We regularly receive questions about roulette. The popular casino game is not always as clear as it seems. We have selected 10 questions and answered them.
This way you’ll be well prepared the next time you play roulette.
Question 1: Is roulette the oldest game in the casino?
It depends a bit on what you mean by a casino. Gambling has been around since time immemorial. People bet on races between horses and between men. People bet on fights between animals and between people and between animals and people.
There is evidence that both the throwing of dice and roulette games go way back. Dice were made of bones as in “roll these bones”. And shields or ovals or round objects were spun around to collect the will of the gods or simply to win money between individuals.
What was earlier, the throwing of the bones or the turning of the shields is frankly not entirely clear. What is certain is that both games go back a very long way in time.
Question 2: What variants are offered in the casino?
In a landbased casino you have two variants. There is the American game which has two green zeros and there is the European game which has only one zero. Except that the numbers on the wheel are arranged differently, the game is the same.
In the online casino today, there are lots of fun variations to be found in the live casino. For example, you have Double Ball Roulette, where two balls are released into the cauldron. The most popular variant online is Lightning Roulette from Evolution Gaming. This live casino game with a live dealer works with multipliers so you can win 500x your bet instead of the normal 35x.
Question 3: Do the European and American games have the same house edge?
No. The European game is much better with a house edge of 2.70%, while the American game has a house edge of 5.26%. That means that for every €10 wagered on the European game the expected loss is €0.27. On the American game the expected loss is almost twice as big namely €0.52.
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Question 4: How does the house edge in roulette come about?
Let’s look at the European wheel with 37 numbers, one to 36 and one 0. The payout for a winning decision is 35 to one. You also get your placed bet back so you receive 36x your bet. In a game where the house has no advantage, the payout for a winning bet should be 37x.
Keep in mind that on average you lose 36 times for every time you win. To make money, casinos don’t pay that 37 to one, they shorten the win by one unit, making it 36x for the winner. You just divide the 37 into the unit kept by the casino and that comes to a house edge of 2.70%.
Question 5: What are the best bets to place?
Sometimes the casino offers the “en prison” rule. This means that when the 0 falls the bet on the single odds is halved rather than completely taken. This means that the house edge in European Roulette halves to 1.35%. This is good.
Question 6: Can you beat the game?
There were ways to beat the game in the past, but then the roulette wheels were much less perfectly made. Today’s wheels in the modern casino are so well made that they really do get unpredictable results. The old methods of winning by studying imperfections in the wheel will probably no longer work, since such imperfections really don’t exist anymore. This is because the new wheels are always controlled and the boxes for the ball to land in are quite shallow, so the ball bounces quite a bit. The more the ball bounces, the harder it is to determine where the ball will eventually land.
Question 7: Can the dealer (bouleur) determine where the ball will land?
This used to be called a “dealer signature. Perhaps this was possible in the past, but we doubt it is possible today. The young dealers we spoke with do not know this technique. It’s really a thing of the past.
Question 8: Is number 17 the most played number?
That is a rumor that goes around. The number 17 is a lucky number for many people. Anyhow, numbers with a 7 in them. It is also the only number with a 7 in it that is in the middle row on the field and that is attractive. It certainly gets played a lot by people. Perhaps it also has to do with the fact that James Bond once played it in one of his movies.
Question 9: What is the most annoying thing about playing roulette in a land-based casino?
The most annoying thing is that you have overly aggressive players who push you away in their rush to get their bets on the table. The dealers give players plenty of time to bet, so aggressive players don’t have to be so aggressive!
Question 10: If you place more bets on the table are you more likely to win?
Yes, you will win more often, but you will lose more money over time. The house edge works on the total amount of money you bet, whether it’s one bet or multiple bets. So bet as your budget allows. It does need to remain fun. Also, never play with money you can’t actually spare.