Combining the best of both strategy and chance, roulette is generally played either the European or American way. This casino game gets its name from the French term ‘little wheel’. Players have a choice of betting on single numbers, groups of numbers, odd or even numbers, low numbers (1-18) or high ones (19-36).
Also, they can place bets on either colour: red or black. It may also surprise you to know that the numbers on the roulette wheel (0-36) add up to 666 – ‘The Number of the Beast’. Legend has it that Francois Blanc made a pact with the devil for discovering the secret of roulette. It is one of the favourite games of the visitors on Casino Wizard.
Roulette – American Vs European Vs French
In American roulette, the players have to contend with ‘zero’ and ‘double zero’; the wheel contains 38 coloured and numbered pockets. Conversely, European roulette has only ‘zero’ and does not contain ‘double zero’; the wheel has 37 pockets.
Any roulette guide will also contain another variation of the game, in addition to the European and American styles, known as French roulette. French and European roulette are quite similar; the table consists of the same number of pockets.
The main difference between the two is that the French variant exercises the ‘La Partage’ rule where the players only lose half of their stake if the ball settles on ‘zero’.
Roulette – The Basics of Online Casino Games
Roulette can be played online, on mobiles and in casinos. The elements of the roulette game include the roulette ball, betting table, wheel and gaming chips. In a casino, you will have a croupier; whereas, in online roulette, the role of the croupier is automated. If you are opting to play roulette online, there are several roulette sites usually as a part of an online casino. You can also search for the best roulette online resources on the internet to get familiar with the winning strategies and tactics.
The objective of roulette is to predict on which numbered pocket the ball ends up after the wheel has stopped rotating. Players are required to place their chips on the numbers or colours as seen on the gaming table. Where roulette is concerned, players place bets against the house rather than other participants.
Online roulette simulators aim to emulate the real table and wheel, some being more sophisticated in look than others. Players place their virtual chips on the table, and the wheel simulator spins. For the most authentic experience, try a live online casino, where the physical wheels are spun by live dealers.
Roulette – House Advantage and How to Beat It
Roulette rules are meant to give the house an advantage. You can also gain an edge by exploiting the tricks for increasing your roulette winnings.
Experts suggest not opting for American roulette. The double zero in this game variant offers the house an added advantage. As a result, there are higher chances of players losing their money if they opt for the American-type as compared to its European counterpart. The addition of an extra pocket for a double zero in the American style gives the casinos the greater edge.
Where American Roulette is concerned, the house edge is pegged at 5.26%; in European Roulette, it is known to be 2.7%.
Roulette – Different Kinds of Bets
In Roulette, players have the option of placing ‘inside bets’ and ‘outside bets’. The former are those played on the numbered sequences of the table grid, with the inclusion of intersections. On the other hand, external bets consist of those played outside of the grid, which could include the evens, odds, blacks or reds.
- Inside Bets Players can place bets on the inner numbered and coloured boxes of the game table.
- Straight Ups: Any single number can be bet upon
- Splits: Bets are split into 2 numbers positioned horizontally or vertically adjacent to each other
- Streets: Bets include 3 numbers appearing consecutively such as 7-8-9
- Corners: Includes 4 numbers that are seen on the corners
- Bases: Bets entail 1, 2, 3 and zeroes
- Lines: Involves 6 numbers in 2 rows
- Trios: Bets involve zero and 2 other numbers
- First Fours / Baskets: Bets can be placed on 0-1-2-3
- Columns: Spans 12 numbers appearing in a column
- Dozens: Sequences of 1-12, 13-24, 25-36 can be betted upon
- Outside Bets Bets are played on the outer boxes of the roulette table.
- Lows: Bets are placed within the range 1-18
- Highs: Includes bets on numbers 19-36
- Reds or Blacks: The ball should settle on any number of the selected colour
- Evens or Odds: The winning number has to be in the chosen category
- Dozens: You can bet between 1 to 12, 13 to 24, 25 to 26
- Columns: Players can place bets on the vertical domains and if the ball lands in the chosen column they win
American Roulette: Rules and How to Play
Roulette is without any doubt one of the most popular and exciting casino games and that’s why, over the years, different versions of the game have been developed. The American version is the favourite among players of the United States, where this particular variant was born, but it’s catching on all over the world. American roulette is akin to the European version, with alternate black and red numbers from 1 to 36, but along with the single green zero slot there’s another green slot with a double zero. Although both games are played the same way, the odds in the American version are more disadvantageous.
The objective of the game, as in other roulette versions, is to predict where the ball is going to land. Players can bet on one or more numbers, wager on odds/even, red/black or different combinations. As we mentioned already, because of the double zero, the odds are less favourable than in other roulette variants. In fact, the American roulette has a higher house edge (5.26%) than the European one (2.7%). However, the double zero only affects the bets made on group of numbers and doesn’t influence red/black and odds/even wagers. Anyway, always keep in mind that roulette is a game of chance, and everything can happen, double zero or not!
While playing American roulette in a casino, you will notice that, compared to other table games, different kind of chips are used. So, if you want to attend an American roulette game, before starting you’ll have to exchange cash or regular casino chips with the croupier. To avert any confusion during payouts, the dealer gives different coloured chips to each player. When all players have their chips, they can start placing bets on the roulette table. Any player can put one or more chips on a single or a combination of bets. Once all bets are made, the croupier will call “no more bets” and he’ll spin the wheel.
When the ball finally lands on one of the numbers on the wheel, the dealer is able to determine and announce the lucky winning number. Then, he/she, with the help of a dolly (which is the marker), mark the number on the roulette table. The winning players receive their chips payouts, whereas the losing bets are swept off the table. When this is done, players can start placing bets for the next round of the game. If you like to take a risk and define yourself as a hard-core players, then skip the European or French versions, and embrace the exciting world of the American roulette and its high house-edge.
French Roulette
French roulette is a variant of roulette that gained popularity after the French Revolution. It is an entertaining gambling activity that is offered at both online and land based casinos. The game is unique when compared to other roulette variations because it features a unique table layout and offers the lowest house advantage with a reduced edge of 1.35%. Nonetheless, the game is played on a standard European roulette wheel that features 37 pocets with numbers from 1 to 36 and 0. The number 0 is marked in green, while numbers 1 to 36 are marked in red and black.
French roulette is defined by the La Partage rule that is applied to all even money bets such as even/odd, high/low, and red/black. If you place your wager on an even money bet and the ball falls on the green zero, you get half of your bet amount back. This makes the game attractive as it can significantly help limit your losses. Moreover, it encourages bigger bets through its French roulette high limit game that was designed for French roulette high roller. The high limit game has a minimum bet amount of 5 and a maximum of 2,000 per spin.
French roulette is also offered in three different types; traditional French roulette tables, mobile French roulette tables and live French roulette with real dealers. Traditional French roulette tables feature French roulette based video games and offer reliable and fast user experience due to their simple user interface. Mobile French roulette tables are ideal for people who love to enjoy casino games while on the go. It runs on different mobile devices like Blackberry, Windows, iOS, and Android phones. Live French roulette is offered in live casinos by real dealers in order to offer a real, social and exciting casino experience.
French roulette offers a number of advantages to players. For instance, it features a simple yet exciting gameplay that novice players can get used to in a heartbeat. The La Partage rule reduces the game’s house edge to 1.35%, something that is not offered in other roulette variations. Though French roulette may not be as popular as the American and European roulette variations, it is offered online and can be played on mobile or via live casinos. Therefore, the game offers enough action whether playing via online casinos or on land based casinos. In a nutshell, playing French roulette is totally rewarding in the long run.
Double Bonus Spin Roulette
Since its invention in the 18th century in France, Roulette has been a popular game of chance. In land-based casinos, the format has barely changed over the years with countless numbers of players attracted to its mesmerising spinning ball. The only variations being in whether casinos use the European or American wheel. However, online, many gaming software companies have managed to replicate the almost hypnotic spell of the whirling wheel. So successful have they been, that there are now countless variations on the classic theme available to tempt even the most jaded player. One of these is the exciting Double Bonus Spin Roulette game powered by IGT.
As you would expect from a company of IGT’s stature, the visuals in this game are excellent, although some might feel the screen is a little cluttered. The layout has the spinning wheel to the left of the screen. A racetrack below the wheel allows the placing of inside bets, while outside bets are placed on the main betting area on the screen’s right hand side. The roulette wheel used is the American version, meaning that it has both zero and double zero green pockets. Compared to the single zero pocket European wheel, the odds of winning are slightly lowered, but the Bonus feature more than makes up for this.
What IGT have added to the table is the introduction of yet another extra pocket – the yellow Bonus. Whilst the mathematicians among you could be forgiven for thinking that this extra pocket reduced the odds of winning even further, this is in fact not the case. Why? Well, to start, the yellow pocket is 50% larger than the normal pockets, increasing the chance that the ball will settle there. But the big plus is what happens if you had also made a bonus bet on the table. If the ball lands in the yellow pocket the bonus is triggered and the screen changes to show a double ringed wheel.
Spinning the bonus wheel sets off each ring, but they spin in opposite directions. Each has its own ball, so for this bonus spin, players have the possibility of winning twice in one go. Whilst bets and payouts are the same as for most standard roulette games, the big excitement comes from the bonus wins, where essentially players are getting two free spins for their intial bet. Players are usually advised to avoid American roulette wheels, but the reverse is true here. This Double Bonus version actually has a very attractively low house edge of less than 2% if the bonus bet can be played. Enjoy!
Single Zero Roulette
Roulette is one of the most popular casino games of chance and uses a spinning wheel and ball. It is thought to have first been played in France in the 18th century and is named after the French word for “little wheel”. This wheel has a varying number of pockets, depending on which version of the game is being played. At the end of each spin, the ball will drop into one of those pockets, which are both numbered from 1-36 and coloured either red or black. Additional ‘zero’ pockets are coloured green and in some games there is also a yellow pocket.
As its name implies, the wheel in Single Zero Roulette has just one pocket coloured green and labelled with a 0. This version of the game is also often called European roulette. In American roulette, by contrast, there are typically two green pockets, labelled 0 and 00. Although some newer versions also include a third green pocket labelled 000. Players place bets on where they think the ball will land at the end of each spin. Single Zero Roulette offers a better house edge for winning than does any of the American roulette versions, simply because of the smaller number of pockets.
The fun and excitement of playing Roulette comes from the great range of betting options that players have. Bets are placed on the “layout” or betting area. Punters can choose to make “inside” or “outside” bets. Inside bets are placed on specific, individual numbers. While outside bets cover larger groups and combinations of numbers. The most popular inside bet is the “straight” bet, where punters choose a single number. If this wins, it pays out the highest amount, normally around 35:1, which reflects the lower probability of getting this right. The most popular outside bet is choosing whether red or black will win, which usually pays you even money.
Single Zero Roulette has two versions, French and European Roulette. The numbering of the roulette wheel is the same in both. The difference comes in the type of bets that can be made, with French Roulette offering a greater range of combination or “many-bets-in-one” wagers. However, some online versions of what are called European Roulette games also offer these options.
Many online casinos offer a “play for free” version. It is highly recommended that players try these out before wagering real cash. They are particularly useful if you are new to Roulette and want to learn the more complex bets allowed in French Single Zero Roulette.
Give Roulette a Spin
With its glamorous image and fun gameplay, roulette is a table game that everybody should try at least once. The good news is, there are plenty of online roulette simulators where you can practise for free before moving on to real money games.