What is Roulette?
Roulette is known as a table game, due to the fact that it is played on a table at a land-based casino. A game of Roulette sees the Roulette wheel being spun, with a small ball introduced to the wheel. The Roulette wheel contains 37 or 38 compartments, each with a number. The numbers range from 1-36, with an additional 0 slot. Some versions also come with a second 00 slot. The numbers are also divided up in colors, with half being red and the other half black, with the exception of the 0s, which are green.
Players place wagers on where they think the ball will come to rest. They can bet on the number, color, odd or even, and so on. There are a number of different bets in Roulette, which we will go through later.
Top Online Roulette Casinos
Types of Roulette
Roulette has three main versions of the game. There are some other minor variations made by individual game developers, but the three main versions are as follows:
European Roulette
European Roulette is perhaps the most common version of the game in the world. It features the standard 36 red and black numbers, with a single green 0 slot. European Roulette offers quite a small house edge, making it very popular with gamblers around the world.
American Roulette
When Roulette first made its way to America, the casinos over here weren’t happy with the house edge provided. They decided to add the additional green 00 number onto the wheel. American Roulette is the only version with a 0 and a 00. This small change raises the house edge from around 2.7%, up to 5.26%. If you have a choice to play other versions of Roulette, we’d recommend you do.
French Roulette
French Roulette is perhaps the least known version of the game. This is partly due to the fact that it is almost identical to European Roulette. The only thing that makes it different is the layout of the table, as well as some additional rules that come into effect at certain times. These rules centre around when players place even money bet and the ball lands on 0. These will see half the bet returned to the player and this alone lowers the house edge even further. If French Roulette is available, this is the one that will give players the best odds.
Roulette Bets Players Can ake
When it comes to placing bets on the Roulette table, there are many different options for players. Some of these have great odds, but low payouts. Others have great payouts, but the odds of winning are significantly smaller. Bets fall into two general categories, inside bets and outside bets. Outside bets offer much better odds, but lower payouts.
Some of the most popular types of bets include:
- First 1-12 Numbers
- Second 12 Numbers
- Third 12 Numbers
- Betting on Numbers 1-18
- Betting on Numbers 19-36
- Even Numbers
- Odd Numbers
- Red Numbers
- Black Numbers
The larger the number range you are betting on, the better your odds are and the smaller the payout will be. Should you be feeling really brave and you bet on a single number, the odds are 37-1, but the payout is 35-1 if you manage to win.
Roulette Payouts
Some other payouts include:
- Split bets payout 17 to 1. This is when a player bets on two individual numbers.
- If you’re playing American Roulette, you can bet on 0 and 00, which also pays out 17 to 1.
- Players can place a street bet, which involves placing a number at the end of a three-number row on the table. Winning this will net a player a payout of 11 to 1.
- A Corner bet is when a player wagers on four numbers. They do this by placing their chip where four numbers meet on the table. The payout for winning this bet is 8 to 1.
Outside Bets
If you are a new Roulette player, we’d recommend sticking to the outside bets. While the payouts are lower, the odds of winning are much better. Outside bets and their payouts are as follows:
- Betting on Even/Odd Numbers or Red/Black. The payout is 1 to 1
- Dozen betting involves players betting on a group of 12 numbers, whether it’s the first, second, or third set of 12 numbers. The payout is 2 to 1.
- Column betting is similar, as players will be betting on 12 numbers. However, with column betting, you’re betting on a selection of 12 numbers, rather than a sequence of numbers.
How to learn Roulette
Players can do all the reading they want about how to play Roulette. The truth is, it is about luck, as there is no way to influence where the ball stops. The only real way to learn and get a feel for the game is to play it. We’d recommend trying it out for free at top casinos. That will give you an idea of which bets to place and how much you could stand to win.