Know and Understand All Variations of Roulette Online

 

There are a few different styles of roulette out there and this can get slightly confusing for some people; especially beginners. We will quickly cover the different styles without going into too much detail, so you have an up to date guide and a basic understanding of how roulette is played today.

Many people get confused between the names US roulette, American roulette, European roulette, French roulette, double ball roulette, and multi-wheel roulette. The idea of this blog article is to as simply as possible explain the very subtle differences of these roulette games so the next time you see the name appear, you already know the reasons why these games have been names slightly differently.

European Roulette

Firstly, there is European roulette which is basically where the game originated, so this is effectively the true form of roulette as we know it. European roulette only has one zero on the wheel and this is basically how you identify this variation of roulette. This means that the odds of winning are better in comparison to US roulette, which we will cover in the next section. Top Slot Machines  

Inside bets on a European roulette table

A roulette table comes with 37 numbers if you include the single zero. That is number 1 to 36 and the 0. Therefore, this is 0-36 making 37 numbers in total. If you lay down a straight bet, the odds of winning are 37 to 1. The payout, of course, does not meat these odds or the casino would not make any money. You are actually paid pack 35-1 if you land your bet so it is obvious where the casino gets its edge.

The same applies to other inside bets. A split bet is when you wager on 2 numbers. The odds of a split bet landing are effectively half that of landing a straight bet. This would be roughly 18.5 to 1. However, the pay-out for a split bet is 17 to 1. You are losing 1.5 to 1 on every bet, which once again is where the casino gains its edge.

Outside bets on a European roulette table

Next up are outside bets. These are the column bets that pay 2 to 1, and the odd/even, high/low as well as red/black bets. Now, these bets appear as if there is no house edge. In fact, this is not true.

Numbers 1 to 36 on a roulette table are evenly split between red and black, odds and evens, and high and low numbers – this is true. It is also true that the payout is even odds. Therefore, if you win, you get 1 chip, which is your bet returned and another chip for your win. 

So far, the odds and the pay-out seem fair, don’t they? However, what some people do not account for is the additional 0 that is involved. If the ball lands on zero, then all outside bets are off. The same applies to column bets and dozen bets.

US Roulette or American Roulette

At this point, you should now be familiar with the concept of roulette after reading about our brief explanation of European roulette. The single zero and the way it will pay is decided versus the odds of the zero becoming the outcome from the coup.

Now with US roulette, which is also referred to as American roulette, there is a twist to the odds. That twist comes in the form of a second zero on the wheel. This is seen as ‘0’ and ‘00’ at the bottom of the roulette board and on the roulette wheel, the ‘0’ and ‘00’ are opposite to each other.

Now the odd of US roulette change because of this extra zero. On the other hand, the pay-outs remain the same. You can imagine how this goes to the advantage of the house.

Inside bets on a US/American roulette table

Rather than the odds being 37-1 of landing a straight bet, the odds are now instead 38-1, but the pay-out for successfully landing a straight bet remains at 35-1 thus the house gains. The same would apply to split bet too. The odds are now a lot worse giving the house an improved edge thanks to the additional zero.

Outside bets on a US/American roulette table

As you may have already calculated, with the additional zero on the US-style roulette tables, this also affects column and dozen bets. It will also negatively affect the odds of black/red, odd/even, and high/low bets. With the table being split in half with 18 red/odd/high numbers and 18 black/even/low numbers the odds are 50/50 without any zeros.

If you add one zero to the board, this then means there is one extra number on the board, which slightly reduces your odds of winning. This is because when the ball lands on the zero, all outside bets are lost. Now add a second zero, and your odds are once again reduced further. In most online and land-based casinos, all outside bets are off if the ball lands on either of the zero numbers.

There are some bonus rules to tackle the additional zero in some land-based casinos and online for US roulette tables. This rule states that if the ball lands on either of the zeros the casino will pay a player back just their bet. Other casinos will only pay back half the player bet if the ball lands on either the ‘0’ or ‘00’. In most cases when this bonus rule is applied the casino counts the next bet as half – therefore the player is forced to re-bet the half a bet. If he/she wins on the next coup/spin, then the original bet is returned.

What is French Roulette?

You may have heard of French roulette. This is basically the same as European roulette with a single zero. There are no differences in the rules between European or French roulette. However, the board usually has an additional area on the side that shows players which numbers are on certain sections of the roulette wheel. Players cannot lay chips in this area and it serves more as a guide.

The wheel is broken down into sections. For example, one-third of the roulette wheel will have a particular set of numbers in that third. Players will bet all the numbers in that third of the wheel. This gives them almost a 1 in 3 chance of winning. Once again, the zero does play its part here. As there are 37 numbers, you cannot break 37 into 3. Instead, players will break it down into 12. As a result, there are 12 straight bets here; while the zero can interfere with this tactic.

Other options include neighbour bets whereby players bet all the numbers on the wheel that surround the zero and also they bet on the zero. It is a really nice way to play roulette because rather than playing the board, you are actually breaking down the roulette wheel into sections.

Double Ball Roulette

Double ball roulette is a game where there are 2 balls. This means that the payback odds are reduced. Most casinos that have double ball roulette tend to use the US roulette system. Generally, you will not find double ball roulette in land-based casinos, but you will find it online and in live dealer suites online.

Multi-Wheel Roulette

Multi-wheel roulette is a virtual online casino game only.  You can play up to 8 wheels at any one time. If you lay down your bet and bet 8 wheels, then your bet is multiplied by 8. You can bet between 1 and 8 wheels on this game, which has been designed by Microgaming. Best Slots to Play

Summary of this article

There you have it. Now you have a basic understanding of the different names used when it comes to playing roulette. You will also see other names applied to the game when you play online such as double ball roulette or multi-wheel roulette. Don’t let these fancy names confuse you. These are great games to play, don’t get me wrong, but despite the name, the actual wheel you play on is going to be either a European/French roulette-style wheel or a US/American style wheel.

To really get the point here, if you weigh up which roulette table is better to play on, European roulette tables are by far the best. This is because the house edge is much less. If you are an online casino player, then the lower the house edge, the better your return on investment. This applied to all forms of gambling. It is also worth noting that the name US roulette is synonymous with the name American roulette. The exact same rule applied to European and French roulette except that French roulette tends to encourage betting on sections of the wheel as a strategy.