Variations of Roulette

American Roulette

Ironically, American roulette is actually the original roulette played in France in the eighteenth century. In Europe, the wheel was changed by removing one of its zeros to make the game more attractive to players, whereas in the US, the new table was not adopted. Despite having a higher house edge, it's still a very popular game, especially online where many casinos allow American roulette to be played as part of wagering requirements for bonuses.

Also, American roulette has a different number sequence on its wheel to its European counterparts, which has no effect on the game (apart from the extra zero ).

European Roulette

European roulette mainly consists of the same rules as American roulette and all but one or two of the French version. The main difference between European and American roulette is the amount of pockets — the American version has one more, the double zero. The number sequence on the wheel is therefore different to American roulette .

Also in European roulette, if a number bet is placed and zero lands, half of the wager is returned to the player. This is sometimes referred to as "surrender".

French Roulette

French roulette is very similar to the European variation, with only a few small differences. One of these differences is a feature called en prison, dictating that, if a bet is placed on a color and the zero comes in, the player's bet is held until the next color comes.

This differs with the regular European roulette rules, which give the player 50% of his or her stake back in this situation. And in the American version, nothing is given back, even though it's more likely to happen .

Mini Roulette

Casinos have developed a smaller version of roulette that's become popular online. It usually features 13 slots (twelve numbered and a zero) rather than the full 37 or 38. Casino Edge recommends always playing full-sized roulette if it is available. Why? The odds on mini roulette are usually very poor. For example, a color bet pays even money, yet there is a much greater chance you'll land on zero .

Progressive Roulette & Rule Variations

There are some pretty big progressive jackpot roulette games available online, but they can be a little hard to find. One progressive in particular is called Roulette Royal, which allows you to place a progressive bet with the jackpot. The jackpot is triggered when a number falls five times consecutively.

Some of the tweaks made to the game by casinos include the ability to win bonus spins and a special slot that voids all losing bets; however, games such as these are only available online. These games take away large groups of numbers, which increases the house edge. But they also frequently offer an added bonus, which can make them worthwhile.