Roulette is one of the most popular games. A symbol of casinos worldwide, it’s a favourite of many players. But even those who do not gamble much tend to associate the casino experience with one or more of the roulette symbols: the table, the ball and the spinning wheel. You’ve probably played it before and found it quite entertaining. Now try playing roulette for fun and profit.
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Though roulette is largely dependent on chance, you can boost your chances of winning by learning the rules and the variations of the game and exploring winning strategies. First and foremost, you must pick a good casino site, check out their roulette variants and get comfortable playing them. Once you have had enough practice under your belt, you’ll be ready to make money.
But let’s start from the start. In order to be winning at roulette, you’ll need to know everything there is to know about the game. We’ll guide you through the most important information regarding roulette, including tips and tricks available to only select players.
Everything You Need to Know about Roulette
The earliest form of roulette was devised in 18th-century France. It utilised the wheel invented by the French physicist and mathematician Blaise Pascal. In mid-17th century, Pascal attempted to invent a perpetual motion machine. His invention turned out something entirely different but, as many casino games fans would agree, equally important.
A landmark in roulette history was the appearance of the “zero” in mid-19th century. The “zero’ pocket was added especially for King Charles III of Monaco. The monarch also brought the game to the masses, thus, making roulette the colossal symbol of Monte Carlo and gambling it is today. The added “zero” increased the house edge.
In the 19th century, roulette arrived in the New World, where the game was modified to feature not one but two “zero” pockets. The second,”double zero”, pocket further increased the house edge.
Despite the many new roulette variants that have appeared lately, the basic distinction between French roulette (single “zero” slot) and American roulette (two “zero” slots) is still valid today.
Basic Rules
When you play roulette, you try to beat the house, which is represented by the dealer. So, you’re playing against the dealer. You place a bet by putting your chips on the roulette table. The dealer spins the wheel and the ball lands in a pocket, also called slot. There are 36 pockets on the roulette wheel, each one marked with a number, 1 through 36, and painted red or black. The 37th slot is green and marked with a “0”.
Game Variations and Bets
All the roulette variations available at UK online casinos stem from the two basic ones – French and American. You’ve probably seen a game called European Roulette. It has basically the same rules and layout as French Roulette but doesn’t apply the La Partage and En Prison rules. The La Partage rule says that when you place an even money bet and the roulette ball lands on the “zero”, you lose only half your bet. Similarly, according to the En Prison rule, your even money bet will be “imprisoned” till the next game if the ball lands on the “zero”. If the next spin is successful for you, you’ll get your money back.
So, if you have a choice, pick French roulette over the European variety. Similar as these two might be, the French roulette, thanks to the La Partage and En Prison rules, has almost half the house edge of European roulette. And if you play real money online roulette, you don’t want to play a game with higher house edge because that means a lower chance for earnings. We’ll focus our discussion on French roulette because it has better odds than European and much better than American.
If You Want to Place a Bet on Numbers
If you put money on one or more numbers, grouped together based on their position on the roulette table, that’s called an inside bet. Here are some of the most popular inside bets:
- Straight up is when you bet on a single number.
- Split is when you bet on two adjacent numbers.
- Corner is when you bet on four numbers.
- Street is when you bet on three consecutive numbers in a horizontal line.
- Double Street is when you bet on six consecutive numbers in two horizontal lines.
How to Cover a Larger Portion of the Table
If you’d like to cover a larger percentage of the numbers on the roulette table, that’s called an outside bet. Some of the most wide-spread outside bets are:
- Red or Black – when you bet on all the numbers associated with that colour.
- Even or Odd – when you place a bet whether the number would be odd or even.
- Dozen bet – when you bet on the first (1-12 or P12), second (13-24 or M12), or third (25-36 or D12) dozen.
- Column bet – when you bet on a vertical column of 12 numbers.
Advanced Bets on the Racetrack
Unlike inside and outside bets, call bets (also known as announced bets) group numbers according to their position on the wheel. The racetrack, a curious feature of French roulette, makes placing call bets easier. However, when you play roulette online, it might be missing. In that case, look for an “expert” popup menu. Here are the types of call bets:
- Voisins du zéro (Neighbors of zero) takes a minimum of nine coins to be placed on the seventeen numbers between 22 and 25
- Jeu zéro (Zero game), also known as Zero spiel or the German bet, takes four chips to bet on the numbers closest to 0, namely: 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15
- Le tiers du cylindre (Thirds of the wheel) take at least six coins on the numbers at the opposite side of the wheel, which are between 27 and 33
- Orphelins (Orphans) take a minimum of five chips to bet on the eight numbers that are not included in the Tiers and Voisins, namely 17, 34, 6 and 1, 20, 14, 31, 9
Table Limits to Make Everyone Happy
If you are ready to play some real money roulette, you should pay attention to the table limits. As there are people with different gambling expectations, a good casino would have a lot of options for its players. They should offer tables accommodating low-risk players and high rollers. Whatever your bankroll, you can find the perfect table at our featured sites. You can bet as little as 10p or as much as £2,000. If you find the opportunity to wager the mind-blowing £250,000 thrilling, download the Video Roulette from the Ladbrokes Casino website.
Exclusive Game Options Available from Online Casinos
What are the advantages of real money online casinos over brick and mortar casinos? First, they are safe and respectable. Second, they have a vast collection of games and unique variations. Third, they offer amazing bonuses. Moreover, they use cutting-edge technology, which allows you to either play at the site, as instant play, or get the download version. Their greatest asset, however, must be comfort. Not only do you not need to get dressed and drive to a physical casino but you can enjoy the glamorous casino experience even if you only have a couple of minutes to spare because the online casino is accessible on your mobile device. And if you long for human interaction, there’s always the live casino.
Play against a Real Dealer
The live casino games provide the best roulette experience online. Because of the excellent software and the experienced real dealers, you can enjoy a game of roulette at a posh gambling palace or at a land-based casino streaming on your computer, tablet or smartphone. You’re invited to dive in the casino atmosphere where friendly live dealers welcome players to their tables and address patrons by name. You can take part in the conversation via chat or stay anonymous – it’s up to you.
Mobile Roulette – Take the Game with You
The casinos we have chosen for our esteemed UK players have got a lot to offer to the fans of mobile devices. They have excellent mobile casino apps with plenty of games, roulette included. The apps are compatible with iOS and Android devices. But if you have a Windows Phone you can still enjoy your preferred casino on the go – you’ll just need to use the browser versions. As for live roulette, not only is it available for mobile devices but some of the casinos even have a designated app.
Innovative Casino Games
Online casinos are so exciting because they feature unique game variations. Have you heard of the Marvel Roulette? This charming game is a must try for all the comic book admirers. Its wheel has an extra Marvel slot, which triggers special features, such as extra spins. Then, there’s Pinball Roulette, which uses a pinball machine to choose the winning number instead of a roulette wheel. The Multi-Wheel Roulette employs eight wheels at the same time, so a player can make simultaneous bets. Though one could deactivate some of the wheels, this variant requires a bigger bankroll. Then, there’s the Progressive Jackpot Roulette. But my favourite has to be the Immersive Roulette where you get to see cool real dealers, different angles and slow motion replays.
Hundreds of Pounds in Free Play
The players’ most desired feature of online casinos is bonuses. No land-based casino would just hand you free chips in hundreds of pounds. Well, online casinos keep on offering you bigger and better bonuses. The welcome bonus is highly popular but there is also the reload bonus, with which you get free play not just on your first but also second, etc. deposit. If you just want to look around, you can take advantage of the no deposit bonus. Then there are complimentary points you get when you play regularly. But don’t just measure a bonus by its amount. Consider playthrough conditions. A bonus is good only if you can use it. If the wagering requirements make it impossible for you to play it through, then it’s worthless.
Tips & Tricks for Playing Roulette Online
By now you probably have got a pretty good idea what to do and what not to do when you’re playing roulette online. If you want to win big, you’ve got to bet big. Unfortunately, betting big might just as well make you lose big, too. If you try to shortcut your way to a fortune by placing straight up bets, you’re more likely to lose your wager. It’s that simple – if a bet has an amazing payout, such as 35:1, it is not very likely for you to get it. And, of course, the easier it is to guess the winner, the worse the payout. For example, think of even money bets, such as red or black and odd or even, where the payout is 1:1. It sounds nowhere as exciting as 35:1 but then again the loss of your wager isn’t as likely as in the case of a straight up bet, either.
Some spend their time reading about winning strategies and then try to beat the house or bring the house edge down. But even the most popular winning strategy, the progressive strategy, cannot guarantee you that you’d win anything before your funds run out. Running out of cash is a real danger with progressive strategies, such as the ones devised by Martingale and Fibonacci, because they call for an increase of the wager after each spin, no matter if you’re winning or losing and assume that you have unlimited resources. Actually, no strategy would really work because they’re all based on the so-called Gambler’s fallacy, according to which if something happens frequently during a certain period, it will not happen a lot in the future. For example, red comes up a few times in a row and a gambler could falsely decide to bet on black because the red winning streak just has to end.
What could you do, then, to boost your chances of winning? Sign up for one or more of the websites we have presented and see what they have to offer. Play as many of the games as you like and then settle on one or two. Play them for practice until you feel confident. For example, Betway Casino offer most of their roulettes for practice play. Then, put your cash on the roulette table. You might lose it, true, but you might increase it immensely, too. And there’s nothing more exhilarating than watching the roulette ball go round and influence your mood, your bankroll, possibly your future.
Recommended Casinos for Real Money Roulette in the UK
There are hundreds of casinos online. So, which one should you pick? Apart from providing the ultimate gaming experience with excellent software and enticing bonus offers, the online casino operators should care about their customers and make banking easy. They should also be quick to reply if the players need help. Finally, the online casino sites should offer a good variety of roulette as well as other casino games, such as blackjack, slots, poker and other card and table games.
Our team of experts has researched, tried and tested many before picking the best casinos for online roulette in the UK. We’ve done that in order to spare you the disappointment. Unfortunately, not all online casinos are legal and it’s too easy to fall for a generous bonus and sign up for a dodgy site. Or you could waste a lot of time and money if you attempt to try out all those operators for yourself. On the other hand, picking a casino and sticking with it is extremely beneficial.
If we were to pick just one, the best UK roulette casino would be 888 Casino because they have a lovely games collection, a state-of-the-art live casino, some of the best bonuses and the most player-friendly playthrough conditions. Read our detailed online casino reviews to learn how our featured operators have your best interest at heart by offering you safe and pleasurable gaming experience.
FAQ
- Are online roulette games random?
Yes. The randomness of the RNG and the transparency of the games are tested regularly by specialised organisations, such as GLI, TST and eCOGRA. They watch over your rights as a player and make sure that the casinos comply with the stringent rules.
- Which is the best roulette online?
It depends on your personal preferences and gaming habits but if you have to choose between American and French roulette, pick the latter as it has a lower house edge, hence your odds at winning are better.
- Which is the worst roulette online?
Though it depends on personal preferences, generally speaking, American roulette would be your worst bet because its house edge is very high, which means that the RTP is low.
- Which are the best roulette bonuses?
The best bonus is the one you can use to play roulette. It should have good playthrough conditions, meaning you should have enough time to fulfil the wagering requirements. - Can I play online roulette for free?
Yes, you can. There are many operators who offer free roulette. Though we encourage you to take that opportunity to get acquainted with the varieties, if you want to make real money, you’ll have to be prepared to risk some of your hard-earned cash.
- Live Roulette or RNG?
It depends. If you like interaction, play Live Roulette. If you prefer solitude and better control over the game, then choose RNG roulette. What you shouldn’t worry about, however, is the randomness of the games – both varieties are 100% random.
- Is my money safe?
Absolutely! If there’s one thing certain, it’s that any online casino mentioned on this website is fully regulated, licensed and legal to offer its services to UK citizens. All the financial, as well as personal, data transactions are protected with the latest methods of encryption.