Chicago Sun-Times: Breaking it down for the newbies

Let's get down to basics.

At least, that's what many readers have been telling me. When I write about blackjack, my e-mail box is jammed with messages from people who want to know just what I mean by "soft" 17. In craps, readers want to know just what "free odds" are. Many just want to know how to play roulette.

That's where I came in. When I started writing this column for the Chicago Sun-Times, I spent considerable time explaining how to play casino games. But that was more than six years ago, and my mail tells me there's a whole new crowd of readers who feel as if they're picking things up in the middle of the story.

So for their benefit, it's time for a little basic training. For the next several Sundays, we're going to look at the basics of playing casino games, while continuing the normal mix of news, strategies and questions from readers on Fridays in WeekendPlus. Then when we have everybody on the same page, it'll be time for the annual tour of Chicago area casinos.

This week, let's kick things off with a look at the basics of playing roulette. Roulette is one of the oldest games of chance played in modern casinos. The horizontal gaming wheel was invented about 1720 for an English game called roly-poly, in which players bet on alternating black and white spaces. By 1796, the modern game of roulette, complete with zeroes as well as red-and-black numbered spaces, was being played in Paris.

Roulette today is a casino standard, although not as popular as blackjack or craps. Its place as the third-most popular table game is under challenge by Caribbean Stud Poker, and in some jurisdictions Caribbean Stud draws more customers.

A standard American roulette wheel has 38 numbered slots: 1 through 36 as well as 0 and 00. Eighteen numbers are painted in black backgrounds, 18 in red. The backgrounds for 0 and 00 are green.

That all corresponds to a rectangular table layout with boxes for Nos. 1-36 arranged in 12 rows of three, and three columns of 12. The number in each box is surrounded by either a red or black background, the same color that corresponds to that number on the wheel.

Outside the numbered boxes, there are several other boxes for bets encompassing up to 18 numbers at a time. There is a box for each 12- number column, as well as red, black, even, odd, 1-18, 19-36, first 12, second 12 and third 12.

A standard European wheel, used in a few American casinos, is slightly different. There is no 00, just the single 0, leaving a wheel with 37 numbered spaces including the 0. That reduces the house edge to 2.7 percent on most bets, whereas most bets on an American wheel carry a house edge of 5.26 percent.

Usually, one dealer runs a roulette game. The dealer makes change, spins the wheel, keeps track of play, pays off winning bets and collects losing wagers. Sometimes a second dealer will be assigned to help at a busy wheel.

When buying roulette chips from the dealer, wait until after a hand has been finished, place your money on the layout_do not hand it to the dealer_and ask for chips. Each player is given special roulette chips of a different color so the dealer can keep track of which bet belongs to which player. The player may designate what his chips will be worth.

A placard on the table should tell you both the minimum bet at the table and the minimum value of each chip. A table with a $5 minimum bet might require each chip to be valued at $1 or more. If you place a $20 bill on the table and ask the dealer for $1 chips, he or she will give you 20 chips. Some casinos might allow you to break chips into smaller denominations_in Nevada, it's not unusual to find a wheel with a $1 minimum bet, with each chip worth at least 25 cents.

When you are ready to leave the game, place your remaining chips on the layout and ask the dealer to cash you out. The dealer will give you an equivalent amount of regular casino chips.

Because the same color can have different values at the same wheel over the course of a day, roulette chips have no value away from the wheel. The cashier's cage will not accept them. You must cash them in for regular casino chips before you leave the wheel.

Now that you have chips, how do you bet? That's where we're going next Sunday.

Friday in WeekendPlus: Craps quiz.