How To Play Online Roulette - Casino Guide

Roulette is a popular casino table game, in which a small ball is thrown into a revolving wheel that has up to 38 numbered pockets. These are mainly coloured red and black but all wheels feature at least one green slot. The aim of the game is to bet on which number the ball will come to a full stop on. Before the wheel starts spinning, players place their bets, trying to predict where the little ball will come to rest.

There are several different types of bets that can be made, the most common ones are described further down, and there are several variants of the game, including French Roulette, American Roulette and European Roulette, the latter is played most outside of the US and it’s this version that we will be talking about in this casino guide.

What is European Roulette?

A European Roulette wheel has 37 numbers (0-36) and a game of Roulette starts when you place your bet on any single number, a combination of numbers, red or black, odd or even, on numbers between 1 and 36 and the 0 (and 00 if playing the American Roulette version of the game). Upon joining the table, you’ll need to select a chip value by clicking on one of the chips on the game screen. You then place your bets on the table and once you’re done, you’ll need to spin the wheel and watch the little ball rolling in the opposite direction. The ball lands on a randomly selected number that wins the game. 

For winning bets, the original wager is returned to your account, plus the payout you receive based on the amount staked and the game’s odds. 

The European Roulette wheel

The European Roulette wheel features 37 pockets, including the red and black numbers from 1-36, and only a single green zero pocket. The clockwise sequence of numbers on the wheel looks like this:

0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25, 17, 34, 6, 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10,

5, 24, 16, 33, 1, 20, 14, 31, 9, 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26

Though the layout of the numbers on the Roulette wheel might seem random, it definitely isn't! Some trivia about the wheel and its numbers:

• The sequence is rather confusing. It is extremely hard for someone to take a look at the wheel and see any correlation between the numbers and the sections.
• Red and Black alternate completely. No matter the type of wheel, two adjacent pockets should always have different colours.
• Low (1-18) and High (19-36) numbers alternate as much as possible. You will rarely see low and high numbers next to each other in European Roulette – the only exception being 5 and 10.
• Even and Odd numbers are evenly distributed along the wheel. No more than two Even or Odd numbers are placed next to each other in the European wheel.

The Roulette table

Before the little ball hits the wheel, you’ll have to place your bet on the Roulette table. The two main sections of the table on which the bets are placed are the ‘inside section’ and the ‘outside section’. The inside section offers bets on individual numbers that are close to one another on the table layout, or groups of up to six numbers.

The outside section contains pairs of bets for Red or Black, High or Low and Odd or Even. (Note: Each section offers many different ways to bet, we’ve listed the most common ones in the ‘Types of bets’ paragraph a bit further below).

The Roulette racetrack

In addition to the two main sections of the table, you’ll find an oval-shaped betting zone that resembles a racing circuit, hence its name, the ‘Roulette racetrack’. It’s usually located underneath or to the side of the standard European Roulette table on many Roulette games. This part of the table reflects the Roulette wheel and the order in which the numbers are displayed, rather than the numerical order of the main betting layout. 

Traditionally, in land-based casinos, these bets were referred to as ‘Call bets’ or ‘Announced bets’ because they would get ‘called out’ to the dealer to save the player from having to place multiple chips on individual numbers they wanted to bet on. In online Roulette, that’s what the racetrack is used for. It allows you to easily place bets on groups of numbers on the wheel by placing a betting chip in the relevant section(s) of the racetrack.

Types of bets

In Roulette there are many kinds of bets to choose from. Here, we’ve listed the most common types of bets that you can place on a Roulette table.

• Straight – A single number bet
• Split – A bet on two adjoining numbers, either horizontally or vertically.
• Street or Three Line - A bet on a row of three sequential, adjacent numbers, a street
• Corner or Carré – A bet placed on four numbers in a squared layout.
• Six Line – A bet on two streets combined, with the chip placed on two adjoining three lines.
• Column - A bet on all 12 numbers on any of the three columns.
• Dozen - A bet on the first (1-12), second (13-24) or third (25-36) group of twelve numbers.
• Even / Odd - A bet that the ball will land on an even or odd number.
• Black / Red - A bet that the winning number will be a black or red number.
• Low / High - A bet on the first 18 numbers (1-18) or the last 18 numbers (19-36).

Inside bets

Inside bets are all bets placed on the part of the table known as the ‘inside section’ or ‘the layout’ (read: the numbers portion of the betting table). They’re placed directly on the numbers 0 to 36 (and also 00 if playing American Roulette). There are 5 types of inside bets: Straight, Split, Street or Three Line, Corner and Six Line. The Roulette software automatically recognizes that inside bets are cumulative, so bets can be placed within the inside section of the table until the minimum is reached. If it's not reached, bets under the minimum will be removed when the wheel is spun (after the betting timer expires).

Outside bets

On the ‘outside section’ of the table, you can place wagers on a variety of matching pairs of bets, each covering 18 numbers. From high or low numbers, odd or even, and red or black, there are a number of options available. An ‘outside bet’ is a wager placed around the field of numbers and it can be any of the following 5 types: Column, Dozen, High/Low, Red/Black and Odd/Even. Outside bets are usually less risky than inside bets and so have a lower payout. Each outside bet must be at least the amount of the table minimum. Inside and outside bets function independently from each other when it comes to the table minimum.

Betting patterns

Most online Roulette games will offer a Betting Pattern feature which allows players to save their favourite bets or combination of different types of bets for easier placement in future rounds and logins. Usually up to 5 betting patterns can be saved and edited. The steps to save a betting pattern depend on the software of the Roulette game, but it will usually look somewhere along the lines of the following steps:

• To save a betting pattern, first place your bets on the table at the desired chip value.
• Click on the ‘Betting Patterns’ button, then click to save your pattern.
• Click to add it to the Betting Patterns Menu.
• To place a saved betting pattern, simply open the menu and click on the desired bet and start playing or press ‘Autoplay’. It will then be added to the table.
• You can simply delete the pattern by clicking on the ‘Delete’ button.

Roulette Autoplay

When playing Roulette, you can only make use of the Autoplay function if you’re using the aforementioned predefined betting pattern(s).

How to win at Roulette

Familiarising yourself with the type of Roulette that you’re playing, with the layout of the wheel as well as the table could possibly help you get a better grasp on the game. If you study the different odds and probabilities on top of that, you’ll know everything you need to start giving it a try, but remember Roulette is a game of chance. 

Some Roulette trivia

• The word roulette means ‘little wheel’ in French.
• Rien ne va plus, is French and literally means ‘nothing goes any more’. It's been used since the mid 19th century by the croupier to announce that no more bets can be placed. Its synonym is sometimes used as well: les jeux sont faits (‘the stakes are set’).
• Back in the days, a roulette ball was made of either ivory or wood. Nowadays it's made of teflon or phenolic resin - or pixels!
• The little “walls” separating the numbers on a roulette wheel are called pocket separators and a pocket is the space where the ball sits after landing.
  On average, a roulette ball travels a distance of 8-12 metres per round.

How to start playing Online Roulette at Casumo

1. All you need to do to play Online Roulette at Casumo is log in with your Casumo account using your computer or mobile. Don’t have an account yet? Sign-up for a free account below.
2. Once logged in, make a deposit and head off to the Game Browser.
3. Select the Table Games tab.
4. Choose the Roulette game you want to play, like European Roulette, American Roulette or
   Relax' Roulette Nouveau.
5. Select the amount you want to wager.
6. Place your bets, rien ne va plus! If you want to try other Casumo casino games, like Blackjack or Slots, you can have a look at our Casino Games Guide.