Whenever you think about the most popular casino games in the world, the first games that might come to mind are blackjack, slots, or poker. You might even think of baccarat too. But there’s also one game that also tends to come to mind first whenever you mention the word casino to someone. That’s roulette.Think about it. Of all the casino or gambling movies that you’ve seen, there’s always that one scene wherein a group of guys are huddled around a table looking to see whether the ball is going to land on red or black. Then, depending on the ball’s fate, it’s either an eruption of cheers or jeers from the crowd.
Roulette is one of the most popular casino games in the world. And its popularity in traditional casinos has even somehow managed to transition to the online world as well. But isn’t that weird? The whole appeal of real-life roulette comes with the thrill of watching that ball go round and round in its spinner in the hopes that it’ll land on the right color or number. There’s a certain allure and theatricality to how roulette is played in real life. And at first glance, you might not think that the same kind of theatricality translates to the digital world as well. However, you would be surprised.
Numbers have shown that many people are still flocking to play roulette online, whether it be through a live dealer game or not. Roulette still is one of the most popular online casino games. The game of online roulette has managed to amass a cult following and it looks like it’s going to continue to grow in popularity well into the future.
A Brief History of Roulette
Oddly enough, roulette in itself is actually a spinoff from an invention by famed mathematician Blaise Pascal. The scientist was investigating the ideas of perpetual motion and was in search of a machine that he could use to perform certain experiments. While he was conducting his research, he unintentionally created the game of roulette by taking popular board games from France and fusing them with British games like Roly-Poly and E.O. Essentially, Pascal failed in creating a machine that could prove the idea of perpetual motion.H however, he did end up creating one of the most iconic casino games of all time.
Variants of Roulette
European Roulette
European Roulette is arguably the most common and popular variant of this game in the continent of Europe (as its name implies). But it’s also very popular in the online gambling world. In the European variant of this game, there is only a single zero on the board. This means that the house only has a 2.7% edge over the player. This makes it easier for gamblers to win as compared to the American variant.
American Roulette
The American version of roulette has an extra slot on the board depicting the double zero or 00. Naturally, this increases the house edge to 5.26% and it decreases the players’ chances of winning. But despite the lower chances, gamblers are still afforded the same kind of payout that they would get from the European version of the game. The American Roulette variant is obviously most popular in the United States, but it’s also found in some of the high-end casinos in London and Asia. Most international players tend to avoid this variant due to the higher house odds.
French Roulette
If you’re a player who really wants to maximize your odds, then you need to start playing French Roulette. The French variant of the game grants players the highest odds out of all the major incarnations of the game. This is because it offers greater odds for even chance bets. It has just the single zero, just like the European version, and the even chance bets offer players an opportunity to win back half of their money. For example, if you bet $100 on black, and the ball hit 0, then you would be given $50. This is not a game feature that you would find in the other variants.
When it comes to the online space, you can find any one of these variants. There are many casinos out there that specialize in certain variants while others offer all of them.