11 Unwritten Rules of Roulette

Any game that has been around for over three centuries is bound to have loads of quirks and secret handshakes about it, and roulette is that game in spades. There are more unwritten roulette rules than most other games have printed rules.

One bright spot, however, is that many of the unspoken rules of roulette pertain to the physicality of the game (chip exchange, food, and drink, touching another player’s chips, etc.)

These can all be safely ignored by playing at one of the best online casinos.

Like politicians, croupiers must avoid even the appearance of impropriety. That means there must always be space between you, your money, and the croupier.

The proper way to buy chips to play at the roulette table is the place your cash on the felt, announce your purchase amount, and wait for the croupier to collect your cash and replace it on the felt for your use.

An obvious corollary to this rule is never tossing chips to the croupier or other players.

Speaking of impropriety, touching another player’s chips is also verboten. Yes, you and I both know you were trying to scoot that lady’s chips closer so she could reach them, but no. Don’t even think about it.

If you want to bet on the same number as another player and their chips are already placed, you should ask the croupier to position your chips to avoid touching them. This is a common practice and shows the dealer and your fellow players that you properly respect boundaries.

Oh, and in case you weren’t aware, the Do Not Touch Another Player’s Chips rule of roulette also applies to every other table game in the casino. Very bad ju-ju. Very bad.

Casinos usually have their own chips in various denominations, which are like minted money, at least in that specific casino. A $25 chip is like 25 bucks in cash inside that casino. It will play at every table you choose for your gambling session—except at the roulette table.

Take a look at the wagering grid, then take a look at the dozen or so people standing around the table, all placing wagers. Note the multitude of bets there. If every one of the players decided to bet a $5 chip (or a five-dollar bill) on their lucky number, how would the croupier know whom to pay off if one of those wagers hit? Think of the mayhem.

So, the roulette people decided that to keep players and croupiers alive, each roulette table would have a variety of colored chips, with enough colors to serve all players.

They are your chips and have no value elsewhere but at that table. When you are ready to cash out, do so between spins. The croupier will exchange your roulette chips for regular casino chips or cash (usually for chips).

By the way: You can often make outside bets at the roulette table using regular casino chips, but generally speaking, if you’re playing mostly the inside numbers—or intend to play at that table for any length of time—it’s an excellent idea to buy-in for the colored roulette chips.

Incidentally, while tipping at a European roulette table is something of a novelty, in the U.S., people tend to tip the dealers and croupiers. If you got good service, show your appreciation. To paraphrase the late Professor Irwin Corey, “You can get more with a kind word and a tip than with just a kind word.”

Yeah, I know. “And clean up my room, right?” Very funny. Seriously, keep your chips in stacks, starting a new one before any of them get too high and threaten to tip over.

Yeah, if you inadvertently win such an accidental bet, good on you, but that’s typically not going to happen.

And good luck arguing that with the croupier. You don’t win those arguments, and sitting out in the parking lot fuming over lost money and wounded pride is no way to spend a hot summer’s day in Las Vegas. Trust me on this.

It’s never too early to remind everyone that a casino is a social venue, and one must conduct oneself with politeness and courtesy to the other players, mustn’t one?

We’re not like that rowdy gang of ne’er-do-wells at the craps table. Why they’re not even dressed properly? Well, I never!

Seriously speaking, the roulette table is a place for fun, but you’re not the only one there looking for profitable recreation.

Treat the croupiers and dealers with respect and your fellow players with the courtesy, and you’ll be halfway there to being a gracious winner.

One activity that seems to contradict the “Observe Social Etiquette” rules is that of offering physical assistance to a fellow player.

Our instinct is to help someone who is having difficulty with something or has dropped something.

That lovely lady next to you who looks like your third-grade teacher is having trouble stacking her chips, you say? Well, let Miss Marple learn a valuable lesson in stacking chips, then.

Better she suffers a few moments of clumsy consternation than you get a suddenly shrill harpy all up in your grill accusing you of trying to steal her chips.

Or so I’ve been told.

Most people instinctively know not to put food or drinks on the roulette table felt itself, but if that warning doesn’t make sense to you, let me repeat it: Do not put drinks or food down on the felt of the roulette table.

I suspect at least a few shallow graves in the desert surrounding Las Vegas contain people whose only fault was having no other convenient place to set down their hoagie while collecting a basket bet win.

Oh, and who eats while playing roulette? Seven-card stud, sure. That game virtually cries out “cheeseburger.” But roulette? A mathematician invented roulette over 300 years ago. Have some frickin’ respect, man!

Once you’re done playing some roulette, you can always have a bite of these tasty casino foods.

Don’t do anything during a spin. Sure, watch the ball go round and round. Maybe take a sip of your tasty beverage. Chat with your neighbor if the idea appeals to you and they appear receptive.

But the croupier is intent on the spin itself right now, so between the moment, the croupier says “no more bets” and when the ball drops and the croupier begins collecting lost wagers and paying out winning bets, keep your urge to cash out to yourself.

Sure, you’ve delayed the next spin a few moments, but this is part of the game, so most of your fellow players won’t give you death stares, and even if they do, it’s not like they can outrun you, right? YMMV, of course.

First, what makes you think an employee of the casino will help you win money from the casino? It seems a bit counter-intuitive, don’t you think?

Sure, a slot host may point at a vacant machine if you ask them which one is “hot” (especially if you’ve been a generous tipper on hand-pays), but frankly, that “hot machine” advice is as valuable and useful as a roulette croupier advising you to “bet on a number.” It’s no advice at all.

If you’re truly confused about how roulette is played, remember that most casinos offer regular lessons on each table game selection. If you’re a guest of the casino’s hotel, you can usually find a schedule of those lessons.

The lessons tend to be brief but thorough, and for a first-time roulette player, they are positively vital. Any game that has been around for three centuries probably has plenty of quirks—and roulette is that in spades. Even the best roulette lessons won’t cover everything, but they will give you a basic understanding of the odds and how the play progresses.

An even more convenient way to put yourself some knowledge on the game is to read our guide to playing roulette below.

Roulette tables are b-i-g, and some people may have trouble reaching that part of the wagering grid they want to bet on. In circumstances like these, the player should announce his bet and place the appropriate number of chips on the felt but not on the wagering grid.

During a spin, a croupier concentrates on the spin itself. Still, after the ball drops, the croupier is very busy paying winning wagers, collecting lost bets, exchanging money for chips for new players buying in, cashing out departing players’ cash out, and watching all the bets being placed for the next spin.

The call bet is a wager made upon joining the roulette table before placing money on the felt to buy chips. Like the announced bet, the call bet must be acknowledged aloud by the croupier.

Since the croupier accepts your wager without actual money or chips being exchanged, a call bet is considered credit, making it illegal in the United Kingdom, where you are not allowed to bet on credit.

Our last unwritten roulette rules isn’t really a rule but more of useful advice. The Basket Bet is a five-number wager available on American roulette. The “basket” is the shape of the wagering grid containing the 1, 2, and 3 numbers and the 0 and the 00. It looks like a basket. Kind of. Well, it does.

In any case, you are betting on 1,2,3, 0, or 00 hitting this spin.

The actual odds of hitting one of those five numbers are 5:38, but the wager pays 6:1.

To put that a little differently, most of the other wagers in American roulette give the house a 5.3% edge, but the basket bet favors the house at 7.9%.

Now that you’re aware of the main unwritten rules of roulette, you should be well-prepared to dare the roulette action at your local casino.

You might want to take a moment to review our roulette betting strategies, but otherwise, you’re set.

Of course, you could also be working that strategy right now at one of the best online live casinos. For the best spots online for playing roulette, check out the sites below.