Invented in the 17th century, roulette is one of the most popular table games for gamblers. Over the years, different types of roulette wheels have appeared, the ways of playing them have diversified and players have become more inventive in innovating new forms of this rotating wheel.
Find here the main types of roulette wheels and classic wheels as well as the new ways to play roulette.
The main types of roulette wheels
Being a game rather like this, it was quickly adopted in many countries and everyone developed their own way of playing it. Sometimes by adding numbers, or changing the rules.
Here you will find the main types of roulette that are still played in most online and land-based casinos.
French or European roulette
Blaise Pascal invented the French roulette in the 17th century, also known as the European roulette. This is the most popular type of roulette in physical and online casinos. The game table consists of a betting table and a swivel roulette wheel. French or European roulette consists of :
- 2 colours (red and black)
- 37 numbered squares: 18 red and 18 black and 1 square, the 0 in green
- 1 ball
- 1 wheel
- 1 carpet
The players are placed on the table on each side equally and there is no limit to the number of players. The game is run in the casino by what is called a table manager and 3 dealers.
The objective of roulette is to bet on colours and/or a number, once the bets have been placed, the dealer spins the roulette wheel and throws a ball into it. When the wheel stops, the ball comes to rest in a numbered square. If the player(s) guessed correctly then they receive their bet doubled. To place a bet, simply place your chips in a pile on the betting mat with the numbers and colour you wish to bet.
In the event that the player lands on the 0 when they did not bet on it, they have 2 choices:
- Place a new bet called the “jail” bet
- Share his initial bet with the bank. In this case, the player gets back half of his initial bet.
English Roulette
English roulette is the same as French roulette and the game is played by a croupier. However, the operation of the game and the rules are different. To begin with, the spinning wheel also consists of 37 squares: 18 red and 18 black squares, as well as the 0 in green, just like in the European version.
The first difference lies in the number of players, in the English version it is limited to 7, whereas this is not the case for the French version. All players receive a unique chip, each chip has its own colour and mark, to facilitate identification and avoid any dispute or confusion.
Secondly, the position of the players, in a casino the players are placed either at the end of the table or all on the same side of the table. In this way, the dealer can animate the game and check more easily that the rules are respected.
The value given to the chips will depend on the minimum bet allowed on the table, for example if the minimum bet is €1 then a chip will be worth €1, similarly if the minimum bet is €15 then a chip will be worth €15. Finally, the rule for the 0 box is that if a player falls on it, they have no choice as in the French type, in the English version, all bets made are shared with the bank.
American Roulette
American Roulette is a variant that differs from the others in that the spinning wheel has 38 numbered slots instead of 37. It has two zero cells: one with 0 and one with double 00. For the rest, the game table, betting and roulette remain on the same principle as for the French or English roulette and is played with a ball.
The bets and wagers are exactly the same as for French or European roulette. The difference is that if the player lands on one of the zero boxes (single or double) then the bet is split between the player and the bank.
The other difference is the addition of a feature called “Five Bet” which allows the player to bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 at the same time. To do this, the player must place their bet on the line between the 0 and the 1 outside the grid. Finally, the arrangement of the numbers on the wheel differs from other roulette wheels.
Variations of the classic wheels
Finally, there are 2 other roulette wheels developed in other countries: the German and the Mexican. The principle of roulette does not change, it is just the way the game is played or the way the bets are placed.
German Roulette
The German roulette has the same characteristics as the French and English roulette. The value of the chips is shown on the table and not determined by the minimum bet. Players can also have different chips with a unique mark for each.
The games are conducted by a single dealer, but the payout of winnings, placement of bets and the zero rule remain the same as in European roulette.
Mexican Roulette
Mexican Roulette is a variation of the classic Roulette game, except that it consists of 39 numbered slots. The game contains a roulette wheel and always the betting table. Unlike American roulette, which contains an extra double zero (00), the wheel has a 39th box numbered by a triple zero (000).
The big difference is that when the ball comes to rest on one of the three 0s then the player will always lose the bet. This makes Mexican roulette one of the riskiest roulette to play.
The new types of roulette
With the popularity of roulette, new ways of playing roulette have appeared over the years. Just like Texas Hold’em poker and the poker variants that follow from it. Here we present the main new roulettes.
Live Roulette
The development of online casinos has led to the appearance of new games: Live Casino games. The games are played live and in real time and are usually hosted by human dealers who take turns.
A perfect blend of online and physical casinos, live action games have become increasingly popular, especially for casino table games. This is how live roulette games quickly appeared on online casino platforms.
The rules don’t change, it’s just the format of the game where the player sits behind his screen but can participate in an interactive game as if he was in a real casino. This game format has largely succeeded in winning over its audience.
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Lightning Roulette
Lightning Roulette casino is a special form of Live Roulette, as it incorporates additional features. Created by Evolution Gaming, it is played at most online casinos and has more than 2,000 continuously connected players.
Lightning Roulette is similar to the classic roulette game with a host. The difference lies in the possibility to multiply your bet thanks to an innovative feature added to the game. During a game of Lightning, the presenter has the possibility to activate a lever. With each roll of the ball, the dealer activates the lever on the wall to randomly assign numbers with a multiplier.
So in Lightning Roulette you can multiply your winnings substantially with bonus multipliers ranging from x50 to x500 of the bet if you bet on the selected numbers. When this is the case, all players who bet on that number win their bet x the multiplier.
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Speed Roulette
Speed roulette is for those who want to play fast games. Thus, the use of this type of roulette allows to play 120 rounds per hour. For this, all decisions, betting actions and the host’s words are optimized to save time during the round.
During a game session, the player will notice that there is no dead time between 2 rounds, as soon as the ball lands on one of the wheels, it is immediately retrieved and re-launched by the croupier.
The double ball roulette
Developed by the supplier Evolution, the double ball roulette is a type of roulette that is played with 2 balls. The principle of the classic roulette remains the same, except that for each spin 2 balls are thrown on the wheel at the same time.
The difference with this roulette is that it is possible to bet twice on different numbers since there are 2 balls. However, if you win, the winnings are less lucrative than with the classic roulette wheel.
Auto roulette
This is a roulette wheel of any type and use that is played in automatic mode. The roulette wheel spins continuously without the need for a dealer. The ball is also thrown automatically. Players can therefore play between 60 and 80 games in one hour.
Instant roulette
Once again we owe the innovation of the instant roulette to the supplier Evolution Gaming. In this version, it is possible to bet on 12 automatic swivel wheels. Players can bet at their own pace as there are no time limits for betting.
When the player clicks on “play now”, he/she arrives at one of the 12 available spinning wheels about to finish the betting times. It is then possible to play instantly between spins by activating the auto-bet bonus option by clicking on “rebet”.
