Standard roulette game rules and playing methodology:
The players begin by making their bets, placing chips on the spaces of the layout in the manner permitted by the applicable rules for the area/state/country etc. The dealer spins the wheel in a counterclockwise direction then flips the ball on the bowl's back track so that it travels clockwise. Players may continue placing bets while wheel and ball are still in motion until the dealer yells (says) "No More Bets!". He does this as the ball slows down and is about to drop off the back track. Bets placed on the layout after this announcement are not valid and must be returned to the player(s) When the ball falls and comes to rest between any two metal partitions of the wheel, it marks the winning number, a zero or double zero, the winning color and any other permitted bet that pertains to a winning number or symbol. The dealer immediately announces the winning number and its color, and he points with his index finger to the corresponding number on the layout. Some dealers place a plastic peg on the winning number so all can see clearly. He then collects all losing bets, not disturbing the chips resting on winning spaces, and pays off the winner or winners with the correct amount of chips due each winning bet. The signs 0 and 00 win for the bank all bets except those placed in 0 and 00. On the first spin, the dealer has no fixed point from which to spin the wheel or ball. Thereafter he must spin both from the winning pocket into which the ball dropped. The croupier dealing the wheel is obliged to spin the ball with the hand nearest the wheel. Some casinos give the player the privilege of being able to ask the inspector or casino operator to substitute another dealer, and this may be done provided one or more of the other players at the table do not object. No such substitution may take place after the dealer has thrown the ball five times.

Basic Rules of Play
Players place their bets prior to the cards being dealt. Tables and onlinecasinos will have a minimum bet required to play the game. Once all bets areplaced, each player and the dealer will receive two cards. Starting to thedealer's left side, the cards are dealt in a round one at a time to each playerending with the dealer receiving his second card face down. Depending on thegame, the player's are either dealt their cards face up or face down.

Each card in Blackjack has a certain value. Card between 2 and 10 simply havetheir face value regardless of suit. Jacks, Queens and Kings always have a valueof 10. An Ace can count as 1 or 11 depending on what is most beneficial to yourhand.

Player's add the value of their cards and either decide to "Stick" or"Stand" with their current cards or receive another card, called a"Hit" or "Draw," hopefully raising their total closer to 21without going over.

Once all players have decided to "Stand," the dealer reveals the facedown card known as the "Hole" card. If the dealer's hand is between 17and 21, he or she may not draw any additional card. If the dealer's hand is 16or below, cards must be drawn until the dealer's hand has a value of 17 orhigher.

Blackjack Bets
Blackjack can be won in a few different ways. If your first two cards total 21,you have Blackjack and win 3:2 odds (A $5.00 wager pays 7.5 additional dollars)on your bet automatically unless the dealer draws Blackjack as well causing atie or a "Push." In the case of a tie, no money is won or lost. Youwin if your hand is closer to 21 than the dealer's hand. This type of win pays"Even Money" meaning that you win the same amount of money that youwagered. A $10.00 wager wins 10 additional dollars. Finally, if the dealer"Busts" or has a hand that exceeds 21 and your hand is less than 21,you win!

Double Down - A double down allows you to double your wager while youstill only have two cards in your hand. You are required to take one more cardonce you double down and cannot receive any additional cards after this. A handthat initially adds up to 10 or 11 is often the hand to double down on. Why? Theten card is the most frequently occurring card in the game of blackjack.Remember that the 10, Jack, Queen and King all have the value of ten multipliedby all suits. Because of this, there is a high chance that the third card thatyou receive will have a value of 10 bringing your hands value to 20 or 21.Pretty smart.

Splits - You can double your stakes another way by using a split. If youroriginal cards are of the same value (Ex. 7 and 7 or 9 and 9), you can splitthese two cards into separate hands creating two hands and a second bet equal toyour original bet. You now are playing two hands separately and increasing theirvalues by hitting each hand until you are ready to "Stand." The payoutfor winning on a split is always 1:1 or even money even if you have Blackjack.This is due to the fact that you did not get Blackjack using your original twocards.

Insurance - Insurance bets are not recommended for the basic player, asthe odds of winning with this type of bet are low. Insurance bets can be made ifthe dealer's face card is an ace. The dealer might have blackjack meaning thatyou automatically lose unless you also have blackjack, forcing a"Push."

Buying insurance means that you are protecting yourself in case the dealer hasblackjack. A $20.00 bet would cost you an additional $10.00 in insurance asinsurance normally costs half of your original bet. If the dealer does not haveblackjack on his turn, you lose your insurance wager and the hand continues tobe played normally. If the dealer does have blackjack, you lose your originalwager but win twice the amount of your insurance. In essence, you break even asinsurance pays 2:1 odds. Again, insurance protects you from losing money in casethe dealer has blackjack.

False logic of the Martingale system Many people become consumed by the seemingly intuitive math behind the martingale roulette system (which can also be applied to other games) The system works as follows: on even money outside bets with a near 50-50 chance, bet once. If you lose, place a bet for twice as much on the same spot. If you lose again, double the previous amounts bet. In the end, the theory is your bet has to win at some point and if you have kept doubling down on losses, the last bet will recoup everything you've lost and add an even money win on the original wager, putting you ahead, if just a little. The logic here is riddled with problems. First of all, in roulette you can't have a pure 50-50 chance bet because of those pesky green pockets. That fact aside, the system would seem like it has some legs, from a logical point of view. What roulette system sellers don't want to you realize is, the casinos have already guarded against any Martingale users by placing table limits on the bets. Ever wonder why there is an upper table limit? Don't the casinos want you to risk large amounts of money? The Martingale system is the exact reason for a table high existing. Following the Martingale method, you keep doubling your bets on a loss, and after a short string of losses in a row your bet is extremely large. From $5, to $10, $20, $40, $80, $160, $320, $OVER the table limit. So on the last bet before you can no longer double, you are putting $320 on the table with a potential for making $5… are you crazy? And what if you lose that last bet, you're out $635 bucks, if you win you're only up $5, ouch. This is a serious flaw in applying any Martingale type system to a casino game with upper table limits. My opinion on any roulette system is the same as my opinion on all other systems. For the most part they do not do what they purport (or say) to do. Now, I'm not saying they are useless, in fact they do usually have a use, and that's to spread your money around multiple bets, which often has the beneficial effect of stretching your money out over a longer period of time. There is no value in attempting to employ a roulette system to 'beat the casino', because if you were smart enough to, the casinos would likely put you to work for them, and that has very little to do with how casinos hire. I have nothing against looking at some more serious attempts to bring the advantage towards the players. One of these techniques is the search for biased wheels. There is some merit to this endeavor. I'm sure a few people have made real money off of a biased wheel, but the effort involved is phenomenal. Casinos spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on a roulette wheel, and don't have any desire to replace it every year. Over a long period of time it's possible that the detailed engineering that went into the roulette wheel's construction has degraded from extensive use. Once this happens, a tilt in the wheel or any one of a million small but consistent anomalies may arise. If you had a computer to measure the exact spinning patterns of a roulette wheel, you could record results consistently and try to determine any patterns that repeat. If there are, you can alter your play to exploit this advantage. Biased wheels are not just hard to find, but even if you do, they are difficult to take advantage of. You would be required to have a mini-computer watching the wheel at least initially to find the bias, and modern casinos monitor their entire floor for any electronic device emitting a signal. Online is a different story of course, and many software applications exists that monitor online casino roulette wheels for biases. The problem is, the online casinos have this software too, and most likely test the heck out of their software before releasing it. You can find some of this type of software in our