What is Roulette?
Roulette is one of the gambling industry’s most popular games and the roulette wheel is representative of everything that makes gambling so exciting. The game is extremely simple, having players place their bets on a specially designated roulette table to predict which slot the ball will fall into once the roulette wheel stops spinning. Based on luck alone, roulette is wildly popular at online as well as land-based casinos across the world.
What is the Objective of Roulette?
The game of roulette is played around a roulette wheel, which is divided into 37 (or 38) slots, each with its own number. Besides the numbers 1-36, there is also a slot for the zero (or two zeroes in the case of American roulette). Players place their bets on the table. Bets can range from predicting one single number, to a group of numbers, odds or evens, colors, etc. The croupier spins the roulette wheel and the ball is thrown into the spin. Once the ball falls into a slot and the wheel comes to a stop, players who made correct predictions are paid out accordingly and the table is cleared of all other bets before a new game begins.
Where did Roulette Originate?
Generic versions of roulette were played as early as the 15th Century, although the first formal wheel was designed by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal in the 17th century. After a temporary ban in Europe and the United Kingdom, the popularity of roulette was revived in the Kingdom of Monaco as a way to fund the coffers of this fledgling state. The game picked up in popularity throughout France and soon found its way across the ocean to the United States. Today, the game is more popular in Europe than it is in the United States, mainly due to the fact that the house edge is significantly lower in European gaming establishments.
What is Online Roulette?
It didn’t take long for the game of roulette to find its way onto the internet and today has a vast following of literally millions of players from around the globe. Software companies vie with each other to bring players a realistic gaming experience with 3D graphics and amazing sound features – so much so that gamblers can be forgiven for thinking that they are in a real Vegas casino. One of the biggest advantages of online roulette is that players can choose to play American or European roulette from wherever they are in the world.
What is the Difference between American and European Roulette?
As mentioned, an American roulette wheel consists of two zeroes instead of the traditional European wheel’s one zero. This came about when American casinos wanted to benefit from a higher house edge. As a result, many players favor the classic European version that has a house edge of way lower than the American 5.26%. Another main difference is the fact that European Roulette has certain rules such as the ‘en-prison’ rule that isn’t found in American roulette.