Roulette rules and variations

Roulette was invented during the 17th century by Blaise Pascal, a French scientist, and it soon became a popular European gambling game featured at Monte Carlo and other world renounced gambling hot spots. The game eventually made it's way to the US during the early 19th century and it remained more or less the same apart from the addition of a double zero slot. Today, just about every internet casino features both the European and the American versions of online roulette for players to enjoy. As a rule of thumb, European roulette offers slightly better winning odds for the player so it should be chosen over American roulette if both games are offered. Read more about roulette strategies here.

The American roulette wheel contains 38 identical slots numbered from 1 to 36 and also includes a 0 slot as well as a 00 slot. The numbers don't run consecutively and each slot alternates in color between red and black. In the European version of roulette there are only 37 slots on the roulette wheel ranging from 1 to 36 plus a 0 slot. Because European roulette does not feature a 00 slot the odds of winning are slightly better (the house edge is 2.70%) in the player's favor in comparison to American roulette.

Playing roulette is quite easy and the rules are straightforward. Players must place their bets by putting chips down on any number of bets from odd or even numbers, to groups of numbers, and individual numbers. There's even an option to bet based on which color will win -either black or red. Each type of bet pays out odds accordingly. Once all bets are placed the roulette wheel is spun and the croupier drops a small ball about the size of one slot onto the spinning roulette wheel. As the wheel slows down the ball will eventually land in one of the slots and the outcome of the game will be determined. Payouts are then distributed accordingly. If you're interested in finding out more, check out how roulette works .