Online Roulette, An In-depth Guide

What makes roulette so long lasting and special is the way one approaches this game. It is a game where the players have no effect on the outcome of each round, unlike in so many other casino titles. You could even call it a spectator’s game. As a player, your only job is to sit at the table, and wager where the ball will land after its release on the spinning wheel. Each time you predict where it would land, you win.

What’s important to remember is that not all roulette tables are alike. What they do have in common are the 36 pockets, half of which are read, with the other half being black. The numbers assigned to these pockets range from 1 to 36. Depending on the version you play, you get one or two green fields that are reserved for 0, but more on that later on.

At traditional casinos in charge of the wheel and the ball is a croupier, who according to tradition is never to let the wheel stop from spinning. As far as online casinos go you have both versions handled by a croupier at live dealer casinos, and versions automated by a software.

Another aspect of roulette that intrigues players for centuries is that not all bets have to be tied to individual numbers or pockets. When playing online roulette you can wager in many different ways. Every available bet as far as roulette goes can be found on the roulette table.

That’s right, roulette has a table in addition to roulette wheel and the ball as three things that create a game of roulette. To start a round of roulette you first need to click on the part of the table to make a wager you want to make. You can wager on colours, numbers, pockets, dozen pockets, inside bets and outside bets and much more.

How to Play Online Roulette

Here comes the best part. Many games, during the transfer from traditional land based casinos to online ones, go through some sort of evolution, and changes get made. Not for roulette. The game is as identical as it always was. As a pure spectator’s game, all a player needs to do is to place the bet and wait for the outcome. Same as always. Every player who wants to play the game is left with a couple of simple decisions to make:

1. Choose the game you want to play. Online casinos such as Stake have many variations, and you can pick any from classic roulette to European and American versions. Some casinos even offer themed wheels, and variations such as Lighting Roulette.
2. After selecting the game you’d like to play, it is time to place a bet. When it comes to online casinos you can play software powered versions where each round is initiated as soon as you place the bet and the time limit runs out. As for live dealer games, you first enter the roulette lobby, sit at the table, where there’s a possibility that a round is already ongoing. So, you take a place at the table, and wait for the next round. Before it starts you have a time limit to place a bet, and once it is out and the bet is made the live dealer releases the ball onto the spinning wheel. Just like in brick and mortar casinos of old.
3. Step 3 is the easiest one. Let the wheel spin, and the ball land. Whether it is a simulation or live dealer round, the ball will eventually land, and you’ll know whether you’ve won or not.
4. If you’re lucky enough, step 4 is where things get exciting. It’s the moment the funds get transferred to your account if you’ve won. This is the best part about online casino roulette, as the winnings are immediate, and you don’t have to do the math as it is in the hands of sophisticated computers.

Online Casinos & Roulette Variations

As we already mentioned, roulette has more than a few variations. While the game has remained similar to the original concept in most aspects it did evolve during the years. What can be different are the payouts, betting types, and odds. That’s why you need to know the difference between basic roulette variations.

European Roulette

This right here is the classic. If you’re looking for that one, you’re looking for the European roulette version. This version has 37 pockets that range from 0 to 36. Zero is green, while the rest of the numbers are either red or black. Zero is put in place to serve as a house edge, but players can still bet on it, making the game more interesting than it already is. For players who are just getting to roulette, and want to play the game casually, this one is the best version. While there’s not too many differences between European and American versions, this one has a lower house edge, and that’s worth noting.

American Roulette

The name follows the fact that this version is the one that gained traction in the USA. If you’ve ever been to the Las Vegas strip, this is the version you played. What makes it different from the European version is that it has two green pockets. The first one is 0, while the second one is 00. Due to this small differentiation, the house edge is higher with this version. It repays this to players by usually having a lower buy in compared to the European version.

French Roulette

France is the birthplace of roulette, and yet, the French version is not the one most popular. In essence, it is not much different than what we call European roulette. The wheel is identical, but the French version comes with a few extra rules. Don’t worry, these rules actually give the players better odds when you compare it to the two versions we already listed. Usually, when you do not wager on it, an even money bet that has the ball in the green pocket is a lost bet. Two additional rules that the French roulette employs gives players an additional chance to recoup their wager. The first rule is called En Prison. An even bet that lands on a green field merits additional spin from the dealer here. If you win the new round, your stake is recouped. The second rule is called La Partage. With this rule, you do not get additional spin, but rather you get a half of your original wager back.

Mini Roulette

Mini roulette is the version of the game that came to the light of the day with the creation of online casinos. What makes it mini is the number of available fields that range from 0-12 with the 0 being green the same as with regular roulette. As you could guess with this version your betting options are diminished. The wheel is three times as small making it impossible to hold the same amount of bets, but what it does have is a much faster gameplay, a simpler one, and you can win big and win quick. Of course, there’s a chance for quick turnaround on the negative side, so we do not recommend this version to rookie players who still don’t know their way around big roulette tables. This is a perfect example of how something simple can complicate matters in no time.

Live Dealer Roulette

For all of you who are missing traditional casinos, online ones have found a solution. Live dealer roulette is a live streamed session of roulette from a professional studio, where every angle of the table is displayed for players to see. At online casinos you can find live dealer sessions of both American and European roulette. The French version is not often hosted at online casinos, so don’t hope that you’ll find it with ease. For all of you who still don’t trust softwares, random number generators, and the fact that many games at online casinos are provably fair, live dealer roulette is for you. It has all of the advantages of traditional casinos with barely none of its flaws.

Types of Roulette Bets

There are two basic types of roulette bets, inside bets and outside bets. These are divided by the layout of the roulette table. Once you get the idea of these two types, you can look deeper into what’s available as far as roulette betting goes.

Inside Bets

Inside bets are tied to the basic roulette layout, and where the numbers on the wheel are located. Inside bets are usually the eons that are tied to just a few numbers. Considering the number of pockets on the wheel, you can already tell that inside bets get further classified. Inside bets have higher odds but are also hard to get due to the nature of numbers. Here is the list of inside bets available in roulette:

• Straight up: With odds of 35:1 this is a wager on a single number.
• Split: Odds for this one are set at 17:1 and it is a bet put on two numbers for one round. Remember, these numbers need to be located one next to each other.
• Street: Here, the wager needs to cover three adjacent numbers. The payout for this wager is set at 11:1.
• Corner: As you probably guessed, a corner bet in roulette is a wager on four numbers located one next to the other one on the roulette wheel. Its payout is 8:1.

Six Lines: The payout here is set at 5:1 and all you need to do is to bet on six numbers from two rows that are next to each other.

If you want to stick to inside bets, you must never wager on more than six numbers, in the manner we explained above.

Outside bets

If you’re even remotely familiar with the roulette wheel and table, you will get the idea behind outside bets quickly. These are all the bets that are wagered outside the main layout of the roulette table. Outside bets cover many pockets, up to 1/3 of them. You can place your chips on the slots designed specially for these bets. They are positioned on the grid of the table. Below you have the list of outside bets in roulette:

• Red/Black: For a payout set at 1:1 you can wager on either black or red pockets. Risk? Well, one half of each plus a zero.
• Odds/Even: Payout is still 1:1, just instead of colours you wager on either odd or even numbers. Zeros do not count for either.
• High/Low: We’re still at 1:1 payout, with trick being hitting on whether the ball will land on a number 18 or lower or 19 and higher. The same as above, 0 and 00 don’t fall into either category.
• Column: This type of bet is similar to inside betting. You pick one column to bet on, that includes 12 pockets. These numbers are located on the table layout, and if you hit on this one, the payout is 2:1.
• Dozens: A bet that allows you to wager on a selected bunch of numbers that wary from 1-12, 13-24, and 25-36. You do not pick numbers individually but have them set at the table layout. Payout is 2:1.

Tips & Tricks for Rookies

Roulette is a fun game. Yet, it all happens so quickly at the table that it could quickly consume both your time and your bankroll. So, before you start playing, it is vital that you heed to these couple of basics tips and strategies we have below:

• Always pick the games and the wagers that give you the best odds of winning. So, European roulette before the American, and French before both if you can find the table.
• Find a viable strategy to play on. It doesn’t have to be a system such as Martingale’s, but you need to have a plan before you let that ball fly on the spinning wheel of roulette.
• Always play a demo version of the game before you start wagering real money.
• To start, and get the idea of where the game will take you, place outside bets first, before you move onto the intricacies of inside betting.

All that is left to say is have fun, enjoy the game of roulette, and of course gamble responsibly.