Playing Online Roulette is Easy

It's Easy to Learn How to Play Online Roulette

A digital Roulette Wheel

The game of roulette is a classic casino game. Everyone is familiar with the images of roulette. The big spinning roulette wheel divided into numbered slots, the green board marked off in red and black numbered squares, the silver ball that makes its way around the roulette wheel while players hold their breath are all images that come to mind when thinking about roulette. But if the game seems exotic and you can't imagine how you would play, have no fear. The game of roulette is actually fairly easy to learn and with the advent of the online casino, playing online roulette is now as easy as going to a website and clicking. You don't have to travel to Vegas or Monte Carlo and you don't have to worry about finding your place at the roulette table, crowded by veterans players. Within seconds you could be playing at your very own online roulette table anywhere you have an internet connection.

Roulette: The Game of Numbers

The Roulette Wheel Spins

The game of roulette is a game of numbers. Around the roulette wheel are slots numbered from one to thirty-six. There is also a slot with a zero in it. (In some versions of roulette, a second slot has a double zero slot as well.) These numbers correspond to the numbered squares on a roulette board. Every number, except for the zero or double zero, is represented by its own square. Players place bets on numbered squares. When all bets are placed, the wheel is spun. A silver ball is shot along the rim of the wheel in the opposite direction that the wheel is spinning. As the wheel and ball slow down, eventually the ball drops into a numbered slot. Anyone who has placed a roulette bet on the square with the same number as the selected wheel slot, wins the bet.

Betting on Multiple Roulette Squares

The Roulette Wheel Samurai

If that was all there was to the casino game of roulette, it would seem to be uncommon for someone to win. Think about it, the chance of the ball landing in any numbered slot is thirty-six to one. (Actually thirty-seven to one with one zero space or thirty-eight to one if a double zero is on the wheel as well.) These are fairly steep odds to guess correctly. In theory, one could expect to have to play at least thirty-six times before betting on a correct number. But of course, there is a lot more to roulette than that. They key is that while you can bet on a single number, you can also make a bet that covers two, four, six, eight, or up to half the numbers at one time. For example, while a bet on the number seventeen may only win about once every thirty-six spins, a bet on all odd numbers should win, on average, almost half the time. A bet on the middle numbers (from twelve to twenty-four) should win about one third the time.

How to Choose Roulette Strategy

The key to remember when playing roulette – even online roulette in an online casino – is that the more numbers that are covered by your bet, the lower your pay out will be with a win. So if you took eighteen numbers on a single bet by betting all the odd numbers for example, you would only win even money. Bet on three numbers and you will win twelve times your money. So you must determine if you would rather win more often but smaller amounts of money, or wait for a big win that will reward you better. This all depends on how much risk you are willing to take and whether you want to play for a longer amount of time or not.

The Difference with Online roulette

The Roulette ball lands on the wheel

The game of online roulette is almost identical to the traditional game of roulette. There are a few exceptions that work in your favor. For one, an online casino is more likely to allow betting in very small amounts. The first thing you do when you play online roulette is decide how much you want to bet. Many games of online roulette even allow betting for a penny. On the other hand, if you want to bet larger sums of money, there is no need to find a different table. In an online casino, the table is yours and you can decide every round how much to bet. Another convenience with online roulette is that you can play whenever and wherever you want. An online casino is open every hour of every day and there is no waiting for a table – ever. For many, playing online roulette is much less intimidating – and thus more fun – than playing in a land based casino. Also, many of the online casino websites have special mobile casino pages. That means that you can play a mobile version of online roulette directly from your smart phone. Use an iPhone, Blackberry, Android and you can play roulette right from the browser window. Again, you play roulette on your terms, not some casino's.

The Emergence of Online roulette

All these factors mean that online roulette is becoming more popular all the time. While the first online roulette games were fairly primitive by today's standards, the new games developed my Microgaming are not only extremely realistic looking, but the game play is seamless. You get the feel of playing in a land based casino, without the hassle. If you want, you can even play an online roulette game that uses a real dealer and you watch the actual – not animated – roulette wheel over the Internet. It is basically a combination of traditional roulette with online roulette. Some prefer it, while others like the latest online roulette games with full animation. Again, it is personal preference.