It is believed that roulette first appeared in France, conquered Europe, then crossed the ocean. In America, greedy casino owners have added an extra number – 00 (Double Zero), which greatly reduced the chances of winning.
Currently, there are several types of roulette:
- American roulette (Double zero roulette). 38 numbers: 0, 00, from 1 to 36 inclusive.
- European roulette (Single zero roulette). 37 numbers: 0, from 1 to 36 inclusive
- French roulette (Single zero roulette). It is the progenitor of the European one, has the same wheel, but a different playing field.
- European roulette. It is not considered on our site, since it is more preferable to risk, albeit with hard earned, but money, and not your own head.
The games are different:
- Distribution of numbers on the wheel. Read more in the Game wheel section .
- The playing field. It is described in detail in the Roulette table.
- Possible rates. Read the rules for each game.
- Some special rules (“En Prison”, “La Partage” and “Surrender”) are described below.
- Rules of conduct at the table, procedures, chips, etc.
Roulette Chips
Traditionally, American roulette is played with multi-colored chips and each player at the table has different chips, which greatly facilitates the procedure for placing bets and paying out winnings. Such chips are usually bought from the dealer on a specific gaming table and are not used in other games. After the Player completes the game, his chips are exchanged for either cash or traditional chips.
European casinos often use standard chips that players receive at the cashier. The croupier uses a special spatula to remove the bets that have played in American Casinos, usually the dealer does it by hand.
Roulette equipment
In European casinos, you can find gaming tables with two playing fields and one wheel in the middle. Up to 16 players can play at this table. Three people serve the game, one throws a ball in the middle, two assistants serve their playing fields. Often, these two fields have different bet limits.
In the United States, the table is served by a dealer who spins the wheel and his assistant sorts the chips. The table seats up to six players.
Roulette Table Behavior
European Casinos tend to have a more elegant atmosphere, requiring more formal dress code. In addition, many casinos are private clubs, open only to their own members – this is especially true for the English Gaming Houses.
In the States, they prefer a more democratic style of dress and behavior. Tipping is encouraged, while some English casinos do not approve of it. In France, tips are often required!
Roulette in European Casinos
Many European casinos cultivate roulette, which is called American, but in fact it is European (French). The main criterion for assigning a roulette to a particular type is the wheel, in the American 38 numbers (including ZERO and double ZERO). In the European one – 37 rooms – only one ZERO.
The confusion probably stemmed from the fact that a table similar to the tables in American casinos is used in Europa. In addition, like America, chips of different colors are used at the roulette table in Europa, rather than standard ones.
Special rules
- “En Prison” Rule When playing Roulette in European casinos, a special rule may apply which applies to “even odds” bets (RED / BLACK, EVEN / ODD, BIG / LOW). If zero falls out, the bet does not expire, but remains in its place “in the conclusion”. If, on the next spin, zero falls out again, the bet is lost, if the outcome is favorable, the bet in its original size is returned to the player, the winnings in this case are not paid.The gaming tables where this rule is applied have the lowest casino advantage (expectation) for “even odds” bets – only 1.35%!
- Rule “La Partage” This rule is similar to the “En Prison” rule, when a zero hits the player loses half of his “even chance” bet. The rule is applied in French Roulette.
- Rule “Surrender” Same as “La Partage”. Used in some US Casinos. Reduces the house edge from 5.26% to 2.63% when betting on even odds.
The casino
advantage The casino advantage when playing European roulette is 2.7%, while in American roulette it is 5.26% for all bets, except for the bet on five numbers (0-00-1-2-3) where this advantage is much higher – 7.9% … Any of the “En Prison” and “La Partage” or “Surrender” rules will reduce the house edge on even odds betting to 1.35% in the European and 2.63% in the American version of the game.
