Wheel Chips vs. House Chips
In Europe, all players bet with the same house checks (or chips). Sometimes, if the game heats up, the confusion is very real. Imagine that you’re down to your last few chips. You place one each on 26, 0 and 32. The ball crosses onto the rotor near 7, strikes 35 and dribbles into 26! Just as you reach for your winnings, another patron has firmly wrenched his hands around your winning stacks, claiming them as his. But you know that you wagered on the 0 and its two neighbors. Everyone looks at you as though you were trying to pull a fast one! Unfortunately, this scenario has probably happened many times before. Just make sure to keep your guard up at all times. Betting the same number of chips each spin will help. If you are betting neighbors (forming a sector) or favorite numbers, it will be easier to locate your bets. If you are just sprinkling the layout as you see fit with no particular pattern to speak of, then you may lose track of your wagers too easily.
In North America, the roulette games use special chips called wheel chips. These chips will have a unique letter or design on them designating which table they belong to. They cannot be used anywhere else in the casino, only at the table from which they were issued. The wheel chips come in six or seven different color groups of 300 chips each. Each seated player will usually have his own color to bet with, eliminating any confusion on the layout.
After the dealer has paid off all the winning bets from the previous spin, place your buy-in (cash or casino checks) out on the layout and ask if there is a color available. You can-not hand the money to the dealer; place it down on the table. If the dealer does not see your buy-in right away, be patient; he may be busy. But do keep an eye on it until he is ready to convert it. He will count out your money or chips on the table in front of him. After getting a final check from the supervisor, he will push your colored wheel chips over to you.
You can buy in for any amount that you wish, as long as it is equal to or greater than the minimum bet allowed on that table (check the placard located near the wheel itself). The wheel chips are organized into stacks of 20. If the chip minimum for that table is 25 cents (downtown Vegas) and you give the dealer a $5 bill, he will assume that you want (20) 25-cent chips to play with. If, instead, you want (10) 50-cent chips or (5) $1 chips, you will have to inform him of your preference. There is a shelf on the back rim of the roulette wheel where one of each colored chip can be placed. The deal-er will place a special marker button, or lammer on your color to signify what it is worth. You can make your wheel chips worth the minimum, usually 25 cents, 50 cents or $1, $5, $25 each or up to $100 each in certain casinos, depending upon the amount of your buy-in. If you wish to play with chips worth more than $100 in value, talk to one of the bosses in the pit to see if they can accommodate you. No other person can use your chips to bet with, not even your own spouse, who may be standing right behind you.
Chips are cleared and moved by hand in North American casinos instead of by rake. You will notice that win-ning wagers are paid by cutting the chips. Dealers will bring their entire hand over a stack of chips and use the index finger to cut and separate chips into smaller stacks. Outside bets are simply paid off in like stacks. The dealer doesn’t actually count the chips. He will pay you in two same-height stacks for 2-to-l wagers or one equal stack for even-money bets. Winning bets are paid in Europe by running out the chips. Because the French-style chips are beveled on-edge and more awkward to handle, the winning bet is spread out left to right in front of the dealer and counted out precisely. This of course, accounts for much of the extra time taken.
After the dealer has paid off all the winning bets, he will remove the marker, or dolly from the winning number and place it near the wheel. This is your signal to begin betting. Players are given time to decide where they want to put their chips on the layout. After most bets appear to be placed, the dealer will commence spinning the ball. In North America, the dealer will typically spin the wheel head counterclockwise (CCW) and snap the ball in the clockwise (CW) direction. In Europe, the croupier will alternate directions on subsequent spins. The ball is always spun in the opposite direction that the wheel is spun.