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Rouleno
Introduction
I first saw Roulino at the Max casino in Las Vegas on October 20, 2016. The name and game are a hybrid of roulette and keno. The game is based on the draw of six billiard balls, numbered one to six, and how many times the number of a ball matches the order it was drawn.
Rules
Following are the rules. For such a simple game, it is surprisingly hard to explain. My proofreader was totally lost on what I was attempting to say. Hopefully, this revised wording will be a little better.
- The game uses six billiard balls, numbered one to six.
- The player makes bets and then the balls are placed into a wooden box and drawn out one at a time. As the balls are drawn they will be placed in numbered positions from 1 to 6. For example, the first ball drawn will be placed in position #1, the second in position #2, and so on.
- Bets will be adjudicated mostly according to the number of times a ball matches in number and position (for example ball number 3 in the third position).
- The available bets are as follows.
- Individual Numbers — There are six Individual Number bets, one on each number. Each wins if the chosen number matches its position. An exception is that the sequences of 1-2-3-4-6-5, 2-1-3-4-5-6, and 1-2-4-3-5-6 are automatic losers. Pays 5 to 1. For example, a bet on number five would win if the number five ball was the fifth ball to be drawn from the wooden box and the abovementioned sequences are avoided.
- Zero or Four matches — Wins on zero or four positional matches. Pays 3 to 2. The "or" is not a mistake. I guess the math worked out better by giving the player a win on four matches as well as zero, although it certainly makes the bet more confusing to explain.
- Any One or Four matches — Wins on one or four positional matches. Pays 3 to 2. Again, a win on four matches wins also.
- Any Two matches — Wins on two positional matches. Pays 4 to 1.
- Any Three matches — Wins on three positional matches. Pays 15 to 1.
- Any Four matches — Wins on four positional matches. Pays 40 to 1.
- Perfect/Perfect Reverse Wins if the balls are drawn in sequence (in either direction). — Pays 300 to 1.
Below is a scan of both sides of the rack card. Click on either image for a larger version.
Examples
- Assume the balls come out in this order, from first to last: 6-1-3-5-4-2. The only winning bets would be on the Individual Number 3 and "One or Four matches". This is because ball number 3 came in position 3. There were no other positional matches.
- Assume the balls come out in this order, from first to last: 1-2-3-5-4-6. Winning bets would be on the Individual Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 6, because they all match the order in which they were drawn. With exactly four matches, a bet on "Zero or Four," "One or Four," and "Any Four" matches win as well.
- Assume the balls come out in this order, from first to last: 1-2-4-3-5-6. This is one of the three dreaded exceptions to the Individual Number rules. Normally, balls 1, 2, 5, and 6 match the position they were drawn, but bets on those Individual Numbers would lose, because 1-2-4-3-5-6 is one of three losing exceptions. However, bets on exactly four matches, a bet on "Zero or Four," "One or Four," and "Any Four" matches still win, as in the second example.
Analysis
The following table shows the number of winning combinations out of 720 possible, the probability of winning, and expected return of each type of bet.
Rouleno Analysis
Bet Pays Winning
CombinationsProbability
WinExpected
ReturnIndividual Number 5 118 0.163889 -0.016667 Zero or any four 1.5 280 0.388889 -0.027778 Any one or four 1.5 279 0.387500 -0.031250 Any two 4 135 0.187500 -0.062500 Any three 15 40 0.055556 -0.111111 Any four 40 15 0.020833 -0.145833 Any 3, 4, 6, or perfect reverse 10 57 0.079167 -0.129167 Six or perfect reverse 300 2 0.002778 -0.163889
Strategy
At the lowest house edge of 1.67%, I recommend sticking to bets on the individual numbers.
External Links
Discussion about Rouleno in my forum at Wizard of Vegas.
