How Do You Play Roulette? A Beginner's Guide from a Professional Casino Croupier

Roulette is probably the world's most recognisable casino game. It’s the glamorous one people think of when you mention ‘casino’. You don't need any strategy, all you need is a handful of chips, a spinning wheel and the hope that a tiny white ball lands where you've bet. It is a very simple game with different levels of risk (and payouts).

Having spent decades dealing roulette in real casinos before running Mock Vegas fun casino events across London and Southern England, I've introduced literally thousands of complete beginners to the game. One thing I've learnt is that people often think roulette looks far more complicated than it really is. You can be enjoying your very first spin within a couple of minutes. Here’s how;

How Does Roulette Work?

Players place chips on a betting layout while the croupier spins the wheel one way and launches the ball in the opposite direction. When the croupier calls "No more bets!", betting stops and everyone waits to see where the ball lands. If your bet covers the winning number, colour or section of the layout, you win.

Roulette offers something for everyone. You can make low-risk bets that are easier to win but have smaller payouts, or high-risk bets that are much harder to hit but can produce spectacular payouts.

For example:

Bet directly on a single number, the highest risk bet, it pays 35 to 1. If you bet on Red or Black, one of the lowest risk bets, it pays even money (1 to 1). That's why roulette is so exciting. Every player can choose how adventurous they want to be.

Understanding the Roulette Betting Layout

The betting layout may look intimidating at first, lots of numbers and boxes, but it's actually very logical.

The Outside Bets – Perfect for Beginners

The easiest bets are around the outside edge of the numbered grid. These include red and black, odd and even numbers, low numbers (1–18) and high numbers (19–36). These self-explanatory and pay 1:1 or even money – bet one chip and you will win one chip.

There are also the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Dozens. If you place a chip on the 2nd Dozen for example, you're betting that the winning number will be between 13 and 24. These bets pay 2:1, bet one chip and you will win two chips.

They're ideal for beginners because they're simple to understand and win more frequently than betting on individual numbers.

The Numbers – Bigger Risk, Bigger Rewards

These include:

     Bet                    Covers                    Pays     

Straight Up        One number                35:1

     Split             Two numbers               17:1

   Corner           Four numbers               8:1

    Street          Three numbers             11:1

  Six Line           Six numbers                 5:1

Don't worry about memorising any of that. Your professional Mock Vegas croupier will happily explain the bets and calculate every payout for you. We all worked in real casinos! That's what we're there for.

The Biggest Mistakes Beginners Make

After thousands of roulette spins I’ve seen very typical mistakes appear again and again, such as only betting on red or black. It is popular because they're easy but you will miss out on better fun. I always encourage guests to put one or two chips on the numbers too. It doesn’t matter where - your birthday, your house number, your lottery number. The look on someone's face when they've forgotten they put one lonely chip on Number 17 and I push 35 chips towards them is priceless. Then the comments like, “How on Earth did you do that?!” and I explain, "I did tell you that's what would happen when we started!"

Forgetting about zero is another mistake. For some reason people may think you’re not allowed to bet on it, it seems to have an almost mythical status and many players avoid it completely. It's just another number! It has exactly the same chance of appearing as every other number in the wheel and pays exactly the same 35:1 if you bet on it directly.

Cancelling out your own bets is very common. Some think it is a strategy betting one chip on red and another on black. Unfortunately, it isn't much of one because if red wins, your losing chip on black will pay your red winner. If black wins, your losing chip on red pays your black winner. You've won nothing. And when Zero comes up, you lose both bets. Your strategy is a way of losing very slowly!

Someone stating, "You can't bet while the ball Is spinning!" is another misconception. They may even physically stops another player from placing a bet because they believe betting must stop as soon as the ball is launched. That’s not true, you can continue placing bets while the ball is spinning. The croupier will tell everyone exactly when betting closes by calling, "No more bets!" Until then anyone can bet away.

How We Teach Roulette at Mock Vegas

The advantage of booking Mock Vegas professional croupiers is that you don't need to know anything beforehand. The first thing we explain is that each player receives their own colour chips. Although every chip has the same value, different colours allow us to identify whose bets belong to whom. We then demonstrate a few simple outside bets before encouraging guests to be a little adventurous because one chip on your lucky number could become thirty-five.

Common Roulette Myths

I've heard almost every roulette myth imaginable. "The wheel Is rigged with magnets." No it isn’t. They are not in real casinos and they are not at Mock Vegas. Real casinos don't need to cheat, the mathematics already favour the house. The more games they deal, the more profit they expect to make. That's how real casinos exist.

"The dealer can make the ball land wherever they want." Another myth but with an element of truth. In a permanent casino, where a precision made roulette wheel is levelled, checked and maintained every day, an exceptionally skilled croupier might reach a particular section of the wheel, but even then it’s 50/50 at best. At Mock Vegas our authentic casino equipment is transported to venues across London and Southern England every week. It is assembled, dismantled and moved constantly. Even if a croupier wanted to influence the outcome, the conditions simply aren't comparable to a permanently installed casino wheel.

I keep explaining, we are not out to cheat you out of your pretend money!

Funny Roulette Stories from Behind the Wheel

Working in casinos for decades means you collect stories, lots of them. One disgruntled player lost his stake money. In an act of revenge, just after the croupier spun the ball, the player reached into the wheel, interrupted the spin, picked the ball up and swallowed it. I'm still not entirely sure what he thought he'd achieved but we let him keep the ball.

Another involved a trainee croupier, otherwise known as a ‘lumpy’ dealer, because they’re not smooth. Instead of launching the roulette ball smoothly around the wheel, it flew in a majestic arch down the length of the table and landed perfectly inside a lady's cleavage. Great catch!

Perhaps the most fascinating involved an organised gang attempting what's known as a "Top Hat" scam using stolen chips and split-second timing. About four punters were out to cheat the casino and use other unwitting players to help. It worked like this – someone steals a couple of chips from an innocent punter. They then palm those chips along with a couple of high value chips another in the gang had legitimately bought and passed to them. After the croupier has announced, ‘No more bets!’ and the ball has dropped into the winning number, a millisecond later the gang member with the chips places them on that winning number. Now that table may be covered with chips, there is no way anybody could remember what chip was where when the ball dropped. The croupier announces, ‘No bet!’. The croupier then removes the bet, but only the stolen chips thinking that was all that was placed. The high value chips are a different colour. The legitimate owner of chips admits they are his but looks bewildered, he didn’t place that bet. Meanwhile, the gang await their payout for the high value chips. I was supervising this table. I didn’t know exactly what had happened but from the bewildered player and the body language from the gang I knew something was wrong. I told the croupier to clear the winning number but not to pay out anything. One by one, the gang left the casino. The pit boss got onto the camera room who revised the video and found out what happened. By that time the whole gang was long gone. They hadn’t got away with it, in fact their ‘investment’ was lost. Two weeks alter I was supervising roulette again when a kerfuffle happened on the next table. I suspected the same thing had happened. Sure enough, it had! I couldn’t believe this gang – the same tables, the same time of day, the same supervisors?! I don’t know if that is bravado or stupidity! The gang disappeared empty-handed again.

Roulette Etiquette Everyone Should Know

Professional casinos have etiquette for good reasons, it keeps the game fair and enjoyable for all the players.

A few simple rules:

Never pick up winning chips before the croupier has paid out. You could be suspected of adding chips!

Don't throw chips onto the layout. They may move another player's chip or just roll off the table.

Avoid dumping untidy piles of chips onto betting areas. It takes up unnecessary space and prevents other players placing chips on the same bet.

When cashing in, don't push a messy mountain of loose chips at the croupier. I know they do it on films and TV but it’s bad form, old boy. If you're unsure how to move them, simply ask the croupier. We're happy to help.

If you're unsure whether betting is allowed, wait until the marker (called the dolly) has been removed from the previous winning number.

Is Roulette at Mock Vegas the Same as a Real Casino?

Yes! Guests exchange (fun) money for chips, they play away on authentic equipment and the professional croupiers deal exactly as they would in a real casino, but nobody loses real money. Instead, guests compete to finish with the most chips to win a prize. It delivers all that excitement without any financial risk.

My Top Three Roulette Tips

After decades spinning the wheel, these are the tips I always give beginners.

1. Trust Your Croupier

We're there to help, not catch you out. Ask questions. We'll happily explain everything.

2. Always Have a Couple of Chips on the Numbers

Winning on the outside bets is exciting, but one winning straight-up number creates a moment you'll remember all evening.

3. Leave Your Winning Number Bet Where It Is

Here's one many new players miss. Suppose your single chip on Number 17 wins, you'll receive 35 chips but the original winning chip remains on the layout. It's now effectively a free bet on the next spin. Leave it there. If the ball drops in 17 again after you've removed it you'll be kicking yourself.

Why Roulette Is Perfect for Fun Casino Hire

Roulette has remained one of the world's favourite casino games because it offers something for everyone. Some guests keep things simple with red or black, others build elaborate picture bets across the numbers. Everyone feels the same tension as the ball slows, the moment of silence, then an explosion of cheers, groans and laughter. Occasionally there's a second wave of excitement when somebody suddenly realises they had a winning corner bet they had completely forgotten about!

That's exactly why roulette is one of the most popular games at Mock Vegas weddings, corporate events, charity fundraisers and private parties throughout London, Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Hampshire, Berkshire, Essex and across Southern England.

After all, everybody loves watching that little white ball bounce around the wheel.

If you would like a friendly chat without commitment please call on 08006127737, or for more information use the contact page.