For many people roulette is the quintessential casino game. How many movies have we seen featuring scenes where there is a hush around the table as the ball spins, eventually landing in the number the player has selected?
Today we can enjoy all the excitement, and much of the atmosphere, of the casino roulette experience whenever and wherever we want. This is thanks to the live roulette games that are now available on leading sites like Rainbow Riches Casino. In these, live games, run by a real dealer and played in real time, are streamed direct to your mobile device or PC.
Clever tech converts the physical action of the game into digital information, allowing it to be played online.
A short history of roulette
As well as being one of the most exciting casino games, roulette is also one of the oldest. There are a number of disputed claims about its history including that the first wheel was an attempt at creating a perpetual motion machine by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal.
While this theory has been debunked, we can be sure that today’s form of roulette was played in France from around 1790.
The basics
The fundamentals of live online roulette are pretty much the same as in the game played in actual casinos. You, the player, place your bet on which number, or numbers, you’ve chosen. The dealer then spins the wheel and sets the ball rolling. If it lands in a number that you’ve put money on then you’ll win.
Types of roulette
With most sites you will find that there are two kinds of the game, the American and the European versions. Although the bets and betting remain the same, the layout of the wheel is very slightly different. On an American roulette wheel there are two zero pockets, marked 0 and 00 respectively as well as ones numbered 1 to 36. A European wheel only has a single 0 pocket.
As the latter gives you a 1 in 37 chance of the ball landing on your chosen number while it’s 1 in 38 for American roulette, it makes sense to go European if you can.
The wages you can make
Getting to understand the different kinds of wages that you can make is arguably the most complex element of roulette. After all, the table can look quite daunting at first but you’ll soon get used to it.
So here are the main forms of wagers that are available to you.
- Straight Up Bet. This is a bet on a single number – pays out 35 to 1.
- Split Bet. Bet on two adjacent numbers on the table, vertically or horizontally – pays out 17- 1
- Street Bet. Choose one of the horizontal rows of three numbers – pays out 11-1.
- Line Bet. This is a when you place a bet on the corner of two streets in order to cover six different numbers – pays out 5-1
- Corner Bet. Place your chip in the corner of the table where four numbers meet – pays out 8 to 1.
- Column Bet. Bet on one of the boxes labelled “2 to 1” to cover all 12 of the numbers in that column – pays out 2-1.
- Dozen Bet. There are three boxes marked “1st 12”, “2nd 12”, or “3rd 12” covering numbers 1 to 12, 13 to 24 and 25 to 36 respectively. Pays out 2 to 1.
There are also three different even money wages that you can place. These consist of red or black, odd or even or high or low (that’s either 1 to 18 or 19 to 36). Which wages you choose to make probably depend on how lucky you’re feeling. But for the greater chances of success it’s a good idea to cover as many numbers as possible, within your budget, for each spin.
Features of the online live game
Live online roulette is all about making it as easy as possible for players. This means that various features are included to enhance the game.
The first of these is being able to save a list of your favourite wages so you can call them up whenever you want to place them in a game.
When you play, you will also be able to see the sequence of numbers that have come up in previous rounds. On some sites you can even track back as far as the previous 500 spins.
Because interaction with the dealer is also an important part of roulette, there is almost always a chat feature on sites which only adds to the experience.
One last thing – there are many so-called strategies out there promising greater roulette success, and scientists have even beaten the odds in the past. But it’s vital to remember that of all the casino games this really is one of the most random. So just trust luck and hope that the universe is on your side!
Also read: How NFL Betting has Changed Over the Last Few Years
