European Roulette

Roulette is one of the fastest casino games to learn, and new players are not burdened by having to learn complex European Roulette rules or terminology in order to enjoy it. Betting strategies can be as simple or as complex as you wish, and there are interesting variations of the game for you to enjoy.

How to play European Roulette

Roulette has been played for more than 300 years, and the rules and betting options have remained largely the same since that time, although there have been some variations of the game introduced over the years, not least the creation of online versions.

When you play European Roulette online, the key elements are the wheel and the table. The wheel in European Roulette has 37 pockets, numbered from 0 to 36, which are either red, black or green (number 0). A ball is spun around the wheel and players wager on which numbered pocket the ball will land in.

Bets are placed on the table, which is divided into several different sections. In addition to individual numbers, there are a number of other "outside" bets available, all with different odds; you can bet on a single number, on the first 12 numbers, on red/black, odd/even, etc.

French Roulette also has 37 numbers, while an American Roulette wheel has 38 pockets, which includes the numbers 1 - 36, as well as 0 and 00.

Online European Roulette is played in exactly the same way as in a land-based casino, with the same table layout and the same range of bets. However, playing European Roulette online has the added advantage of being a much faster game as you don't have to wait for other players to place their bets.

European roulette vs regular roulette

The online casinos that we recommend generally offer three main varieties of roulette – European, French and American.

As mentioned above, European Roulette rules dictate that there are 37 numbers (including 0) on the wheel and table, with 0 placed closest to the wheel at the top of the table, and the remaining numbers arranged from 1 to 36. These are either red or black.

Players can bet on single numbers, odds/evens, red/black, etc., with the odds reflecting the probability. For example, betting on black pays even money, while betting on a single number pays 35-1.

French Roulette is very similar to European Roulette in that the wheel has 37 pockets - numbers 1-36 and 0 - but although the table is laid out in the same way, the numbers are all the same color. The main difference is that French Online Roulette features the la partage rule, where when the number 0 is spun, outside bets such as red/black or odds/evens are returned half of the stake.

However, the differences between European and American Roulette are more significant, as the latter has a wheel and table with 38 pockets, the extra one being for the number 00.

Playing roulette online

Playing online European roulette at the casinos that we recommend has several advantages for both new and experienced players.

Many of our sites allow you to play games in Flash mode without having to download casino software or, in many cases, even register for an account. This means you can enjoy a free European Roulette game in demo mode to get a better understanding of the game and experiment with different betting and bankroll management strategies.

We also recommend online casinos that offer players generous welcome bonuses. Although there are very few bonuses specifically for roulette players, and roulette rarely contributes 100% to the wagering requirements, there are still opportunities to pick up sign-up offers that allow you to play with casino money.

Tips for playing online roulette

Despite the fact that it is a game of chance and there is no European Roulette strategy that can predict which number will be hit, there are strategies that can be used to manage your bankroll to get as much value as possible.

These include the D'Alembert System, which is based on even money bets and requires players to increase or decrease the size of their bet depending on the outcome of the previous spin. A variation of this is the Martingale System, where you double your bet after a winning spin and then return to your original bet size after a win.

Some other popular examples of European Roulette strategy include: the Inside Bet System, where players bet only on odd/even or red/black using a system of multiple bets; the Parlay System, where players set a target they are trying to win and bet to reach the desired win amount in as few spins as possible; and the Adrenotrends System, which aims to profit from runs on the same color.

Whichever system you choose (or if you don't choose at all), it's important to understand the probability and odds of each bet, and how they compare between European Roulette and other versions of the game.

The key to this is the inclusion of 00 in American Roulette, which increases the house edge to 5.26%, as opposed to only 2.63% in European Roulette. Similarly, if you make outside bets (i.e., red/black, odd/even, etc.), although both versions of the game pay even money, the probability of winning in the American version is 46.37%, while it is higher at 48.6% in European Roulette. Therefore, European Roulette can be seen to offer significantly better odds overall than the American version of the game.