As the quintessential icon of casino elegance and excitement, Roulette is one of the games sure to be featured in the most reputable online casinos you’ll find in our listings. All the top sites will offer both American and European Roulette.
If you’re a novice learning your way around Canada’s online casino options, Roulette is a good game to try, as soon as you’re looking to expand your gaming horizons beyond slots. Here are a few of the most important things to remember when playing Roulette:
Always Opt for European Roulette
If both versions of Roulette are featured on a site like at https://onlinecasinosca.org/cad, always choose European Roulette, as American Roulette has worse odds. The European wheel uses the numbers 0-36, or 37 numbers in total.
The American wheel, however, includes both a 0 and a 00, making 38 numbers. Quite simply, the odds of any single number coming up in European Roulette is 36:1, whereas it’s 37:1 in the American version.
Learn about Inside and Outside Bets
Most novices opt for one of two Roulette strategies: picking a number and sticking to it, or trying to make big wins on the even-money bets.
In the first case, if the player bets the same amount every time and their chosen number comes up within 34 spins of the wheel, they make a profit on their 35:1 win. In the second case, players often adopt ‘double up’ strategies after a loss, which can wipe them out quickly when they hit a long losing streak.
Instead, take a look at the other ‘inside bets’ available on the betting table. Apart from the Straight, which is a bet on one number, you can bet on a Split, which covers two adjacent numbers, paying 17:1. There is also a Trio, also called a Street or a Three Number, which covers a row of three numbers, and pays 11:1 if any one of them wins.
You can also bet on four, five or six adjacent numbers on the inside bets table, with winning odds of 8:1, 6:1 and 6:1, respectively. While the house edge on inside bets is a little higher, meaning you are less likely to win than on the ‘outside bets’, the returns when you win are higher too. So by spreading smaller wagers around the inside bets, you can cover more of the table and be sure of a small profit.
Smaller House Edge, but Also Smaller Returns
The outside bets include the even-money options: betting on Red or Black, Odds or Evens, and 1-18 or 19-36. Although these bets pay even money, the 0, which is neither red nor black, odd nor even, low nor high, skews the overall odds slightly in the house’s favour.
Other outside bets are on the three columns of 12 numbers that make up the betting table, or the three dozens 1-12, 13-24 and 25-36 that make up the numbers on the wheel. Both these bets pay 2:1. The returns aren’t as impressive as those of inside bets, but odds favour the player to win outside bets more often.
Be Wary of the Gambler’s Fallacy
The wheel has no memory. Black or odd numbers coming up 17 times in a row, or even a million, is no guarantee that the next spin will produce a red or even number. If you bet on a number 100 times and it doesn’t come up, the odds of it coming up next time are still 36-1. Play the odds, not your hopes.