How To Play European Roulette
The game of roulette has a long history, travelling all around the world before transforming to the roulette game we know today. The game’s widespread popularity led to several distinct variants, now commonplace to land-based and online casinos worldwide. Nowadays, it’s quite difficult to find an online casino that doesn’t sport a broad selection of roulette games. There are three main variations of roulette — French roulette, American roulette and European roulette. These game variants are quite similar but also strikingly different at the same time.
Roulette gameplay is pretty straightforward to understand but to be a true roulette connoisseur, you must understand every aspect of the game: from the roulette wheel to the types of bets a player can place, so that ultimately you can devise a good roulette strategy that might boost your chances of winning. Let’s start by taking a look at the European roulette table layout.
The European Roulette Wheel And Table
The European roulette wheel layout is quite common among casinos and is one of the more preferred layouts of the roulette wheel due to its house edge. Compared to American roulette’s edge of 5.26%, European roulette has a house advantage of only 2.70%. This is because there are 37 numbers on the wheel in European roulette (one to 36 and a single zero), where its American counterpart features 38 numbered pockets (one to 36, a single zero and a double zero).
American Roulette
American roulette is actually the original European wheel! Nearly every European casino eventually dropped the double-zero pocket in favour of a lower house edge, while American casinos preferred to keep it.
All roulette wheels share a common characteristic: all numbers, except the zeroes, alternate between red and black. Beginner roulette players might think the order of the numbers is random, but they are actually placed in a way so that each number has an equal chance of hitting. These numbers can also be divided into high and low numbers; numbers that range from one through 18 are “low”, and those that range from 19 through 36 are “high”. The sequence of these numbers on a European wheel also differs from the American wheel and goes like this:
- 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
This way, even and odd numbers are evenly distributed on the wheel.
The actual table layout is pretty uniform across all roulette variations, with the American version being the exception, so a beginner roulette player should find no trouble finding their way around the roulette table. The table features all the numbers on the roulette wheel as well as all betting options. Once players understand what these bets are and how they work, devising a roulette strategy is pretty simple! Let’s break them down.
Types of European Roulette Bets
Players will find that the overall table is split into two categories, correlating to the two major divisions of roulette bets a player can place — Inside bets and Outside bets. The game of roulette can be pretty fast-paced, so having a bet in mind beforehand would be very beneficial to a player’s strategy, especially when playing casino table games like the Speed Roulette variant, where players are required to make a swift decision.
The difference between Inside bets and Outside bets is simple: Inside bets are placed in the inner section of the table, and Outside bets are, you guessed it, placed in the outer area of the table. While these are the main two categories, Special bets, Neighbour bets, Complete bets and Favourite bets are also an option.
Players have a choice of five Inside bets to place, including:
- Straight Up Bet — Placing a bet on one single number. This includes the zero. The payout is 35:1 since the odds of winning this bet are relatively low.
- Split Bet — Placing a bet on two numbers that lie either horizontally or vertically adjacent to each other. The odds of winning are pretty low as well, and the payout is 17:1.
- Street Bet — Placing a bet on three consecutive numbers at the end of the row. The payout is 11:1.
- Corner Bet — Placing a bet on the intersection of four numbers in a corner where all four numbers are covered. The payout is 8:1.
- Line Bet (Sixline) — Placing a bet on six consecutive numbers that form two adjacent lines. The payout of this line bet is 5:1.
A Complete bet can also be played by placing all 18 chips on every bet that covers one specific number.
Outside bets consist of five types of roulette bets and are generally labelled on the betting area. Some Outside bets are also referred to as even-money bets since the odds of winning are nearly 50% and the payouts for these bets are 1:1.
- Column Bet — This bet covers 12 numbers in a column by placing a chip on the boxes marked ‘2 to 1’. The zero is not included, and the payout is 2:1.
- Dozen Bet — This bet covers the first, second or third dozen of numbers by placing chips on one of the boxes marked ‘1st 12’, ‘2nd 12’ or ‘3rd 12’. If a winning number lands, the payout is 2:1.
- Red/Black — Wagering on either all red numbered pockets or all black numbered pockets. The zero is a green pocket and is not included in this bet. This is an even-money bet with a payout of 1:1.
- Odd/Even — Wagering on all odd or even numbers. The zero is not covered in this bet. This is an even-money bet with a payout of 1:1.
- 1-18/19-36 (Low/High) — Wagering on either the first 18 numbers (low bet) or the second 18 numbers (high bet). The zero is not covered in this bet. The payout is 1:1 if a winning number lands, as this is also considered an even-money bet.
On American tables, players also have the choice to place a Basket bet. This wager is not available on European tables since the bet features the 00 pocket.
Now let’s get into other categories of bets that do not fall under the Inside or Outside bets, starting with Neighbour bets:
- Tiers du Cylindre — This bet covers a total of 12 numbers, including 27, 33 and the numbers that lie in between them on the side of the roulette wheel opposite to zero.
- Voisins du Zero — This bet covers a total of 17 numbers, including the 22, 25 and all numbers that lie in between on the side of the roulette wheel that contains the zero.
- Orphelins à Cheval — This bet covers a total of eight numbers that were not covered by the above two bets.
- Jeu Zero — A bet covering the zero and its closest six numbers.
Special bets can also be placed, like the Finale en Plein and Finale a Cheval. On top of that, roulette games can also be personalised by setting Favourite bets so that the next time you play roulette, you will find all your favourite bets ready to go. The numbers that are covered in these bets are up to you.
Roulette is a game with many variants, so when playing roulette online, chances are you’ll come across a number of different bets and roulette rules. Always be mindful of the type of table you’re playing at, as not all roulette rules apply to every table. The La Partage rule, for instance, is only available when playing at French tables and not European ones. This is how the house advantage differs between variants as well, so always check out the rules of the game before you begin playing.
European Roulette Gameplay
The gameplay of European roulette is pretty much the same as other variants of the game, so players should have no trouble learning how to play roulette. When playing roulette online, players are given an allotted time frame at the beginning of the round when they can choose their bet value and place their bets. The aim is to try and successfully predict where the roulette ball lands.
Once the betting time has expired, the croupier will spin the wheel and launch a small ball along the wheel’s rim (in the opposite direction of the spin). When the ball loses momentum and lands in one of the pockets, the winning number is revealed. If the player has successfully predicted the winning number, they will receive a payout. Of course, the chances of winning by betting on one number are quite slim, so having a good strategy in place may help boost your odds and help keep your bankroll in check.
This is the general gameplay of European roulette. However, with all these variants popping up, don’t be surprised if the gameplay differs slightly. Lightning Roulette, for example, makes use of a European roulette table but includes lightning multipliers to make the game a little more interesting. The aim will always be to try and guess where the ball lands, but different roulette games may include additional features that change your whole gaming experience.
European Roulette at LV BET
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