What Are the Most Popular Variants of Roulette?

Concerning casino-style gambling, roulette is likely the most traditional option one can enjoy on gaming floors. That has nothing to do with the fact that this is a game whose lineage can get traced back to eighteen century France, rather it rests on the fact that this is a true game of chance, where the wheel of luck has the final say regarding who will end a gaming session as a winner, and who as a loser.

Furthermore, roulette is by far the most social casino game of all. It has player versus house gameplay, but unlike tables at other picks like blackjack and baccarat, which have eight position limits, roulette can get played by anyone that stands around a table that offers it.

Over the years, various versions of this casino classic have gotten invented. Yet, in the subheadings that follow, we focus on the four most popular options right now for both newbie and veteran gamblers.

European Roulette

Essentially, European Roulette is what people predominantly think of when they say they are considering playing this game, as this is its most established iteration. Its wheel has thirty-seven divisions, with numbers from one to thirty-eight. It also features one green/zero pocket, which is the defining aspect of this variation. When the little white ball lands in this wheel position, all bets placed on the roulette table are losing ones, and the dealer collects all the chips, the wagered amounts. European roulette is the preference for most players, as its house edge is a mere 2.63%.

American Roulette

In the 1800s, roulette got introduced in North America and began to attain a foothold in gambling establishments across America and Canada. However, due to many of these venues not turning in expected profits, some decided to add an extra green/zero pocket to their roulette wheels, thereby tilting the odds even more in their favor. An American roulette wheel featuring two green/zero pockets is the only thing that sets it apart from the European variant. This slight rule tweak lifts the house edge of American Roulette to 5.25%.

French Roulette

As mentioned above, roulette has gone down in the annals of history as a French invention. That is so despite the fact that it likely descends from the Italian game Biribi. In short, the French variant is more or less identical, gameplay-wise, to European Roulette. The chief difference between the two is that the betting board has a different layout in French Roulette, and there’s a “La Partage” rule in play. That is a stipulation guaranteeing that when a player makes an even-money wager and the little white ball lands in the green/zero position, he will receive half of his stake back.

Lightning Roulette

Lightning Roulette is a streaming product developed by Evolution, the most famous live provider in the interactive gaming landscape. It blends game show-like flair with elements from French Roulette to bring a new form of wheel action to internet gamblers. Every round here gets played super quick, and with the help of multipliers, this version can produce prizes of 500x a gambler’s stake.