Roulette

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Roulette is a casino game in Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas.

Fallout and Fallout 2

Roulette can be played via dialogue in Fallout and Fallout 2 by speaking to Roulette dealers in the following locations. There is a Roulette table in the Stockmen's Association Headquarters in NCR Downtown.

Locations

Fallout

Fallout 2

Fallout: New Vegas

Players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even. Playing 10 spins of Roulette gives the Little Wheel challenge and also the achievement/trophy. The challenge will not show up in the Pip-Boy until at least one spin of Roulette has been played.

Rules

Roulette is a simple game of chance. The croupier spins the Roulette wheel in one direction, then spins a ball in the opposite direction along a grooved track running the circumference of the wheel. When the ball loses momentum and falls into one of the 38 baskets, the winning number and color are announced, and bets are paid out as appropriate.

The "house edge" or the "expected value" is the amount a player is expected to lose, relative to the amount they bet. For American Roulette, the standard played in the Mojave Wasteland (numbers 0 to 36, plus 00), the player can expect to lose 5.26% of the chips they bet.

Betting

Betting on Roulette is more complex than other casino games found throughout the wastes, adding an element of strategy alongside luck. The payout and odds of winning depend on what the player bets. Bets are divided into two broad categories, based on their likelihood and payout.

As with all casino bets, the player is limited to a 200 chip maximum bet. Unlike other casino games, which only have one outcome to bet upon, this maximum bet encompasses every bet the player makes on a single spin. For example, one can either make a single bet of 200 on red, or two bets of 100 on red and even, and so on as long as the total value of the bets does not exceed 200.

Inside bets usually include one number, or a narrow group of numbers, and are statistically more unlikely to come up a winner. However, inside bets have better payouts to make up for their riskier odds. The high payouts of inside bets are useful for overcoming the maximum payout from each casino. Using some other gambling games (Blackjack is easy to win and control with 5 Luck or above) to earn close to the maximum payout, one can leverage the high payout of an inside bet (up to 7000) to significantly exceed the maximum payout of every casino. With luck, this can amount to up to 41994 additional caps from casino games (7000 x 6 casinos, minus 1 under casino max payout x 6).

Outside bets are "safer" as they usually include a large section of numbers on the Roulette wheel. However, the payout for an outside bet is significantly lower, usually only 1-to-1 or 2-to-1.

A bet with a roughly 50-50 chance and a decent payout would consist of putting chips on a color (black or red) and then putting more chips down on the even or odd (but not both) chances. The bets and corresponding numbers, odds, and payouts are shown below. The letters correspond to an example position shown on the betting table diagram to the right.

Note that the Luck stat does not affect the outcome of the spin. Luck only affects the message shown after winning - with more than 5 Luck, the player will get a message "you feel lucky" after winning.

Examples

Inside bets
Bet name	Winning number(s)	Odds against	Payout
0	Position 0	null	35:1 (bugged; never pays out)
Straight-Up; 00	Any single number except 0	37-to-1	35:1
(A) Split	0 and another number (e.g. 27 or 30)	19-to-1	17:1
(A) Split	0 and another number (e.g. 0 and 00)	37-to-1	17:1
(B) Street	Any three numbers adjacent horizontally (e.g. 19, 20, 21)	11.667-to-1	11:1
(C) Corner	Any four adjoining numbers in a block (e.g. 7, 8, 10, 11)	8.5-to-1	8:1
(C) Corner	Any four adjoining numbers in a block (e.g. 7, 8, 10, 11)	8.5-to-1	8:1
(D) Top Row	1, 2, 3, 0, 00	8.25-to-1	6:1
(E) Basket	1, 2, and 0	17.5-to-1	11:1
(E) Basket	2, 3, and 00	11.667-to-1	11:1
(F) Six Line	Six numbers in two adjoining rows (e.g. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 or 18)	5.33-to-1	5:1

Outside Bets
Bet name	Winning number(s)	Odds against	Payout
(G) Red or Black	Any number of the corresponding color	1-to-1	1:1
(H) Odds or Evens	Any number that is either odd or even	1.111-to-1	1:1
(I) 1st, 2nd, or 3rd dozen	1-12, 13-24, or 25-36	2.167-to-1	2:1
(J) 1st, 2nd, or 3rd column	Any number in the corresponding vertical column	2.167-to-1	2:1
(K) 1-to-18 OR 19-to-36	Any number in the first or second half of the 36	1.111-to-1	1:1

Playing to Win

Despite the enormous number of choices and the idea of inside and outside bets, Roulette is ultimately a game of simple chance, and there are ultimately no right or wrong moves. That is because the payouts almost exactly mirror the relative odds of getting a specific outcome. The "almost" is because of the influence of the green 0 and green 00. If you bet on any other square, the presence of those two outcomes gives the casino an edge.

For example, even if you were to put 50 chips on "black" and 50 chips on "red", you still have two positions that are neither black nor red. Even if you were to try to cover that option by putting chips on both greens, there is still the vast probability that a red or black comes up, wasting your insurance bet.

In fact, the only real decision is how quickly you want to lose your money, since otherwise, in the long run, you will always end up losing about 5% of your chips each time you play. If you do outside bets, you will lose money slower. If you only place inside bets, you will lose money faster.

Locations

Roulette can be played at the following locations:

Notes

Reloading a save game while in a casino causes a 60-second cool-down on all the gambling games, preventing their use. The Roulette table displays the message "The croupier is taking a minute to check the wheel for bias, as an anti-cheating measure. Time remaining XX" (XX is the amount of time remaining, starts at 60). This is to discourage players from saving after every win and loading after any loss in order to ensure a monetary gain. On the 360, this cool-down period can be avoided by resetting the clock on the 360 to earlier than when the game was actually saved (will not work if connected to Xbox Live, because this automatically corrects the 360's internal clock).
With the maximum bet of 200 chips, the most it is possible to win (single number bet) in one spin is 7000 chips.