Roulette is a much older, much more varied game than you might’ve first imagined. It can be traced back to the early 1700s, while the color green was used for zeros in the 1800s. Since then, the game has spread across France, Italy, across Europe as a whole and even over the US. Is it any surprise that the game has so many different variants then?
There are some regional trends that you should be aware of, though. For example, if you play in the US then you’ll probably find double-zero wheels, but almost everywhere else uses a single-zero wheel.
Playing roulette across each of these variants is almost identical, the main difference is in the odds. The only one with anything major going on is French roulette, but we’ll explain more when we get there.
How to play roulette
You buy the chips from the croupier, then place them down wherever you like! If you’re new to the game, it might be worth going for the outside bets while you learn the game. These are your standard Red/Black and Odd/Even bets and are (relatively) a coin-flip in terms of betting odds. The dealer will call ‘No more bets, please!’ and spin the wheel. Finally, they’ll pay out anyone who has winnings, then the process starts again.
Different types of roulette
American roulette, or Double-zero roulette
We’ll start with American roulette and use it as our base to compare all of the others to.
American roulette is the version of the game that is most often played (you guessed it), in North America, Canada, South America and the Caribbean. While some of the casinos will also offer French or European roulette, the times are certainly changing when it comes to roulette in US casinos, particularly in Vegas.
Currently in Vegas, around 30 casinos on the strip are offering European roulette, or Single-zero roulette, while around 70 establishments offer American and 40 offer Triple-zero roulette. As the latter has the biggest house edge, many players have complained about this variant taking priority over Double-zero roulette in casinos, which seems to be just because it’s more profitable for the operator. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
The setup for American roulette is very simple, there are 1-36 numbers split between red and black, then a green 0 and 00 at the top. Eagle-eyed readers may have figured out that this is what makes it Double-zero roulette!
However, this is also what gives American roulette the highest house edge and lowest RTP - all because of this pesky additional green number! This is because it’s one less number included in the outside bets, such as Red/Black, 1-18/19-36, and the like.
This is the reason that many players prefer to play European roulette, and why there’s such a pushback on Triple-zero roulette…
European roulette, or Single-zero roulette
Often cited as the Traditional roulette, or Single-zero roulette, this is the style of roulette that was created in the 19th century. One of the biggest differences straight away with European roulette is that it only has 37 pockets, meaning you’ve got 1/37 chances of guessing the right number, rather than the 1/38 found in American roulette. It might not seem like a big difference, but if you play regularly then you might want to play at a game with the best odds for the player.
European roulette is probably the most popular variant worldwide, even if some of the casinos in America will find a preference for Double-zero roulette.
As this game type only has one green 0, it has better odds for the player.
There isn’t much else to say about European roulette. It’s the simplest, most standard version of roulette possible and there isn’t much else to say about it. How about a fun fact, instead? A very primitive form of roulette was played in English in the late 18th century, called EO (meaning Even Odd), but this was eventually pushed out in favor of roulette.
French roulette
French roulette is very similar to European roulette, in that it has 37 pockets and a single zero, however this singular zero is played differently in French roulette. We’re about to throw out some terms at you, and they might seem scary at first because they’re in French, but don’t worry. They’re very easy concepts, we promise!
La Partage: If the player has bet on even money bets, such as Red/Black, and the ball lands on Zero then the wager will be split in two (think of La Partage as Parting!). One half will go to the casino, while the other half is returned to the player.
Simpler: If you’re on an even money bet and the ball lands on zero, you get half your money back.
En Prison: If the player has bet on even money bets, such as Red/Black, and the ball lands on Zero then the wager is put in prison. The ball will then be span again and if the player wins this time, then they get their wager back!
Simpler: If you’re on an even money bet and the ball lands on zero, nothing happens and the croupier will spin again as normal.
It’s these additional features that give French roulette the best house edge and RTP, and the main reason it’s so beloved by players!
There is one more difference that should be noted. Almost all French roulette tables, whether they’re in the country or not, will have their felt language in French. Don’t be too afraid though, they are simple to learn!
As for the stats themselves...
Mini roulette
Mini Roulette is really taking off in online casinos, probably because it’s less intimidating to learn than its full-sized counterpart. As the name suggests, it’s a much smaller version of the game, with only 13 pockets to choose from. You’ll still get your standard outside bets, but these will adjust themselves for the fewer numbers present. For example, rather than the standard dozen bet covering 1-12, they’ll be 1-6, 4-9 and 7-12 here.
Most Mini Roulette games will also employ the La Partage rule discussed earlier, meaning that if the ball lands on zero while you have an even money bet placed then you’ll receive half of your wager back.
Others:
Multi-ball roulette
As the name suggests, Multi-ball roulette has multiple balls span around the wheel at the same time. This provides additional betting opportunities, as there will be more than one winner each time. As each game will differ on how many balls are used, or which wheel will be used, it’s impossible to rate the statistics here.
Triple zero roulette
While European roulette uses one zero, and American roulette uses two zeros, Triple-zero roulette has - you guessed it! Three zeros!
There’s a bit of tension around this particular game, however. It has become increasingly popular with operators, especially land-based ones on the Las Vegas Strip, because it has a much higher house edge thanks to that pesky third zero. Understandably, this has been received unfavorably with many players, especially when the Double-zero roulette tables are removed to install the ones with worse customer odds.
While it’s too early to tell how this will play out, it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on for now.
100/1 roulette
Rather than having thirty-something pockets, 100/1 roulette ups the odds by having around 100 pockets instead. Some versions of the game will have 105 pockets, numbered 1-100 and then five green zero options, distinguished from one another by symbols.
