The Different Types of Roulette Variations

Roulette is a popular casino game which name is of French origins meaning small wheel. What many players fail to realize is there are several different variations of roulette available on the net, as most know American Roulette, European Roulette or both. In this article we’ll address the most popular forms of roulette and cover where they can be played both live an online.

American Roulette

The American version of roulette is very similar to the European version with one major difference. The American version has an added 00 which is located at the top. It’s important to know that the American and European versions are only different in the sense of the added 00 and this means that the American version has worse odds for players.

American Roulette Online: American Roulette is available at most all online casinos. The only casino worth playing this game at however is the 5Dimes Bonus Casino due to their increased payouts on winning bets. Everywhere else American Roulette carries a 5.26% house advantage. At 5Dimes the advantage is reduced to 0.91% to 1.00%. To learn more visit the 5Dimes website.

American Roulette Live: American Roulette is offered at most brick and mortar casinos in the United States, Caribbean and South America.

European Roulette

Much like the American version, the European version has one major difference and that is that it is lacking the 00 the American version has which makes it have a better odds for players. In American Roulette the house edge is 5.26%, with the double zero removed for European Roulette the house edge is reduced down to 2.7%.

European Roulette Online: While not as common as American Roulette, European Roulette is still wide spread at online casinos. However, most casinos restrict their sign up bonus from being used at European Roulette. The one exception to that rule is Bodog.com, they offer a sign up bonus clearable at European Roulette.

European Roulette Live: Anywhere outside the US, Caribbean and South America you won’t have any trouble finding European Roulette games. While these games are rare you can still find them in Las Vegas specifically at the Mirage, Wynn, MGM and Bellagio. Generally in Las Vegas any European Roulette games offered will come with a higher than usual minimum bet requirement.

French Roulette

French Roulette is similar to European Roulette with only inherent difference being the design of the table layout. Most, but not all, French Roulette games use rules that differ from European Roulette in order to give players even better odds. The more common of these rules are:

“En Prison” rule (in prison): In this version of French Roulette when the zero is spun all outside bets such as red/black, odds/even, high/low etc are not automatic losses. The bets remain on the table for another round and if they win the bets are returned to the player. It is a chance to break even rather than an automatic loss.

“La Partage” rule (the portion): In this version of French Roulette when the zero is spun all outside bets, such as the ones mentioned above (Red/Black, Odds/Even, High/Low etc.) result in only half the bet being lost as opposed to a full loss in European or American Roulette.

French Roulette Online: Ladbrokes is the leading casino for playing French Roulette online. Their French roulette game uses La Partage rule which means the house edge is just 1.35%.

French Roulette Live: While were sure this game is remotely spread across the globe we’re not experts on the topic. The two places we are sure French Roulette can be played live is in the high stakes pits of the Wynn and Bellagio casinos in Las Vegas, NV.

Other Player Friendly Forms of Roulette

In this article so far we’ve covered American Roulette, European Roulette and French Roulette. These are the three most common forms of Roulette played online. There are however a couple other versions of roulette for us to cover, we’ll start with two that have player friendly rules.

No Zero Roulette: This version of Roulette is offered at the Betfair Casino. As the game pays out winning bets the same as European and American Roulette and there is no zero present, this game truly has no house advantage. In fact in 28 countries where Betfair offers the game, the casino posted a lost. To get a £5 No deposit required bonus, sign up using our special link to the Betfair Casino website.

Live Roulette: This is a version of Roulette where players are betting online, yet playing against a live human croupier using a real roulette wheel. They can view all this from a webcam. The top casino for live roulette is DublinBet.com to find out why read our DublinBet Review.

Roulette Sucker Games

There are a number of roulette games on the net that offer players poor odds. We’ve covered those below and you’ll want to avoid these games:

Mini Roulette: This is a version of roulette which has 13 possible outcomes, numbers 1-12 and a zero. The house edge in this game is a considerable 7.69% making it a great game for the house but not a great game for the players.

Progressive Roulette: This is a version of Roulette where a side bet bonus is mandatory. One example of this game is Roulette Royal at Microgaming casinos. Unless the jackpot is well over $750K this is a sucker bet and should be avoided as it often caries as high as a 40% house edge on the side bet.

To the best of our knowledge this page covers all player friendly versions of Roulette. There are many additional versions and gimmicks out there to attract “fish”. As a general rule of thumb if the rules are different for some form of roulette, chances are this game carries a significant house advantage.

Due to decent sized betting limits, and a house edge 1% or less, the best place to play Roulette online is 5Dimes.com.