Roulette is an icon of casino gaming floors around the world, with its simple gameplay and versatile betting options making it a favourite among gamblers. But with the advent of online casinos, even experienced players may be confused by the different roulette variants on offer. In this guide, we’ve explained the different rules, betting options, and features of these many variants.
Roulette: The Standard Rules and Features
While there are many different styles of the game, there are several rules that remain unchangeable no matter what variant is played. The roulette wheel will contain numbered and coloured slots, with a ball dropped into the spinning wheel by a croupier. Players must set their chips on a table that indicates where they think the ball will land, whether it’s a specific number, type of number, colour, or group.
From there, the distinct features of real money roulette can vary greatly, whether it’s by offering American or European wheels, random win multipliers, or enhanced betting options. Live dealer casinos offer interesting variants such as Mega Roulette and Lightning Roulette, both of which can offer random multipliers to payouts by up to 500x the original stake.
Other online roulette variants may have unique themes, whether it be Greek Mythology in Age of the Gods roulette or the Wild West in Sticky Bandits Roulette. By understanding these differences, gamblers will be best equipped to choose the best-suited game for their budgets and playing style.
American and European Roulette Variants
European Roulette wheels contain 37 numbered pockets, with only one green zero pocket. The zero gives the house the advantage because if the ball lands on this, all bets are forfeited. American Roulette contains two zero pockets, giving the house an even larger advantage. The European Roulette house edge is 2.7%, while the American house edge is 5.26%. As a higher RTP implies better payouts, it’s best to favour European variants.
Nevertheless, both variants have the same rules, betting options, and payout rates for successful bets, meaning this house edge is the only major differentiator.
French Roulette
As the original version of roulette, French Roulette provides additional betting options and rules that make the game more advantageous than European and American variants. This is due to the inclusion of the la partage and en prison rules. In la partage, only half of a bet is lost if the ball lands on the sole zero pocket.
This lowers the house edge to 1.35% on even-money bets. The en prison rule is a variant of la partage and may be offered if la partage lands. This allows players to retain their original bet for another spin, keeping it “in prison”. If it wins, players can win back their stake, and if it loses, the stake is forfeited.
Roulette: A Multi-Faceted Casino Game
Thanks to the advent of online gaming, roulette players have plenty of options when it comes to optimising their gameplay experience, and clearly there are some versions of the game that are more advantageous to the casino and, by contrast, to players. Choose wisely when it comes to the version of roulette you wish to play. These different variants provide varying rules, themes, payout rates, and betting options to ensure versatility and excitement.
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