How to Play Roulette

Looking for the ultimate guide on how to play roulette? Here, we discuss all the rules and bet types so that you can learn the game from scratch. We’ll cover the wheel setup, the betting table, odds, and payouts alongside how to place your bets. You’ll learn about European and American wheels and how to play live roulette at LiveScore Bet UK.

Learn how to play roulette with this comprehensive guide

Roulette is one of the most recognisable games at an online casino. At LiveScore Bet UK, we host more than 75 RNG and live roulette tables for you to explore. The game is very easy to understand; you bet on where you think the ball will land. Then the roulette wheel spins and gives you an outcome.

If you’re a beginner and have never played it before, this is where you learn how to play roulette from scratch. The rules are simple once you understand the wheel, the betting layout, and your ways to cover the numbers. Here, we guide you through all that, explain European and American variants, and cover the live casino experience.

Get to know the basic components of the roulette table and wheel

Before learning how to play roulette, let’s first get an idea of the wheel and the betting table. In a standard European roulette wheel, you’ll see 37 pockets. 1 to 36 are arranged in alternating red and black colours (not in numerical order) around the wheel, while 0 has its own green pocket. The betting table is a map of possible bets. You’ll find the 36 positive numbers at the central grid with 0 at one end. Around the grid, you’ll find additional boxes for broader bets such as red or black, odd or even, 1-18 or 19-36, dozens, and columns.

Master the differences between European and American roulette rules

The first distinction to make when learning how to play roulette in the UK is the variant of the wheel. Unlike the European wheel, the American Roulette wheel has an extra green pocket marked 00, resulting in 38 outcomes. On European roulette, your straight-up bet (we’ll explain bets later) has one in 37 odds. This results in a house edge of 2.70%. The extra pocket in the American variant reduces the probabilities for every outcome. This almost doubles the house edge to 5.26% for most conventional bets. So, the European variant offers you a mathematical advantage. This might be the reason behind its popularity in the UK.

Follow these steps to place your first roulette bet

The basics of how to play roulette stay more or less the same whether you’re sitting at a land-based table or one of our online tables at LiveScore Bet Casino. You buy physical chips at a physical venue, while online, you use virtual chips. Either way, here’s how a round goes:

Understand how inside bets work on the layout

Next, you need to know about bet types and how they work to learn how to play roulette. Inside bets are those you place within the central numbered area of the betting table. Your options here are individual numbers or a small group of adjacent numbers. Since fewer pockets can offer you a win, the chances of these outcomes are low. For this reason, your payouts from these outcomes are larger for a successful bet.Place straight-up and split bets on specific numbersFor starters, let’s first go over how to play roulette with straight-up bets. Simply put, this is where you place your chip(s) on a single number. Say you put your chip(s) on 12, so you’ll only win if the ball lands on 12. The odds of that happening are 1 in 37 (2.70%). If successful, you’ll get a payout of 35:1. For a split bet, you place the chip(s) in the middle of two numbers. So, to bet on both 11 and 12, you place your chip(s) on the line that separates 11 and 12 on the table. Your probability of winning here are 2 in 37 (5.41%), and the payout odds are 17:1.Explore street and corner bets for wider coverageNow, let’s find out how to play roulette in the UK using bets that cover more numbers. With a street bet, you cover a horizontal row of three numbers. To back 16, 17 and 18 together, you place the chip(s) on the outside edge of that row. Your successful street bet pays out 11:1. Your corner bet covers four numbers in a square. Your chip(s) sit on the point where all four numbered boxes meet. For instance, placing it at the right intersection can cover 32, 33, 35, and 36. Your standard corner bet pays out 8:1.

Learn how outside bets offer better odds of winning

In your next step to learn how to play roulette, we’ll cover outside bets. You’ll find them around the edges of the numbered grid, and they cover even larger sets of pockets on the wheel. These offer you higher probabilities for a hit compared to inside bets, so payouts will be much lower.Stick to red or black and even or odd for even money payoutsEven money bets cover 18 pockets on the wheel, so here you can cover the most numbers. If you’re wondering how to play roulette in the UK with even money bets, these are your options:

While you might think each of these covers half of the table, they actually don’t because of the green zero, which falls in none of these categories. So, your odds are 18 in 37, or 48.65%. The payout of an even money bet is 1:1, meaning you get a £1 profit on a £1 stake, so a £2 return in total.Bet on dozens and columns to cover large sections of the wheelThese are the last bet types you need to understand about how to play roulette. The columns cover 12 numbers each, and there are three options on the table:

The vertical columns on a roulette betting table also cover 12 numbers each, but they’re not set in chronological order like dozens. Your column betting options are:

The probability of a hit for any one of these bets is 12 to 37, or 32.43%. Each pays out 2:1. So, these are your middle-ground options between inside bets and even money bets.

Experience the real casino atmosphere with live dealer roulette

Our live casino games selection at LiveScore Bet UK covers over 50 live roulette tables, including popular options from Evolution, Pragmatic Play, and OnAir, alongside our in-house tables. Learning how to play live roulette is mostly similar to what we’ve previously discussed.

The main difference is that while RNG tables offer you a solitary, digital gaming experience, live roulette tables create an authentic, social casino atmosphere. Our live casino tables feature real croupiers hosting the games with real roulette wheels, and you play against real players. Plus, you can communicate with the dealer and players via the live chat box while streaming the games in HD.

Discover how to play live roulette online in the UK

To learn how to play roulette in the UK with real dealers and players, you start at the same point: choosing your table. Browse our live dealer roulette section and pick a table that suits your budget. Launch the game to start the live stream and wait for the next round to join the action.

Since it’s a synchronised game that any player in the UK can join, the betting window is the same for all. You’ll see a countdown while the window is open. Choose your chip size and place your bets. After the betting window closes, the dealer spins the wheel and rolls the ball. Then, you’ll receive winnings from successful bets.

Follow essential live casino etiquette when playing online

Table etiquette is a rather overlooked aspect of how to play live roulette. Just because you’re behind a screen doesn’t mean you can be disrespectful to anyone. Keep your messages polite and avoid offensive or disruptive comments. We encourage you to follow the table's pace, so you have time to double-check your chip size and bets before the window closes. Most importantly, stay within your personal limits to have a fun and responsible session.

Ready to test these strategies out?

Head over to our Live Casino section to play roulette and put your newfound skills to the test!