By Debz Aiken

Whether you’re a casino regular, enjoy online gambling on the weekends, like a little bit of a flutter when you’re on your holidays or have never gambled in your life you’ve probably heard of and know how to play roulette. Roulette is one of those games that’s expected to be present in every casino, wherever you go – it’s a staple of the gambling world but what makes roulette such a great game?

There is a very obvious reason why roulette has become so commonplace in casinos and online gaming alike, and that’s because of its simplicity. Games like poker can be really hard to follow even if you’re used to gambling, and it’s often so intimidating that many people decide it’s not worth bothering. Roulette is easy to learn because there’s so little to it, and that makes it the perfect game to play if you’re a total casino newbie.

Unlike the game of blackjack, roulette is a pure gambling game and any strategy you might pick will still result in the same house advantage.¹⁾In general, there are two forms of roulette – American (38 numbers with two zeros) and European (37 numbers with a single-zero).  The house advantage in American roulette is about 5.26% while European roulette is about 2.7%.  It is obviously better to play this game with European rules.  Players will also occasionally find some variations to these rules.  Casinos have even offered triple-zero roulette which increases the house advantage above 7%… ouch!!!!  If you are interested in the possibility of advantage play in roulette check out Arnold Snyder’s article published in 2012.

Learning The Rules

Much like blackjack, there are always ways to get more info on how to play – however it is an easy game to get to grips with.

The rules of roulette are simple – you have a wheel split evenly into alternate black and red slots. All of these slots are numbered, and all you have to do is place a bet where you think the ball will land. The odds are calculated based on what’s on the wheel, which means they’re never going to change and you don’t have to worry about them changing after each round.

For a beginner, the idea of odds can be terrifying – particularly in something like horse racing where horses drop out as the race gets closer so the odds change constantly, especially at the last minute. Roulette is seen as a beginner-friendly form of gambling because it’s so consistent.

Choosing How To Play

There are also so many options to bet on that you can take years to perfect your own personal strategy and there’s what feels like an infinite number of variations to try. Yes, you can just bet on what color the ball will land on, or whether it will land on an odd or even number (although obviously you’re not going to make much money from doing this), but if you want to make things more interesting (and increase the odds) you can be much more specific in the bet that you place.

You could bet on the number being in a certain range – even this varies because you can choose how wide you want to cast your net in terms of choosing actual numbers (like 1-18) or first 12, second 12, etc. You could even go as far as to only bet on specific numbers and you can choose these any way you like.

Roulette is a great game because it’s both simple and incredibly complex. Its simple rules and the easy to follow format make it perfect for beginners. Conversely, the huge variety of bets you can make and the infinite number of combinations to try mean that it’s just as interesting to someone who’s been a regular in casinos for decades as it is to someone stepping up to the wheel for the first time.

Photo Credit: Pavel Danilyuk from Pexels 
Photo Credit: Javon Swaby from Pexels

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