Online Roulette Games

Roulette is one of the more popular games in both live and online casinos. It’s the kind of game that’s easy to learn, and totally addictive after you’ve played it and won. The suspense of waiting for the ball to land on a number, seeing if you bet on the right number, waiting to collect a pile of chips from the dealer – all adding to the suspense & excitement.

When played online, roulette is exciting for a different reason. At online casinos, most people get more strategic with the game. Instead of drinking and whooping it up with friends, players tend to focus on winning. Truthfully, it’s easier to win at online roulette than in a live casino.

When playing online, players can choose which game they prefer – European or American roulette. At most live casinos, one game or the other is offered, giving the player no options. However, online casinos give players the option to play either game. Players who know what they’re doing will play European roulette instead of American roulette, for a good reason which we’ll explain below.

Is Roulette a Sucker’s Game?

Many people call roulette a “sucker’s game”, but we prefer to say “it’s a sucker’s game when it’s played by a sucker.” The truth is, most people have no idea what they’re doing when they play roulette, then complain about it when their money is gone. Blackjack could also be called a suckers game if you hit on 19 when the dealer is showing an 8. So, before you call roulette a sucker’s game, read through our tips below and try a better way to play.

Like every casino game, most people will lose in the long run. However, most people don’t gamble for the long run, they gamble for the exciting, short term wins. Walk into a live casino and ask people if they expect to win or lose. The vast majority will say they expect to lose – but ‘hope’ to win. They want to win, but go into it knowing that is unlikely. The tips below are not designed to make you a long term winner at roulette, but to give you many more short-term wins – while minimizing your long-term losses. For people who love to play roulette but consistently lose, the tips below will allow you to play longer sessions, and go home profitable a lot more often.

Most Common Reasons that Players Lose at Roulette

1) They bet on too many numbers on a single spin. If you bet on just one number, your bet is never guaranteed to lose. When you bet on two numbers, one bet is guaranteed to lose. When you bet on ten numbers, you’re guaranteed to lose nine of them. Here’s how it works out:

For this example, let’s assume the player is betting with £1 chips.

• Bet on one number: Cost £1. Payout = £35 + £1 original bet = £36 return.
• Bet on two numbers: Cost £2. Payout = £35 + £1 original bet = £36, minus £1 lost bet = £35 return.
• Bet on ten numbers: Cost £10. Payout = £35 + £1 original bet = £36, minus £9 lost bets = £27 return.

This example show us that betting on multiple numbers on a single spin has this result: When you win – you win less. When you lose – you lose more. Yes, you’ll win more often, but unless you go on a lucky streak and hit multiple numbers within a very short number of spins, you will lose your money much faster. When I approach a roulette game at a live casino, I know right away who is about to lose all their money – it’s the guy/gal who has chips spread across 10-20 numbers.

Another reason it’s important to bet on fewer numbers is because when the dreaded 0 or 00 comes up, you lose a smaller amount.

2) Their bets don’t match. For example, if you’re betting on #17, #19 and #22, you shouldn’t bet on the 1st 12 or 3rd 12. You should bet on the 2nd 12 instead. If you’re betting on numbers and 12’s that don’t match, even if you hit something, you’ll lose money somewhere else. Instead, bet on the 2nd 12 and hope to hit your number. If you do, you’ll get that win, plus the win on the 2nd 12. If you miss your number but hit the 2nd 12, you’ll cover your numbers. Personally, I like to match whatever I have on numbers in the 12’s as well. So, if I have £2 on three numbers (£6 total), I’ll also put £6 on the 12 I’m playing. If my number doesn’t hit, but the 12’s do, I’ll win 2/1, making a £6 profit (50% on my original wager of £12).

3) They bet on too many splits & corners. When you place a split or corner bet, you’re getting a progressively lower payout. For example, when you play a single number, you’re getting 35/1. However, when you split that amongst two numbers, you don’t get 17.5/1 odds. You get 17/1 instead. To make this worse, you get 8/1 on a corner bet (betting on four numbers with one bet), instead of 8.5/1. So, while you’ll win more often, your payouts are lower. This is a poor long-term strategy, so players should limit their bets to single numbers.

4) They bet too much of their money on a single spin. This is basic money management. If you have £100 to gamble with and bet £20 on a single number five times in a row, you’re likely to lose your money before your number hits. Now you’re broke, and the next spin hits your number….too bad you didn’t have enough money to stay in the game.

5) They don’t know how to stay in the game. This is related to #4 on this list, but it’s more extensive than simply betting too much on a single spin. They also don’t know how to stay in the game longer by making other types of bets. A big part of roulette is about staying in the game long enough to hit your numbers 2+ times during a short period of time. Ideally, we would sit down, bet on nothing but a single number, and hit it 2+ times within 36 spins of the wheel – then walk away. Since most people don’t have this type of discipline (or don’t care to), the best way to stay in the game and keep the entertainment level up is to bet on the 1st 12, 2nd 12, or 3rd 12.

For example, if you have a bet on #10, what happens when the ball lands on #9? Of course you lose. However, if you’ve also bet on the 1st 12, you’re collecting chips that will keep you in the game while you wait for #10 to hit.

Try my 10X rule. When I play, I always play the dozen my number(s) fall within. For example, if I bet on #33, I’m going to bet an equal amount on the 3rd dozen (#25 – #36). Theoretically, I should win this bet slightly less than once in every three spins. This makes the game more fun because I’m collecting wins more often, and often keeps me in the game much longer. A huge problem that many roulette players have is that they only sit down with enough money to cover a small number of losing bets. If you sit down with £200 and bet £50 on each spin, you’re done after 4 spins unless you get lucky. In theory, I should win something once every 3 hands. So, if I go on a losing streak, I have a minimum of ten hands to recover. In roulette, one good win or a few smaller wins is all it takes to get back to even, but if you went broke before you had a chance to get those wins you’ll end up at the pub drowning your sorrows.

6) They don’t know when to get up from the table. This is a common problem for players at every casino game. At roulette however, it might be even more important for players to know when to quit. Being a streaky game, it’s easy to lose large chunks of money in a short period of time. With roulette, you can’t get too greedy or you’re likely to lose it all back. Over the years, I’ve found a rule that works well for me. When my profit becomes 50% or more of my original stack, I start thinking about walking away. If the game still feels good I might stick around for a while longer. If I get back down to my original stack, I’ve had a good time and walk away even. Also, if I double my stack at any point, I collect my winnings and walk away – no matter what. History has proven to me that if I stick around longer than that, I’m sure to give all the profits back.

With my self-imposed 10X rule and my betting strategy, I can usually make a profit at some point while I play. Since I can’t predict luck, I strictly keep to the rules above.

European Roulette vs. American Roulette

A common question players have about roulette is “what’s the difference between European Roulette and American Roulette?” There are two main differences between these games. First, European Roulette has only one 0, and American Roulette has 0 and 00. This translates into a 5.26% house edge for American Roulette, and 2.70% edge for European Roulette. Secondly, European Roulette gives players a chance to reduce the house edge on outside bets to 1.35% via the Surrender or En Prison options.

Since most online casinos offer both games, there’s no reason to play American Roulette. If given the choice, play European Roulette instead.

Mobile Roulette Games

Mobile roulette games are becoming more & more popular, especially at European online casinos. This is a very popular game in Europe, so almost every online casino that offers mobile gaming will offer roulette as well. Most sites offer instant-play (no download) and/or download versions of their roulette games for iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, and Windows based mobile devices. Download versions tend to have better graphics than no-download versions, but of course they do eat up some memory.

Funding a mobile betting account can be difficult from a smartphone, so we recommend that people make deposits from their computer. Then, login to the roulette game from your mobile device once the account is funded.