Online European Roulette

European Roulette is a wheel-based casino table game that is popular across the globe. First developed in France in the 18th century, this game transformed into several versions. Today, apart from the European version, Roulette players can enjoy French and American Roulette versions as well.

There are two main parts to the game, the Roulette table and the Roulette wheel. If you’re looking to learn how to play European Roulette, it is vital that you understand how these two parts link together.

The objective of the game is to place winning Roulette bets and use a ball and a wheel to reach a result. At the end of each round, the ball will land on a random number, and any bets placed on this number will win.

The basics of European Roulette rules are rather simple. Since the result is completely based on luck, you don’t need to develop extensive skills or strategies to challenge the house edge. Nevertheless, just like with other casino table games, there are some strategies that may mathematically improve your overall performance.

European roulette wheel

The European Roulette wheel is the main attraction of the game and the provider of the greatest thrills. This wheel is split into 37 equal segments and each segment has a number that ranges from zero to 36. You can distinguish European Roulette from the American version since the latter has a total of 37 numbers, with the extra one being a green double zero.

The zero has a green background whilst the rest of the numbers have either a red or blackjack background. Individual numbers are normally in white, to be easily recognizable.

In land-based casinos, the wheel starts spinning only after the European Roulette bets are placed. In virtual and live games, the dealer spins the ball and shortly after all betting stops and all eyes turn towards the wheel.

Thanks to properly positioned cameras and detailed graphics, you’re always guaranteed the best view of the roulette wheel whenever you play European Roulette at Royal Panda live casino.

What’s the house advantage in European Roulette?

European Roulette has a house edge of 2.7%. This edge is derived from the zero, so whilst you can bet on any of the 36 available numbers, you can win, at best with odds of 35:1. Even when you place an outside bet on odd or even that covers 18 numbers, you’re still not getting a 50/50 shot at winning due to the zero.

With both a zero and a double zero, American Roulette wheel has a greater house edge than European Roulette. On average this edge is equal to 5.25%.

This means that, statistically, if you were to bet $100, you’d lose $2.70 overall over the course of numerous rounds of European Roulette. If you were to play American Roulette instead, you’d theoretically lose $5.25.

However, when you’re at the Roulette table and playing with real money, the truth is very different. No matter whether you’re playing European Roulette or any other version of this game, there is no way of knowing what the next spin will bring. Each new spin is independent of the previous ones and is completely random and fair.

European Roulette betting

Now that you know how the European Roulette wheel works, let’s have a look at the betting table. The exact design of a particular game may be different, but in general, you’ll always find a combination of inside and outside bets laid out across it.

Some versions of the game also include racetrack betting. It is an additional betting area on the roulette table which consists of special bets known as call bets.

At the start of each round, you will be invited to place your European Roulette bets. Just as players did for centuries, you simply need to select your chips and place them on one or more bet boxes.

European Roulette inside bets

The available inside bets are the following:

• A straight up bet is one placed on a specific number, such as a ‘0’ or ‘15’.
• A split bet is a bet placed on two numbers that are next to each other on the table at once go. You could, for example, bet on a ‘1’ and a ‘2’.
• A street bet groups together three numbers in a row at a time. An example of such a bet would be a bet on ‘1’, ‘2’, and ‘3’.
• A square bet is one that groups together four numbers. To bet on a square, you need to place your chips in the corner where all four numbers meet. An example would be betting on ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘4’, and ‘5’.
• The six-line bet is the European Roulette inside bet that groups together the highest amount of numbers. This bet combines two street bets of adjacent numbers. An example of a six-line bet would be betting on ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’, ‘4’, ‘5’, and ‘6’.

European Roulette outside bets

If you’d like to bet on a wider range of numbers simultaneously, you should place outside bets. Here are your options:

• A column bet is one that groups 12 numbers on the table. There are three possible column bets in European Roulette.
• A dozen bet is very similar to a column bet and also groups together 12 numbers. With this bet, the numbers are grouped together in a 3x4 grid.
• Low bets, also known as 1-18 bets, are ones that group all these numbers in a single bet.
• High bets, also known as 19-36, instead group all the table’s high numbers in a group.
• Even bets cover all even numbers whilst odd bets cover all odd numbers.
• Red bets cover all numbers with a red background whilst black bets cover all numbers with a black background.

European Roulette racetrack bets

Some European Roulette tables include a special set of bets that have an elongated oval shape. As a result, they are commonly referred to as racetrack bets. There are four of these bets available:

• Serie 5/8 places six chips across 12 numbers. With this bet, you’ll be wagering on ‘5/8’, ‘10/11’, ‘13/16’, ‘23/24’, ‘27/30’, and ‘33/36’ simultaneously.

• The Orphelines bet uses five chips to wager on eight numbers. These are ‘1’, ‘6’, ‘9’, ‘14’, ‘17’, ‘20’, ‘31’, and ‘34’.

• Series 0/2/3 is a bet that covers the 17 numbers that are closest to the zero on the European Roulette wheel. These are ‘0/2/3’, ‘4/7’, ‘12/15’, ‘18/2’, ‘19/22’, ‘25/26/28/29’, and ‘32/25’.

• The Zero Spiel bet is a smaller version of the Series 0/2/3 bet and covers seven numbers. These are ‘0/3’, ‘12/15’, ‘28’, and ‘32/35’.

In addition to these set bets, racetrack betting allows you to wager on a group of neighbouring numbers. You can learn more about European Roulette racetrack betting in our detailed guide.

What are some of the most popular European Roulette strategies?

European Roulette is primarily a game of chance and there is no way to guarantee a particular result. The following strategies are based on mathematical theories and may provide you with overall better performance, but they still don’t ensure a win.

The Martingale System

This is a popular strategy used in several casino games. The concept of this European Roulette strategy is very simple - each bet that loses is doubled. In this way, if and when you win a bet, you should have recovered your losses.

To put the Martingale System into practice you need to decide which European Roulette bet you will place. Whilst you could use this strategy with any bet, outside bets that pay evenly, meaning payout 1:1, are best.

Let’s imagine that you decide to implement this strategy with an odd bet of $1. If this bet loses, you should bet $2 on odd numbers in the next turn. If this bet loses as well, you should bet $4 on odd numbers yet again. Should this bet win, you would get back your original $4 plus an extra $4. To get to this point, you would have spent and lost $3, so you would be ahead with $1.

D’Alembert System

Similar to the Martingale System, the D’Alembert System suggests adding one to your previous bet when it loses. In practice, this means betting $3 when your previous $2 bet loses.

Whilst the Martingale System recommends going back to your very first stake value when you win a wager, the D’Aembert System suggests reducing your stake by one unit.

Some European Roulette players prefer this system to the Martingale as it allows them to extend their bankroll for more rounds, increasing the possibilities of winning bets.

European Roulette gameplay

To learn the rules of European Roulette, it’s a good idea to understand the flow of the game. At Royal Panda Casino, you’ll come across several different versions of this game, but generally, the stages of the game are the same.

At the start of a new round of European Roulette, you’ll be invited to place your wager. You can use your user-friendly interface to select the value of your chip and then click on an appropriate bet box or marker.

If you’re playing a virtual game of Roulette, you’ll have a long time available in which to place your bets. However, Live Roulette betting time is limited in order not to keep players waiting long. In either case, you’ll be able to see a countdown of the remaining betting time.

Once betting time is over, as the European Roulette wheel is spinning, the dealer waits until the ball lands on the wheel to announce the winning number. In virtual games, the spinning as well as the ultimate result are based on a random number generator. Live Roulette games normally make use of a mechanical wheel and ball dispenser.

When the ball stops hopping around from one part of the wheel to another and settles on a number, the game round ends. All bets, whether inside, outside, or racetrack, that include this number are automatically paid out. At this point, a new round of European Roulette begins.

What are the payouts in European Roulette?

Here is an overview of the bets and payouts available on classic versions of European Roulette: