|
|
You should now have a clear understanding
of the various roulette wagers and how they are placed on
the American double-zero betting layout. The American wheel
and its layout refer to a wheel that has 38 different numbers.
The French-style wheel only has 37 pockets (there is no
00). The payouts on the French wheel are the same for each
bet type as the payouts on the American wheel (i.e. a straight-up
bet pays 35 to 1). It is because of the extra pocket, while
maintaining the same payout, that the American wheel's edge
increases.
You may encounter two French layout styles in the casinos.
The first is the style that you will see in North American
casinos with single-zero wheels. This layout looks almost
identical to the American double-zero layout except there
is only one green zero found at the top of the layout. Everything
is labeled in English and is easy to understand. Some American
casinos will offer one single-zero wheel in the high rollers'
area. Because there is no 00 present, and payoffs are still
the same, the house edge is cut from 5.26 percent down to
2.7 percent. However, don't think that the American casinos
are getting soft. What they lose in house edge, they make
up for by imposing much higher table minimums on their single-zero
wheels. As a result, they have half the edge but on at least
twice and sometimes three or four times the minimum wager.
Look at Diagram 1-C for an example of the French-style layout
used in North America.
The second French-style layout is used in Europe and is
a bit different. The inside numbered grid is very similar
to the American style. Three columns of 36 numbers alternating
red and black are printed on the layout. The single zero
is up at the top. Because players in Europe are permitted
to sit on both sides of the table and bet, the outside wagers
flank both sides of the numbered grid. In addition, you
will see French terminology used in the outside betting
boxes to describe which group of numbers you are staking.
Diagram 1-D illustrates the French-style layout used throughout
Europe. We will take a quick look at each type of bet and
its corresponding French terminology. In no time, you will
be placing bets like James Bond in Monte Carlo!
|
