Roulette may seem like it’s complicated, but it really isn’t. The rules of the game are straightforward and easy to understand compared to the other casino games like poker, craps and blackjack. The above games have odds that shift dramatically, while roulette’s odds are dependent on only a couple of factors. It doesn’t matter if you are playing on a European-style wheel or the American variety, the rules and the odds are essentially the same.

In the game of American roulette, there are three betting options- the single number, a color (red or black) or a group of numbers. With any of these three options, the house’s advantage is 5.26%. For example, if you bet on red, you have an almost equal chance either way because there are 18 each of red and black on the wheel (there are also two green spaces). That means you would have an 18/38 chance of winning (roughly 47 percent).

In the game of European (or French) roulette, the house edge is down to 2.7%. Just as is the case with American roulette, the odds are completely fixed. Because the French roulette wheel only comes with one zero, the odds are more in the player’s favor. Doing the calculations as we did above, the odds will remain constant, while the house edge decreases.

Roulette is a fun and exciting game, and it can be very profitable if you take the time to learn how the odds work. You can’t change roulette’s odds, but you can figure out how to make them work in your favor.