Is roulette all luck?

Yes, roulette is completely based on luck. Players have no way of changing the outcome of where the ball will land. However, there is some skill in knowing how to manage your bankroll and control your stake while playing. This won’t help you win more rounds, but it will help you earn more money than you lose.

What happens if you hit green in roulette?

Nothing extraordinary. Straight-up bets on Zero win, while pretty much all other bets lose. That said, French Roulette has rules called La Partage and en Prison. These come into play if you place an Even Money bet. If a green Zero is hit, you can receive half your stake back.

Live Casino Editor

Our Chief Editor is a live casino aficionado with years of playing casino games online under his belt. His vast knowledge of the industry’s ins and outs makes him a great leader of our LC team, while his penchant for learning new things has made him a great strategist. This has come particularly handy with our in-depth articles and editorials, where his expertise can shine to the fullest.