How to play online roulette

The Setup

The game of Roulette is played using three essential components: the felt of the betting areas, the wheel, and the ball. Players place chips on the betting areas, then press “Spin” to start the game. The wheel turns continuously in a counterclockwise direction, and the ball is spun in a clockwise direction. The wheel is made up of half red and half black pockets numbering 1-36, and one green zero pocket if you’re playing European or French Roulette, and two green zero pockets if you’re playing the American version. Each betting area represents a section of the Roulette wheel, and the object of the game is to guess where the ball will stop

How to Play

By hovering your cursor over the betting areas, you will see the payouts based on the odds of correctly guessing where the ball will stop on the wheel. Simply set your chip stack wager and click to place it on one to as many places as you like.

The outside betting area has the highest likelihood of winning, but the lowest payouts. You can bet on a third of the red and black numbers, or as many as half of them. Bets like Black or Red and Odd or Even result in a 1 to 1 payout, and bets on a third of the numbers results in a 2 to 1 payout. If the ball stops in a green zero pocket, all outside bets are lost.

The inside betting area is where you can bet on specific numbers. Placing chips on one specific number results in a 35 to 1 payout, which is the highest payout in the game. Place chips on a line to bet on two numbers (17 to 1), or a corner to bet on three (11 to 1) or four numbers (8 to 1). Feel free to place as many chips on the inside area as you like, and when you’re ready, simply press spin to play.

Strategy

Where the ball lands is determined entirely by luck. There is no “Roulette Chart” like there are Blackjack Charts. Still, players have different strategies depending on if they are conservative or high roller betters. A conservative method would be to place only 1 to 1 outside bets, where the house edge is as low as playing Blackjack using a chart. Some players like to place a chip on the green pocket as an insurance bet when playing outside bets. 1 to 1 outside bets are also where players can use progressive betting strategies like the Martingale System.

Advantage to Playing It Online

Let’s ignore the obvious convenience of being able to play Roulette whenever the mood strikes and potentially have access to every variation, including mini and multi-ball Roulette. If you’re new to the game, the online version is a pressure-free space to try it out, and the odds are exactly the same. Many casinos also give you the option to try it out for free in demo mode to practice your skills, an opportunity that no land-based casino would ever give you. One of the biggest crazes recently is the live casino, where a real life dealer spins the ball on a real Roulette table and players can place virtual bets. This means that you have both the electronic version and the real-life version at your disposal. Honestly, the better question would be: what is the advantage of driving to a real casino to play it? Maybe the drink service.