Roulette: some general information
Whether a real casino or a virtual casino lounge, no casino would be complete without a roulette wheel! There's an aura of sophistication that comes from the roulette table, and it's always popular because there is an exciting range of betting options and it can actually be quite easy to win!
There are only usually two main variations of the wheel/ table in any casinos. These differences relate to whether the game is American Roulette or European Roulette:
Roulette Games
- American Roulette: has 38 slots (0-36) plus an additional slot (00), hence you might find American Roulette also being called "Double Zero Roulette".
- European Roulette: has 37 slots (0-36). The European roulette wheel is also used for French Roulette.
- Whatever the wheel, there is a sequence and pattern to the layout of the numbering: from 1 to 10 and 19 to 28, the odd numbers are in red and the even numbers are in black. Alternatively, from 11 to 18 and 29 to 36, odd number are black and the even numbers are red. Any zero or double zero numbers are always in green.
- As well as the wheel, the layout of the betting table will relate to whether the game is European or American, to accommodate any double zero.
Whilst there are many advertised "systems" that are supposed to give insight into how to win at roulette, it is not really possible to employ any kind of systematic play because, in an honest casino, the outcome of a spin of the roulette wheel is always a random one- particularly in on-line casinos where the software used is based on a random number-generating platform.
The only "system" that can therefore possibly work is by just paying a bit of attention to the probability of one number or type of number coming up, against the probability of it being another. These probability odds are largely reflected in the payout odds on the different possible outcomes of a spin. The odds and payouts tend to be almost the same, but with the payout being slightly lower than the odds, to accommodate the house "edge". For example, red or black is an "evens" bet of 1:1 payout because generally the result will be a red or a black number (unless it's zero, in which case the house wins). Likewise, a straight up bet on a single number at a European wheel has odds of 36:1, because there is one chance of your number coming up out of 37 slots, the slightly lower payout on this straight up bet is largely reflected in the payout of 35:1.
All roulette games, in online or real casinos, incorporate what is known as a "house edge". In simple terms, this is the amount that the "house" (casino) can expect to make on any bet placed. According to the layout of the wheel, it is the green slots of 0 or 00 that payout to the casino, along with any losing bets of players when other numbers come up, but as seen above, by setting payouts at 35:1 on a straight up bet, the house does not payout to the full odds of 37:1,so it earns itself a small amount even from players' winning bets! Because the European roulette wheel has 37 slots rather than 38, the house edge on this game is 2.70%, whereas it is 5.4% on an American wheel – another reason why European roulette is often more popular! For either game though, roulette in general gives a lower house edge than many other casino table games, another reason why roulette is a casino-players favourite!