How to Play Online Roulette: All the Odds, Payouts, and Different Rulesets

Online Roulette is a casino staple, enduring thanks to its high payout rate and deep strategy. With dozens of rules variants and hundreds of ways to bet, when you first play Roulette online, it can be daunting. But this expert guide is here to help ease you into the world of online Roulette!

Playing Roulette is very easy, since while there is a strategic layer, it’s mostly chance-based. In online Roulette games, players will bet on a winning number decided by spinning a ball in the Roulette wheel—whatever number the ball lands on wins, and bets are paid out.

Wagers are placed directly onto the Roulette table, marked with every possible number, so some clever bets are possible by laying wagers over several numbers or on the lines between numbers. You’re able to bet on individual numbers or broader sets like Odds/Evens or Red/Black.

In Roulette casinos, there are three primary rulesets to play Roulette online: European, American, and French Roulette.

Online Roulette is one of those games with many equally-popular regional variants. When you play Roulette online, you’ll have to pick which one to try your luck with, so it’s important to understand the differences between each ruleset and their variants.

• European Roulette: Considered the classic ruleset, with preferential odds and easy to learn mechanics. Played with a 37-pocket wheel.
• American Roulette: Another straightforward ruleset, though the casino has a slight edge thanks to an extra green space—the double zero. Played with a 38-pocket wheel.
• French Roulette: The basic rules are shared with European Roulette, but French adds some forgiving rules plus “announced bets,” special ways to wager not printed on the table. Played with a 37-pocket wheel.
• No-Zero Roulette: Like the name suggests, this ruleset eliminates the zeros leaving only red or black spaces. The result is equal odds between the players and casino! However, the trade off is Roulette casinos charge a fee on your No-Zero Roulette winnings. Played with a 36-pocket wheel.
• Live Roulette: Any ruleset can be played live, where real croupiers run games while livestreamed to players in the comfort of their own homes. Naturally you’ll only find live dealer Roulette in online casinos. Played with a variety of wheels.
• Multi-Wheel Roulette: Any ruleset can have a multi-wheel variant, in which you can spin multiple wheels at once and play the same bet simultaneously on each of them for high-risk high-reward wagers. Played with a variety of wheels.

If you’d like to play online Roulette in real money casinos, getting started is incredibly easy. You’ll need to set up an account and prepare money for betting, but quality Roulette casinos will make the process a breeze.

• Choose A Roulette Casino: Read expert reviews and player feedback to select what casino to play at. We recommend browsing our up-to-date list of the best online casinos in Canada.
• Registration: Navigate to the casino’s sign-up page, where you’ll need to input some basic personal info to open an account. Once you hit Submit, you’re good to go!
• Deposit Cash: To place wagers, you need money in your account’s wallet. Find the Deposit page, pick a deposit method that’s fast and efficient, then deposit however much money you like.
• Locate the Roulette Games: Most online casinos have a dedicated section for Table Games or Live Casino Games. Under that header, you’ll find non-slots games including Roulette.
• Get Playing: Now you can click on the Roulette variation of your preference and start laying down your first wagers!

Even if the nuances of Roulette go over your head, you’re in a good place to watch other players try a few rounds. And if you only lay down the minimum bet for your first few games, you can get a feel for the rules quite quickly.

Rules

Online Roulette works by wagering on what number will be randomly selected by a spinning wheel. Players place their bets on a table listing every possible number, as well as spaces marking more generalized bets.

Once the bets are finished, a croupier spins a Roulette wheel with dozens of pockets on it. Each pocket shows one of the possible numbers. The croupier then drops a ball into the wheel, where it rolls around and lands in one of the pockets.

The number pocket holding the ball inside determines the winning number. All losing bets are taken off the table and the croupier pays out the winning players. Riskier bets pay better!

Among the three main rules variants, European Roulette plays out as described above. American Roulette is also very similar, except with an additional pocket and number added to the mix. French Roulette allows for additional ways to wager, and also adds the “La Partage” and “En Prison” rules which give certain losing bets a second chance if the winning number is zero.

The Roulette Wheel and Table Layout

The average Roulette wheel consists of 16 red numbered pockets and 16 black numbered pockets, plus 1 green zero pocket, for a total of 37 pockets. In American Roulette, an additional green space (double zero) is added to make 38 pockets, and in No-Zero Roulette there are no green spaces to make 36 pockets. 

In American Roulette, the order of numbers on the wheel is: 0-28-9-26-30-11-7-20-32-17-5-22-34-15-3-24-36-13-1-00-27-10-25-29-12-8-19-31-18-6-21-33-16-4-23-35-14-2

In European and French Roulette, the order of numbers on the wheel is: 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

The betting table also changes to match the number of green spaces on the wheel, but the overall structure stays similar. A large grid lists individual numbers in sequence, and boxes surrounding them list different sets of numbers or colours. Chips are placed directly onto the numbers or sets you wish to bet on.

Glossary of Common Online Roulette Terms

• Announced Bet — Bets not placed on the table but instead announced to the croupier
• Basket Bet — American Roulette wager placed across five numbers, covering zero, double zero, one, two, and three
• Column Bet — Wager placed on a marker representing a third of the numbers, out of sequence
• Corner Bet — Wager placed across four adjacent numbers on the table
• Dozens Bet — Wager placed on a marker representing a third of the numbers, in sequence
• En Prison — French Roulette rule that allows the money wagered on an even bet to stand for another round after a spin of zero, remaining on the previous bet “in prison”
• Even Bet — Any bet with an even chance to win or lose. Refers to Red/Black bets, High/Low bets, and Odds/Evens bets
• Inside Bet — Bets on one or more individual numbered squares
• La Partage —French Roulette rule that returns half the wagered money on an even bet after a spin of zero, with the other half being lost
• Line Bet — Wager placed on a row of six adjacent numbers, in sequence
• Outside Bet — Bets on table markers representing sets of numbers or colours
• Pockets — Cavities in the wheel marked with numbers that the ball might land in
• Split Bet — Wager placed across two adjacent numbers on the table
• Squares —Spaces on the table marked with each number on the wheel
• Straight Up Bet — Wager placed on a single number
• Street Bet — Wager placed on a row of three adjacent numbers, in sequence
• Table — Surface bearing gridded numbers and other markers for placing bets
• Trio — Wager placed on three numbers, covering either zero or double zero, plus two others
• Wheel —Pocketed wheel that is spun by the croupier to determine the winning number

Online Roulette games begin with the opportunity for wagering. Players can place as many bets as they like, but to avoid huge swings in your wallet’s balance, we recommend placing just one or two bets at a time instead of covering the table with chips.

You can place a few different kinds of bets. Inside bets are placed directly on specific numbers on the table’s gridded section. Outside bids are placed around the grid on markers denoting sets of numbers. And in French Roulette there are Announced Bets you make off-table with the croupier, a process greatly simplified when you play Roulette in online casinos or on casino apps.

The croupier will then spin the wheel and let the ball randomly select a winning number before collecting lost bets and paying out winning bets. There are no bets in online casino Roulette that are wholly in the player’s favour, so your wins and losses will be determined over the course of several spins.

Odds and Payouts

In the context of online Roulette, your odds are the likelihood of a winning bet. Narrower bets are less likely, but have higher payouts, while the reverse is true for broader bets.

Your winnings are proportionate to your initial wager, but multiply that wager by a certain amount in addition to returning your bet. So a payout of 1:1 nets you a profit equal to your wager, while a payout of 35:1 is a profit of 35-times your wager!

The best payout casinos feature online Roulette variations with favourable odds for players, but it’s also possible to still win consistently with the odds stacked against you.

Strategies and Tips

Like all casino games, Roulette relies on chance and promises no guaranteed wins. The best approach is to keep wagers small so your losses stay small.

However, there are a few strategies that many experienced gamblers swear by, all of which are based on outside bets, as these offer the most reliable odds.

The Martingale Strategy says you should double your bet size when you lose and repeat until you win. For instance, if you bet $10.00 and lose, then you would bet $20.00 next spin. That way whenever you manage a win, your winnings recoup all your previous losses.

Alternatively, the Paroli Strategy tells you to double your bet after every win, also intending to make up for lost wagers.

In the Labouchère Strategy, you set a target amount of money to win and make a list of several whole numbers that add up to that target (ex. 10, 20, 10, 30, 10, etc.). Each spin, you bet the sum of the first and last numbers on the list, and whenever you lose you add the amount lost to the end of the list. This strategy relies on theoretical Return To Player to average out wins and losses in your favour.

Many online Roulette games feature a Demo Mode where you can play for free using placeholder cash. Enjoy all the nail-biting drama of real money Roulette with spending a single penny!

Free Roulette can help you familiarize yourself with the rules, and naturally free Roulette is cheaper so you don’t have to worry about mounting losses. You also don’t need an account to play free Roulette at most online Roulette casinos, so if you’re conscious about personal security, this is perfect for you.

On the other hand, real money Roulette adds extra gravitas for more intense gameplay. You’ll also need to be aware of your ongoing balance and apply betting strategies accordingly, which isn’t a concern in free Roulette.

Keep in mind that free Roulette offers a limited selection of games. Real money Roulette will have more rulesets available, as well as games from a mix of software development studios, or a mix of live croupiers running the show in the case of live online Roulette. And on that note, live dealer Roulette is only available in real money Roulette.

Finally, consider why you want to play. The highs-and-lows of big wins and losses during real money Roulette can be exhilarating, or exasperating. Whereas free Roulette lets you enjoy a consistent game experience with no string attached. However, only real money Roulette will let you redeem casino bonuses, so if big cash payouts are your goal, free Roulette won’t scratch that itch the same way playing for real money can.

Enjoying Roulette online isn’t limited to just your computer. Many online casinos offer a companion app, promising the convenience of playing your favourite casino games on-the-go!

Casino apps have become increasingly popular with the advent of mobile optimization and advanced security encryption. You’ll find many advantages to gambling on mobile, like unique promos for mobile players and notifications to let you know when tournaments are kicking off.

Not everything about mobile play is perfect though: you still need a stable internet connection, it can be a drain on your battery or mobile data, and the smaller screen size and slower performance compared to desktop can frustrate some players.

If you like the sounds of mobile Roulette casinos, there are a few steps to get started:

• Find the Right Casino: Your casino of choice needs to both host a mobile app, and feature mobile Roulette in its game collection. It may take some researching to find a good pick.
• Download the App: Check your device’s app store, but for online Roulette in Canada, you’ll most likely have to download a casino app directly from the casino’s website.
• Log-In and Play Roulette: In the app, enter the same log-in details you would use on desktop, and you’re set! Simply navigate to the best online Roulette game for you and start playing.

Mobile play might mean reduced game selection, so fewer variants of Roulette, but otherwise you won’t have to compromise to enjoy Roulette online from anywhere you’d like to play!

When you play Roulette, you don’t have to settle for middling casinos. Online Roulette is a popular and common enough game that you can easily find it in premium online casinos. These casinos should meet a few criteria, aside from hosting a solid collection of online Roulette games, to deliver a top-notch experience.

Game variety is key to trying out the different Roulette variations so you can find the best fit for your playstyle. And a mix of software providers lets you mix-and-match game mechanics and aesthetics to your liking. For the best online Roulette, keep an eye out for Playtech or Evolution.

High-value bonuses are always a mark of a great casino, because not only can they net you free Roulette games, but they show the casino is determined to offer a premium experience to players. Similarly, some casinos host Roulette tournaments on an invite-only basis for VIP members, so watch for rewards like these!

Strong overall user experience pre-empts many headaches. Reliable support, secure transactions, and an easily navigable site layout makes exploring a casino’s Roulette games a breeze.

Legitimate casino licenses prove a casino is reputable and trustworthy. You can also research player feedback to ensure the casino isn’t ripping players off. Never give personal data or banking info to an unlicensed online casino!

With great payouts and enough variations to hold your interest, it’s no wonder online Roulette is as popular today as ever. And frankly there’s an element of childlike-wonder to seeing the little ball fly around the wheel!

No matter what casino you play in, a thorough understanding of Roulette’s unique rules and betting strategy will serve you well. Hopefully this guide has given you a better idea of how to up your game, and now you’re ready to go out and dominate the Roulette table!