Online Roulette
Magic of the rotating wheel, the hypnotizing jumps of a ball inside the wheel and the sweet taste of victory are known to every fan of roulette. With so many bet options and various winning odds, online roulette is quite a find for smart and intelligent gamblers as it leaves wide room for trying different sophisticated strategies. Ever since online casinos have emerged into being, software developers eagerly tried to recreate land-based roulette and keep its inherent properties to the fullest extent possible.
Online roulette is almost an exact replica of this long-established game. Not only does online roulette replicate the game features but also preserves its original style, suspense and atmosphere. When a player of Nigeria opens any online roulette table for the first time, he will be surprised to see a lookalike of a roulette table that can be found in any casino resort and hotel in Nigeria.
Roulette online design
A typical online roulette displays a wheel, table layout and a user interface (roulette versions compatible with mobile environment are actually the same). The size and mutual disposition of these elements varies widely across providers. Besides, there are also some other additional elements that facilitate the gaming process, for example, a small zoom-in screen area that shows the ball in a separate window when it stops, a racetrack for placing call bets and some other minor elements. The wheel and table strictly abide the original roulette rules, meaning they have the same sequence of numbers and actually the same visual design. The point of view, from which a player looks at the table, also differs.
In many games, there is a row of casino chips near the table for a player to select proper chip denominations and place a bet on certain areas. In many cases, a table shows minimum and maximum bets allowed for an NG user (they are normally 1 naira and higher). As is known, min/max limits depend on a bet type (Straight, Red/Black, etc.), many tables have a dedicated menu to show bet ranges for all bet types. A player can control all game aspects (betting, seeing stats, changing a bet value, etc.) on a friendly interface.
Types of online roulette
There basically three roulette types: European, American and French roulette. For the most part, differences between them are minor but it is essential to know that they exist. European and French roulette variants have 36 numbers and one zero. There are inside and outside bets, and a player has the right to cover as many bet types as possible unless a bet max amount is exceeded. Bet types include Straight Up (on any one number), Street (a bet on three numbers which are arranged in a line), and others. Inside bets are named so because chips cover only numbered spaces on the table. Similarly, outside bets include Red/Black, Even/Odd, etc.
American roulette basically looks very similar to European tables yet it has some crucial distinctions:
- Two zero sectors on the wheel and table
- A unique sequence of numbers on the wheel. They are also the alternating red and black numbers but they are placed in a completely different order
- An increased house edge (to be reviewed in detail below) and therefore, slightly decreased winning odds for each bet type.
French roulette differs more significantly from the other two versions:
- The table has bet names written in French (Impair/Pair for Odd/Even, etc.)
- Classic French table has uniformly colored number squares (not red and black as in other roulette variants), though some vendors stick to the traditional European color scheme for the table layout
- Frequent use of the La Partage (En Prison) rule that further reduces the house edge.
Best online casinos to play Roulette
1. | Ignition Casino | bonus |
2. | Andromeda Casino | bonus |
3. | Wild Casino | bonus |
4. | Lucky Creek Casino | bonus |
5. | Super Slots Casino | bonus |
Odds, payouts and strategy in online casino roulette
From the player’s point of view, the most beneficial roulette type is French roulette as its house edge is 1.35% in some game situations (this relates to application of La Partage rule to lost even-money bets). European roulette has a house edge of 2.7%, while a double-zero American roulette offers the highest house advantage of all, at 5.26%.
The potential payouts vary across bet types and generally comply with the following rule: the fewer numbers are covered by a bet, the higher the potential win. If playing for real money, a user will win $35 for a $1 bet when betting on a single number successfully, and will grab $1 on top of the initial $1 bet for a correct Red or Black guess.
No strategy has proven efficient so far because each roulette type has one or two zero sectors that eliminate all strategies, however inventive and deep they might be. Some website though publish some strategies (Martingale, Paroli, etc.) that are announced to be allegedly useful and 100% profitable. Try as one might, one cannot escape disappointment and lose in the long run.