While online slots still take the cake, the surge in online roulette games means it’s only a matter of time before those cakes get sliced up evenly. Roulette remains one of the most classiest and most fascinating table games available at land-based and online casinos. If you’re new to the online roulette experience, this guide walks you through about the essential roulette games and how to spin the wheel to win like a pro.
The Basics of Roulette Games
While today’s elite online casinos feature plenty of live roulette games like First Person and Lightning Roulette, in essence, all the roulette variants are based on the American, French, and European variants. French Roulette is the oldest variant, having started playing in France in the 1600s. French Roulette is written in French and online and has a single zero.
European Roulette is essentially a copy of French Roulette with all the same rules and the single zero. However, for non-French speaking people, the roulette wheel and table are English. Also, European Roulette doesn’t feature the La Partage and En Prison rules available in French Roulette.
The latest of the main roulette games is the American version. American Roulette came to the Americas by French Colonists and immigrants. To separate itself from the other roulette games, the American version added the additional zero.
How Does Roulette Work?
The beauty of roulette is players can go the simple or more harder route. When playing roulette, the first thing to determine is which main variant to play? French and European Roulette have a more favorable house edge at 2.70%, while American Roulette has the highest at 5.26%. The second step is to determine which types of bets you wish to make. Roulette features two main betting categories:
Outside Bets
Outside bets are the most favorable to the player because they cover more parts of the roulette wheel. The best way to make even money is to bet on a red or black number. This bet has a 50% chance of success and pays even money for panning out. You can also bet on an odd or even number. Like the red or black number, players have a 50% chance of them turning into winners.
You can also wager on a high or low number. If you’re not familiar with the roulette wheel, the low numbers are 1-18, while the high numbers are 19-36.
Inside Bets
Because inside bets don’t cover as many numbers on the wheel, the odds aren’t in your favor. On the flip side, inside bets pay much higher. A popular inside bet is the corner bet. To place a corner bet, place the chip on the roulette wheel at the point where four numbers intersect.
When in doubt, you can always go with the straight-up bet. All online and sweepstakes casinos that host roulette accept straight-up bets. Bet on the white ball landing on your chosen number to win 35:1.
Return to Player Percentage and Betting Strategies
Now that you have the inside scoop on the house edge for roulette games, the best bet is to stick to the ones that offer the best odds. If you’re counting dollars, we again go with red or black, odd or even, or even straight-up bets because you literally have a 50% chance. Because of its age, roulette also offers plenty of betting strategies like the Martingale and Paroli. While these are helpful, especially for beginners, if used excessively, you can quickly go through your budget.
