Roulette Terminology

American Roulette differs from European roulette in that there are 38 available roulette number pockets compared to that of 37. The layout of the numbers on the wheel are also ordered differently. On an American roulette wheel the extra number is the Double Zero and with the pay outs being the same, the result is a slightly higher house edge against a player of American Roulette. This is only a small issue to the professional roulette player who should have a winning margin high enough for it to be of no real significance.

Anti-Clockwise Roulette Wheel refers to the direction that the roulette wheel is moving. The roulette ball is thrown in the opposite direction to the wheel but for the purposes of my roulette notes I am always referring to the direction of the wheel and therefore in this situation the ball would be clockwise.

Ball Out is the call when a ball flies out of the roulette wheel. This can happen if the dealer throws it out accidentally on release or when the ball hits a number pocket and ricochets out of the wheel. Neither look that professional, especially the latter where the croupier is probably spinning the wheel too fast.

Ball Gauge is a small gadget that can be used to test the roulette ball for size, metal or magnets.

Bankroll for Roulette is the total money a player will come to the casino with. This by definition is also the same amount as one would presumably be prepared to lose. It is not a smart idea for a player to have easy access to more funds than comfortable. Leave the cards at home unless they are a limited part of your strategy.

Biased Roulette Wheels are wheels that because of metal fatigue and/or wood warping, develop an irregularity which can present itself in the form of biased numbers or biased ball drop points.

Bias Roulette Numbers are numbers that hit more often than is theoretically possible, suggesting that the wheel may have a number bias.

This form of bias is far less common to find today so we play a more modern type of roulette wheel bias.

B.P is short for betting partner and applies when the player links up with a friend or colleague who can also follow with more substantial bets.

Break Even is the point at which you end up drawing level and neither winning nor losing.

Breaking The Bank is when a player wins so much that the gaming table needs to be closed.

Buying In is when a player passes his money to the croupier to exchange for playing chips.

Casino Bank is the total cash chips available at the roulette table when it opens.

The Casino Cage is the kiosk where the casino cashier resides. This is the place for cashing in your chips.

Cashing In is when the player has finished playing and wants to cash in his/her chips.

Cold Patch is a losing streak where the player is losing at a faster than average rate for a period of time, otherwise known as negative fluctuation. The frequency and depth of the negative fluctuation will vary depending on the size of the player’s long term winning / losing roulette margin.

Carré is the French word for corner bet.

Chasing Roulette Losses is when a player increases the size of his bets to try and get back what he has already lost. This is a bad idea anyway, and even worse with Visual Roulette when your winning margin will relate directly to the conditions that affect the ball action, and these are constantly changing. In other words we save the big play for the good conditions which are luckily very recognizable.

Casino House edge is the advantage of the house, it is the profit they take by paying out at a rate just under the actual probability of a particular bet. EG, they pay you 35-1 on straight up winner even though the odds are in reality 37-1.Or even 38 -1 in the case of American Roulette.

Casino Chips are bought from the cage or the tables and used to make the bets. They form the currency for a particular casino or chain of casinos. There are two basic types of chips. First there are cash chips of varying denominations usually purchased from the cashier or at the wheel station too. Although these can usually be placed as roulette bets it is far more common to exchange some of the cash chips for the second type of betting chips known as ‘colour’ chips and as the name suggests these come in different colours and allow you to identify your own personal bets. These should always be exchanged back for cash chips before a player leaves the roulette Table.

Cheval is the French word for Split bet, that’s a chip placed between two numbers. A winner here will pay 17-1.

Clockwise Direction could refer to the direction of the wheel or the ball but for the purposes of my roulette notes I am always referring to the direction of the wheel and therefore in this situation the ball would be anti-clockwise.

Column bet is when a player bets on one of three columns on the roulette table betting layout.

Corner bet is when a player bets on four numbers by placing roulette chips at the middle of these four numbers on the betting layout.

Croupier / Roulette Dealer is the man or woman who spins the wheel and ball, calls ‘no more bets’, and usually makes the payout too.

Dirty Stack is a stack of chips with a wrongly coloured or different value chip in it. As simple as it seems, this situation can cause the player difficulty and embarrassment. The best advice is to point it out straight away.

Dolly is a small object placed on the winning number by the croupier.

Double zero or 00 is the extra number only seen in American Roulette.

Douzaine is the French term for the Dozen Bet.

Doubling-Up, also known as The Martingale, is a System of Betting where the player doubles his /her bet as the bets lose in an attempt to win back lost money very quickly when the inevitable winner comes. However these winners are not as inevitable as one might want and when this method goes wrong, as it always will, the loss is very rapid and very large. It is one of the first known betting strategies and has been discredited as a method as long ago as the 1960’s.These methods would simply draw level in the long run but only if one could take away the zero, Double Zero and the table limits ~ and even then it would be like a rollercoaster ride, and all just to draw level. This is the classic type of ‘free System’ available across the internet. This style of play should be avoided at all costs.

Dozen Bet is when a player bets on a section of twelve numbers. This could be the first dozen of 1-12 , the middle section or the highest section of 25-36.

Roulette Ball Drag is when conditions are such that increased drag on the ball causes it to decelerate more than normal and can sometimes result in a very short bounce.

Drop Box is the cash box in which the dealer places money and/or tips.

Drop Point/s is where the ball eventually falls from the roulette ball track.

En Plein, also known as Straight up, is where the player wins on a number with at least a single chip placed on the exact number.

European Roulette differs from American Roulette in that there are 37 roulette pockets available to bet on, where as with American Roulette there is an extra number, the double zero, 00. The European style offers a lower house edge against the player than the American game.

Frets on a Roulette Wheel are the metal partitions dividing the number pockets on the wheel. These wheel frets vary in depth from one wheel manufacturer to another. As a general rule, the deeper the frets the less the ball will bounce.

Full Stack is 20 chips also known as a Full Pile.

Green Numbers are the zero and the double Zero - 0 and 00.

Grinding is where a player is playing a very slow game by mainly covering the whole layout.

Heat is what we get when we win big or win frequently. Pit bosses swiftly arrive at your table and generally check that all is ok. Players should not worry about ‘heat’ because firstly it is nothing more than a tactic to make you feel uncomfortable, and secondly because it’s usually too late and the money is already won!

High Roller is a high stakes gambler, the highest group of all being known as Whales.

High bet is when a player places a bet covering the all numbers from 19 to 36.

Hoca was the original name for roulette. During the 1600s’ Hoca parlours that existed in many parts of France were closed down as they were making too much money. In fact, anyone caught running an underground parlour was executed!

Hot Roulette Streak is lucky period of winning otherwise known as positive fluctuation.

House Limit refers to either the maximum stake permitted for any single type of bet or it is the maximum overall winning limit for an individual set by the management and prevents the possibility of serious damage to the casino.

Impair is the French term for a Bet on the odd numbers.

Insurance, otherwise known as a hedge bet is an additional bet to reduce your chances of losing.

It may reduce those losing chances but this effect is then negated by the cost.

Late Bet is when a player places a bet after `no more bets` has been called. The bet will be returned and this should be avoided at all times as it is not necessary and draws unwanted attention.

Long Shot is a bet with high odds against you winning.

Low bet is when a player bets on the group of numbers 1 – 18

Maximum is highest stake allowed for any particular bet type.

Martingale roulette staking system is a very well known progressive style of betting system. It should be avoided at all costs. The method involves doubling up the bet after each even chance loss. The principal is that the bet must eventually win and when it does the player gets back anything lost from the start of a losing streak. This system should be avoided at all costs because the table maximums will at some point be reached when the size of the loss will be huge! The system will almost always start well but players should not be deceived by this as it will all be given back in a single moment and will in the long run lose by the normal house edge.

Net Profit is the difference between the total amount bet and the total amount won. Net loss is the same calculation where you end up with a net loss.

No More Bets is called by the croupier or dealer a short while before the roulette ball drops. Player’s should not place bets after this time.

Odd is an ‘even’ money stake on the winning number being an odd number.

Odds for Roulette are how the pay out ratio is set. A direct hit on a number will pay out 35-1, even though the true odds are 37 to 1.The difference being the house edge.

Outside bet is when a player bets on an even money chance. EG, black/red, high/low, odd/even and where the payout is 1:1 other than when 0 wins and the player would lose half of his stake.

Casino Pit is the area where the Pit Boss (Tables supervisor)stands.

Random Number Generators are programs that select numbers in a random way. This can be done in various ways and often relates to an algorithm being applied to a random seed number, such as The Mersenne Twister.

The Random Seed number is kept secret and should not be confused with the first number on the display unit. There are also programs that produce random numbers by linking the generator to ‘noise’ also known as Perlin Sound. Where these applications are used for online roulette, the game differs from the real live game that we play and win at.

Roulette Balls come in many sizes and materials. Originally an ivory ball was used for roulette. This was later swapped for a synthetic material commonly known as Ivorine. In addition roulette balls are also made of Nylon and Teflon.

Roulette Ball Action – The way the ball skids, spins or rolls during a spin.

Roulette Bet Pressing is all about increasing the bets as one wins. The logic of this, in normal gambling terms, is all back to front in that you risk losing all that has just been won, and very quickly too. The expression originated from some very successful players of years ago but in their case, as with our Visual players there are often some very good playing conditions and this is a physical reason for why the player is winning, and the best and most logical reason possible for raising the stakes. When a top player is doing this for all the right reasons he has an odds on chance of winning and even more so with his increased bets.

Roulette Clocker is the person watching and playing at the wheel.

Roulette Diamonds and Pins are the metal objects, often diamond shape, that are fixed onto the wheel and act as ball stoppers and deflectors. There are usually 8 pins, 4 being horizontal and playing a small role; and 4 vertical, which tend to bring the ball down into a number. I recently learned that the Italian word for these diamonds is Losanghe.

Roulette Neighbours is a popular bet type, available in some parts of the world. When we call a number and its neighbours we must choose an amount divisible by five, say $25 or $50. This will then cover two numbers either side of the called bet number. This makes a total of five numbers. So a $25 neighbour bet would result in $5 being bet on each of the five neighbour numbers.

Roulette Number Pockets are positioned around the wheel to hold the ball after landing. These pockets are designed to hold all the different ball types and vary in shape and depth.

Roulette Wheel Bowl is the rotating part of the wheel.

Roulette Signature is a term that can be applied to either the dealer’s throw or the roulette wheel itself. In the case of the wheel it is well known that all wheels, even those made on the same day in the same place will still have what is known as a signature. It essentially relates to a number of individual characteristics that all wheels show in different ways. A dealer too can have a repetitive throw action and this is often referred to as the dealer’s signature. Both of these factors can play a big part in winning roulette system play.

Roulette wheel/Ball Track is the nearly flat inner part of the wheel on which the ball rolls before dropping onto the metal diamonds and into the roulette number pockets.

Roulette Punter is the trade term used to describe a playing customer.

Roulette Rotor is another name for the rotating part of the roulette wheel.

Roulette Table Layout is the term used for the actual playing surface where the bets are placed.

Roulette Tipping does not take place in all casinos but generally it is expected to give a chip or two to the dealer after a win or two.

Roulette Wheel Tracking is where the player is able to visually track the ball. It sounds harder than it actually is and if the player has a very good understanding of what he/she is aiming at and why, then it can be very easy. This is an important part of our own visual Roulette System.

Salle Privee´ is the casinos private gaming room Usually reserved for their most important and high spending customers.

Straight ups, also known as En Plein is where the player wins on a number with at least a single chip on the exact number.

Systems for roulette come in many shapes and sizes. Some involve methods for staking the bets and should be avoided whilst the more successful roulette system players seek out and play the flaws that nearly all wheels show, though to varying degrees.

Roulette Strategies usually refer to bet staking systems. The basic truth is that all betting staking methods will fail unless the player is winning in a margin above the edge of the house, and in this case nearly all bet staking systems would work!

Roulette System Reviews are all over the internet. It is important to always consider the objectives of the roulette system review and the qualification and accuracy of the information being submitted.

Table Hopping is describes a player moving from one table to another.

Table minimum is the Minimum size of bet, stated for both inside and outside bets.

The Physics of Roulette mostly relates to the spin action of the orbiting ball. Temperature and pressure are just two examples of the many physical conditions that affect the overall action of the roulette ball which are also all constantly changing.

Red Or Black bets are even money wagers on either red or black.

Visual Ballistics involves visually tracking the movement of both the roulette wheel and the roulette ball.

Visual Roulette System is the most natural way of beating the wheel. My own unique visual roulette system has been developed from years of professional roulette playing, in depth research and discovery. The many complexities of playing roulette are then reduced to 3 simple and repetitive player tasks to carry out on each and every spin.

Winning at Roulette can occur at any given moment but the true roulette winner is the player who has an advantage in the long term.

Whales are the wealthiest customers, and sought by all casinos for the money and the prestige that they bring.