English Roulette is a variation of French Roulette, which was invented in the 17th century by Blaise Pascal. It uses the same wheel with 37 pockets numbered 0 to 36 and a similar ball. The difference is in the number of players, limited to 7, and in the Layout, the combinations and the winnings staying the same. Moreover, no one will be put ‘in prison’ if the 0 comes up on the ‘even money’ bets (Red, Black, Even, Odd, Low, High); the player simply loses half the amount of the bet. Finally, each player plays with specially coloured chips which can only be used at the Table, where they are bought from the Croupier.
The game proceeds in the same way. It’s up to you to guess the number and the colour where the ball will stop. To play, you must take a seat around the Table. The game is shaped by the Croupier’s announcements. ‘Place your bets’ to mark the beginning of betting and ‘No more bets’ to announce the end of betting when the ball is still turning in the wheel. When it stops, the winning number and colour are revealed. The Croupier sweeps away the losing bets and distributes the winnings to the victors.
The inside bets have higher payouts but longer odds. You place your chips:
- Straight-up: on a single number The winnings are 35 x the wager.
- Split: on 2 numbers. The winnings are 17 x the wager.
- Top line: on the 1st vertical line, covering 3 numbers. The winnings are 11 x the wager.
- Corner: on 4 numbers that meet at a corner. The winnings are 8 x the wager.
- Six line: on 6 consecutive numbers that form 2 horizontal lines of 3 numbers. The winnings are 5 x the wager.
The outside bets are easier to win as they include more numbers. However, the payouts are smaller. Place your chips on:
- Even money: Red, Black, Even, Odd, Low or High. The winnings are 1 x the wager.
- Other bets:
- Dozens or on the line between 2 dozens when 24 numbers are played. The winnings are double the wager for the dozen and ½ the wager for the split dozens, i.e. 24 numbers played.
- Column, at the bottom of one of the three vertical columns, i.e. 12 numbers, or on the line between 2 columns when 24 numbers are played. The winnings are double the wager for the column and ½ the wager for the split columns, i.e. 24 numbers played.
Be careful! Here the rules are different from those of French Roulette: When the 0 comes up, even money bets lose half of their value. The affected player will only get back half the wager.