This image was created by that "Mother of all super spies," James Bond, who, with a beautiful woman nearby, preferred to play this fast-paced game, when not beating the bad guys at Baccarat. Although a game favored by Europeans, Roulette has managed to gather a strong following in North America, most likely for its simplicity and the chance to win big money. Roulette means "little wheel" in French. The invention of the game that we're familiar with today is generally attributed to the French philosopher and mathematician, Blaise Pascal, who is credited with originating the probability theory. But forerunners of Roulette, basically carnival wheel games, were in use throughout Europe, as early as the mid-1500s. What could be easier than that? There are a dozen different bets to be made on a Roulette wheel. If the ball drops into the number 23 pocket, you're paid off at 35-1. Not bad, huh? To bet on two numbers, place your chips on the line between the two numbers you wish to bet on, such as between 1 and 2, or 1 and the single zero, or 1 and 4. Those are all the inside bets. Outside bets are the wagers made on the outside of the layout. These are the bets on red-black, odd-even, and high-low. If you place your chips in the even box and the ball drops into the number 24, you win. These bets pay even money. You can bet on 12 numbers each in the "column" boxes at the far end of the layout. If you give the dealer a $20 bill, he'll give you back 20 wheel chips worth $1 each. The player next to you might be betting with brown chips worth $5 each, and the player next to him might be using white wheel chips worth $25 apiece. Wheel chips allow for a practice that's unique to Roulette: the co-mingling of different players' bets. Unlike other casino games where bets must be kept separate, Roulette players can stack their bets on top of one another's. It indicates the lowest wager allowed on any outside bet and the lowest total bet inside. The chip minimum tells you the least amount you can bet inside on a number. The house edge on a single-zero wheel is only 2.7%. The double-zero game has one bet that you should always avoid: the five-number bet on 0, 00, 1, 2, 3. Roulette is a game of independent trials, which means the ball has no memory of what has occurred in the past, and cannot become more predictable because of prior results. Since the casino edge on both the inside and outside bets is the same, it doesn't really matter which you choose to play.

Roulette Tips

Keep in mind that all the bets on the roulette table naturally return a 5.25% Casino Advantage (except the five-number bet), although there are some situations when this advantage can be lowered to 2.6% and 1.3%.  With this in mind, here are the best non-system related tips that will help a player hold out at the roulette table:

Tip - Play the European version of Roulette

Most online casinos will offer both the American and European versions of roulette. The only excuse for not playing the standard European version is ignorance, because the American version produces a higher House Edge.  European roulette does not offer the 00 on the wheel, thereby taking one more bet out of the equation, and lowering the House Edge to approximately 2.6% - the lowest edge at the table.

Tip - Place more even money bets than other wagers

The even money wagers will give the player the lowest House Edge at online roulette.   These are the Red/Black, High/Low and Even/Odd bets, which have a 50/50 chance of winning.