Online Roulette Guide 2020 - Introduction, Tips & Tricks

  Why Play Online Roulette? 

•   This much-loved casino game has been around since the 18th century;
•   Online Roulette is a game of chance just like its brick and mortar cousin;
•   This table game is one of the most popular around the globe and is offered at virtually all casinos;
•   Its rules are fairly easy to learn;
•   The game's house edge can range from about 2.70% to 5% depending on the variant played. 

Roulette Games – AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN ROULETTE: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Although there are many variants of online Roulette that have been created and released into the intergalactic realms of the internet, American and European Roulette are definitely the most popular. Before you start playing either one of them, it’s definitely important to know the differences between them in regards to rules, strategy and house edge. At CasinoTop10, we've played both and have done our research in order to distinguish the two. Have a look below to find out all about the individual variants.

European Roulette

European Roulette takes its roots from France and Germany. This variant of the game has been around for a far longer time than American Roulette and this is perhaps why it’s regarded as the original game. The main thing that draws players to this casino game is predominantly the single zero present in the game. As you probably already know, the green zero pocket on the wheel represents the house edge which is about 2.70% in European Roulette. If there were no zeros on the roulette wheel, it would be a zero-sum game and the players and the house would break even in the long run. As we all know, casinos don't run that sort of business. The roulette that you can enjoy playing at on our Free Casino Games page is European Roulette.

American Roulette

The American roulette wheel has gone through quite a few transformations before reaching the game we today call American Roulette – a wheel with 36 numbered slots plus two green slots for 0 and 00. In the late 19th century, for instance, the most popular form of roulette had the numbers 1 to 28 plus 0, 00, and a slot with an American eagle. Since this roulette version only paid 27 times the wager for a bet on a single number, the house advantage was huge. About every 10th spin ended up on 0, 00 or the eagle, which resulted in the house raking in all the chips on the table. In consequence, very few players could walk away from the table with a profit in those days. Luckily the players' odds have improved since these early American roulette variations were developed in Louisiana and made their way up the Mississippi. The house still has an edge, of course, but in modern games, it has been reduced significantly.

Which of the two Roulette Variants Should You Play?

In reality, there is only one real difference between the two and that is that the European roulette wheels have one zero pocket, while their American counterpart has two (as aforementioned, one pocket is a single zero pocket whilst the other is inscribed with a double zero figure). Arguably the most important part of a winning online Roulette strategy is probably choosing the right wheel to play on before you actually start playing your game. The reality is a simple one, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to play American roulette unless you’re feeling unnecessarily patriotic and don’t mind losing lots of extra money for nothing.

The sad reality is that the only thing that the double zero pocket does is just decrease your odds of winning substantially and since both games are easily available online why would you choose anything except the option that gives you the best odds of making a tidy sum? In addition to this, European roulette also offers other advantages such as the “En Prison” rule which comes into play when a player places an even-money bet with the ball landing on zero. When this bet is made, the player's money bet is “imprisoned” till the next turn and if the player’s original bet wins on the next spin, then the player will win his chips back! Unfortunately, although this rule is customary to the play of European roulette, it is not usually available to players of American roulette.

Casino Roulette Rules

Playing online Roulette is essentially as easy as ABC. The colors used in the ubiquitous roulette wheel are black and red for both American and European Roulette, with the exception of a single green pocket numbered with a zero which is present in the European roulette wheel. American roulette, however, has both this green zero pocket, as well as a double zero pocket which is also green in color. The video and points below focus on explaining how to play American Roulette. However, European online Roulette is also played in more or less the same way with very few differences in rules. 

1) Place Your Bets on the Roulette Table

The first thing you’ll need to do whilst playing online Roulette is to decide where you’d like to place your bets. The Roulette table is marked with all the numbers and their corresponding colors on the Roulette wheel. The wheel itself is composed of pockets which range from zero or double zero to thirty-six and one is at liberty to place bets on single numbers, groups of numbers, individual colors, even or odd, red or black and even cover the whole table with bets. For a full explanation on how to bet in Roulette, we urge you to have a look at our how to play Roulette page.

2) Press ‘Spin’ to give the Dealer the Go Ahead

Once you’ve managed to decide how to place your bets, all you have to do then is go ahead and press ‘Spin’. As soon as you’ve done this, the virtual dealer will spin the hypnotic Roulette wheel.

3) Wait for the Outcome

The next step is to simply wait for the outcome. The winner will be paid out according to the pay table. By sticking to the table minimum and placing outside bets only, for example betting on just red or just black for each spin, you will be increasing your chances of winning as this as this type of outside bet pays one to one and covers almost half of the possible combinations (depending on the wheel you’re playing on). Obviously, your chances of winning are greatly decreased if you choose to bet on just one number, but should you in fact land on that specific number then the reward will be substantial.

Roulette Strategy 

The wonderful game of chance, Roulette, has been around for a long time which means that plenty of people have tried to crack the supposed Roulette code. And from time to time players do in fact come forward to say that they’ve actually won by using the “perfect” method to beat the house at its own name.

Yet, we’re really sorry to have to break it to you like this, but chances are that any system you “discover” has already been tried and tested by someone else. And since the lights of Vegas are still shining brightly, we’re going to go out on a limb here and say that chances are that that “perfect” method was for all intents and purposes a flop. The sad reality for all you energetic strategists out there is that online Roulette truly is a genuine game of chance and luck is pretty much the only factor which matters. In other words, to beat the game you need to hit a good streak of fortune. That said, you should always ensure that your casino of choice is governed by a Random Number Generator which will ensure that every spin you make is, in fact, a fair and unbiased one which is solely dependent on what kind of day you’re having luck wise and nothing else. Of course, it is still worth reading about the different rules and systems in order for you to be able to familiarize yourself with the game and play it at optimum level – it’s mostly the unprepared that always finish last (and penniless). However, if you are interested, have a read of the James Bond Roulette Strategy

The table below shows the different factors you need to understand when deciding to use one of these roulette strategies when playing this table game.

Roulette Money Management

As with everything else in life, planning really is the key to success and when it comes to roulette money management the planning principle applies seven fold and is truly one of the only things that will guarantee you the kind of success which you have only dreamt of.

Roulette Money Management Tips

1) ESTABLISH A ROULETTE MONEY MANAGEMENT BANKROLL AND STICK TO IT!

If you don’t want to be sent home after just three spins of the wheel, you need to plan ahead and really give thought to how much and how often you’d like to bet.

2) AVOID THE MARTINGALE SYSTEM TO MANAGE YOUR ROULETTE MONEY PROPERLY

Although many a roulette and online roulette enthusiast swears by the Martingale system (and sometimes the James Bond Roulette Strategy too) the truth is that as effective as many players find it, it will quickly drain your bankroll dry.

3) KNOW YOUR ODDS

Due to the fact that roulette is ultimately a game of chance, the house will undoubtedly always have an edge and so any strategy or roulette money management tips you chose to use will have to be pretty effective for you to make money. Ultimately, your best bet is to play it safe.

4) QUITTING WHILE YOU’RE AHEAD!

At the crux of efficient roulette money management is a deceptively simple principle: know when it’s time to quit! The reality is a simple one, a smart roulette player is a player who knows how much he wants to play with and how much he’s willing to lose. Furthermore, if he loses the amount of money that he has set aside for this purpose, he won’t pursue the money he has lost like a headless chicken.

Roulette Betting Systems – Do they really work?

If you happen to be a Roulette enthusiast, you’ve probably heard on the grapevine that using Roulette Betting Systems can help you better your game. And although this might sound like absolutely fantastic news to all you keen gamblers out there, using Roulette betting systems as part of your strategy does not actually ensure that you’ll definitely manage to secure a win. No matter if you choose to incorporate the famous Martingale system, the Labouchere system, Reverse Paroli or whatever you choose, you will never manage to obliterate the house edge. An unlucky bounce of the ball can always lead to a loss so don't bet your life savings on any one spin of the roulette wheel.

Our only suggestion in regards to using Roulette betting systems should you wish to is to always stick to positive progressive systems such as the Reverse D’Alembert System, Paroli, Reverse Labouchere and so on. By using any one of these, you won’t have to increase your bet every time you lose, just when you win.

Practice by Playing Our Free Online Roulette Game for Fun

Try It For Free Play

Now that you've learnt all about the game's rules and strategy, it's time to start practicing how to play roulette. Provided that you don't want to head straight to the casino to play, you should practice by playing our Free Roulette game first. Simply click on the 'Play Now' button below and start playing using our free play money! For more free play, visit our Free Casino Games page.

Roulette History - Because in order to understand how something works, you need to know where it came from!

If the French terms, which are still used and you can find on our roulette terms page, weren’t enough to give the game of roulette’s origins away, then maybe this little piece of history will help you piece everything together jigsaw-like far more quickly. The word “roulette” itself is taken from the French word for “little wheel” and probably owes its 18th-century birth to Blaise Pascal’s perpetual motion machine which was circular in form. Much-loved (and played) throughout Europe for a number of years, our red and black friend journeyed its way to the United States in the 19^th century, however, its aesthetic appearance did not remain true to the original and in fact, the Americans actually added a further green pocket to the wheel which led to the formation of the two main branches of roulette we know and love today: “European Roulette” and “American Roulette”. The roulette wheel is now considered to be a quintessential and integral part of the casino game world and has gained an iconic status.

Online Roulette Variants

The online casino revolution has led to heavy competition between online casino software companies to produce more variants of casino games that are typically found at brick-and-mortar casinos. And this is perhaps why you as a player can find many different variants out there! Amongst the ones you’ll be able to find are the following:

 French Roulette

This particular variant is frequently associated with Monte Carlo casinos where players can be found crowding around the table. This particular game of chance originated in France and gained huge popularity after the French revolution. Its rules are predominantly the same as European Roulette, however, the game does have a few differences in rules.

 Mini Roulette

Mini Roulette, which can be found at many of the Playtech Casinos online, is a version of the game which is based on fewer numbers and has a smaller wheel than the average European and American variants of the game. This particular variant which only includes 13 numbers on its wheel (0-12) has a house edge of approximately 7.69% and follows more or less the same rules of European Roulette. 

 Multi-ball Roulette

If you’re sick and tired of playing Roulette in its classic form, Multi-ball Roulette provides an exciting new twist on the game! As the name of the game suggests, the game involves more than one ball. In fact, there are versions of this game that use 2, 3 or even as many as 10 balls. The table, as well as the red and black wheel, used throughout the game looks just like that of European Roulette. And due to the fact that the game only has one zero pocket, the house edge 2.7%) is also the same too!

 Multi-Wheel Roulette

Multi-Wheel Roulette is offered by many of the Playtech and Microgaming Casinos found online. As the name implies, this version of online Roulette uses multiple wheels. Provided that you’re familiar to Roulette, you’ll find that the game is pretty easy to understand and play. The objective of the game is fundamentally to predict where the ball will land on the various Roulette wheels present in the game. On playing this variant of the game, you’ll find 8 in the Microgaming version and 6 wheels in the Playtech one.

 Roulette Pro

Roulette Pro is a game that’s been developed by NetEnt as an alternative to the classic version of Roulette. The wheel is basically like that belonging to American Roulette which has two zero pockets marked 0 and 00 respectively. The only difference is that it’s got some added functionality.

 3D Roulette

3D roulette is a version of the game by Playtech. Fundamentally, this game isn’t really different from other European Roulette games. It still possesses only one zero and follows the same rules. And the only difference about this game is that it’s in 3D so the graphics are slightly better.

 Roulette Royale

Roulette Royale is a progressive online Roulette game that grants players the opportunity to win a larger payout than they typically would play the regular version of Roulette. The wheel resembles American Roulette and is played similarly to the regular version of the game. The most extraordinary difference in this game, however, is the jackpot side bet. However, the house edge is greater and stands at 7.9%.

 Pinball Roulette

An exciting variant of the game to play is Pinball Roulette. This game features a table that’s similar to the European version of online Roulette. However, the remarkable difference in this variant is that there’s no Roulette wheel. Instead, the winning number is chosen using the arcade classic pinball machine! You can find this game at many of the Playtech casinos available on the net. 

Sign Up to a Casino & Play Roulette for Real Money today!

Many keen gamblers who hold a special place for online Roulette in their hearts will tell you time and time again that there's no better game than it! The trick to winning is simply knowing how to place your bets on the table. By following CasinoTop10's guidelines, your online Roulette game experience will be far more enjoyable and entertaining. Moreover, provided that you do happen to get lucky, it can prove to be a very profitable adventure which will give you great personal satisfaction. If you happen to be looking for an online gambling site to play at, we highly recommend having a read through some of our online casino reviews prior to choosing an online Roulette casino to play at. Once you've gone ahead and chosen an online casino from our regulated list, prepare to place your bets at the Roulette table, hold on tight and possibly win a large sum of money. May the odds be ever in your favor!