Roulette

Roulette is on the most part a game of chance as opposed to skill. However, when you first visit an online casino and click on "table games" the sight of so many different variations of roulette can be off-putting. Just what is the difference between European and American roulette? What are inside and outside bets? And what exactly is the En Prison rule? Are questions that most new players find themselves asking when they sit down at a multi-player online roulette table. For now though, let's find out how exactly you play Roulette.

Players at a Roulette table can place a variety of bets, such as what number the ball will land on, or on what colour it will land. The roulette table is laid out with each number and bet categorised and to either the left or right of the table you can locate the roulette wheel. This is usually red or black coloured and can feature between 37-38 numbers on the wheel. Croupiers collect up all the bets and place them on the corresponding points on the roulette table, and then the croupier simply spins the wheel in one direction and the ball in the opposite. Eventually, the ball will stop and the colour and number it lands on will determine who the winners are at the table.

To go back to the first hypothetical question posed by new Roulette players, the difference between European Roulette and American Roulette is the amount of numbers on the wheel. In European Roulette, there are 37 numbers on the wheel, which go in this order:
0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25, 17, 34, 6, 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, 33, 1, 20, 14, 31, 9, 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26.

However, in American Roulette, there are 38 numbers on the wheel, which run in this order:
0, 28, 9, 26, 30, 11, 7, 20, 32, 17, 5, 22, 34, 15, 3, 24, 36, 13, 1, 00, 27, 10, 25, 29, 12, 8, 19, 31, 18, 6, 21, 33, 16, 4, 23, 35, 14, 2.

In American Roulette, there 2 zeroes, whereas in European Roulette there is just 1. The amount of zeroes on a wheel, however unimportant it seems can be integral to your gameplay. If the Roulette wheel lands on a "0", then all bets go to the house. If there are two 0's on a wheel, then the House has two more chances of grabbing the Roulette players bets.

If you can find a Roulette game without a zero, then we strongly recommend you give it a spin. Betfair's unique zero lounge games (online casino games with no house edge) offer a Roulette wheel without a zero, so if you're looking for true odds, make sure to check out Betfair's Zero Lounge Roulette table. Another rule variation to look out for in the En Prison rule, as if the ball lands on zero in this game, then the player is sent to "prison" and the fate of their bet depends on the next spin of the wheel. If the player is lucky enough to win, they get back their bet, if they lose then the house gets to keep it.

Finally, Inside and Outside bets are one of the few basics left that newcomers to Roulette need to know. Essentially, Inside bets are bets where players select the number the ball will land on, or the range in which the ball will land on, whereas Outside bets are broader bets where the player bets on whether the ball will land on a red or black section, whether the number will be odd or even, dozen bets where you can bet which grouping of 12 the ball will fall into (for example; 1-12, 13-24 or 25-36), or out of which group of 18 the ball will land on (such as low 18 which is 1-18 or high eighteen which is 19-36).

To make things easier, please see our diagrams on Inside Bets and Outside bets:

Inside Bets

Outside Bets

While bricks and mortar casinos may be famous for offering the thrill of a Roulette table, with all its characters and highs, as well as lows. Online casinos are now offering players the chance to interact and play with thousands of different gamers from across the world. In fact, online casinos can squeeze in more gamers than any bricks and mortar casino could, so what are you waiting for, why not join in with the camaraderie and take a seat at your favourite online casino's multi-player Roulette table?