With roots dating back to the 17th century, roulette ranks among the oldest casino games. However, its relevance and popularity haven’t diminished with time. This game remains one of the most popular categories available to UK players in land-based and online casinos.
If you’ve never played casino roulette, now’s your chance. Read the following guide, learn about roulette rules, gameplay, bets, variants, and strategies, and give this casino classic a try.
What Is Casino Roulette?
Roulette is a casino game created in France in the 1600s. The game’s exact origin is unknown, but many believe it was adapted from the Italian game called Biribi. It changed and evolved over time, eventually transforming into the game we know and love today.
Roulette rules and gameplay are simple. Players make bets on numbers from 0 to 36 by placing chips on the table with a unique betting grid. The dealer spins the wheel with 37 numbers and releases a small ball in the opposite direction. As the wheel slows down, the ball lands in one of the pockets, revealing the winning bets.
Differences Between Live and Virtual Roulette
With the expansion of gambling to the internet sphere, roulette has taken on two forms — virtual and live dealer. Both versions of online roulette UK offers follow the above-described rules. However, they play under slightly different circumstances.
Virtual online roulette is a computer-simulated game. Players engage with it through an interactive interface, including a virtual wheel, betting table, and chips. To keep the game fair, virtual roulette games use Random Number Generators (RNGs) to determine the outcome of every spin.
In contrast, live dealer casino roulette plays with real-life dealers and equipment set up at a land-based studio. Players participate by joining real-time streams of the game and placing bets on the digital representation of the betting grid displayed on their screens. A live chat lets them interact with other players and the dealer, making the game more immersive.
Online Roulette Bets
Roulette games feature two types of bets — Inside and Outside. As their names suggest, the former cover the fields located inside and the latter the fields outside of the betting grid. Here’s how they work:
Inside bets:
- Straight — Bet on just one number.
- Split — Bet on two adjacent numbers.
- Street — Bet on three consecutive numbers.
- Corner — Bet on four numbers whose fields intersect at a corner.
- Line — Bet on six consecutive numbers in two horizontal lines.
- Basket — Bet on numbers from 0 to 3. (It may include both zero pockets).
- Trio — Bet on three numbers — 0,1, and 2 or 0, 2, and 3.
- Top Line — Bet on the first five numbers — 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3.
Outside bets:
- Red/Black — Bet on whether the winning pocket will be red or black.
- Odd/Even — Bet on whether the winning number will be odd or even.
- Low/High — Bet on whether the winning number will be high (19–36) or low (1–18).
- Dozen Bet — Bet on one of the three sets on the betting grid (1–12, 13–24, or 25–36).
- Column Bet — Bet on one of the three 12-digit vertical columns in the betting grid.
New players tend to choose Outside bets because of their higher winning odds. However, if you’re after the big bucks, Inside bets might be a better match.
Common Online Roulette UK Variants
Modern casino roulette comes in many variations, three of which reign supreme in terms of popularity:
- European Roulette — A roulette version you’ll find in most land-based and online casinos. It features a 37-pocket wheel with a single zero.
- French Roulette — An adaptation of the European version with two additional bets. You can read more about the En Prison and La Partage in this article. The main premise is that both offer returns on even money bets if the ball falls on zero or you win on the next spin.
- American Roulette — A roulette variant that uses a wheel with 38 pockets, including the double zero. This change adds more bet types to the grid but negatively affects the house edge and winning odds.
Popular Online Roulette Strategies
Roulette is a game of luck, whether in person or online, so no strategy guarantees a win. However, players often rely on betting systems to increase their profits.
- The Martingale system advises players to double their bets after each loss so as to recover their losses faster.
- The Fibonacci system follows a similar philosophy, recommending higher bets after losses and reducing them after wins.
- The Paroli system takes a different approach, suggesting you increase bets only when winning to capitalise on winning streaks.
- The Labouchere system involves creating betting sequences and adjusting bets based on the sum of the first and last numbers in those sequences.
Conclusion
From game history and rules to variations and betting systems, this guide has discussed all you need to know about casino roulette. Find out how much you’ve learned by playing the game. Make notes on the important topics, join a reputable online gambling site, and try your luck.
