European Roulette – The most generous Roulette Game
Among all the online roulette games, the European variant of roulette is most widely played. The main reason for European roulette’s popularity is its lower house edge, when compared to the house edge in the American variant. That is why, European roulette, at times known as the “single-zero roulette” can be found at almost every online casino today. The objective when you play European roulette online is simple – to guess the slot in where the ball would land after the wheel stops spinning. If your guess is right, you win an amount according to the bets you place. Otherwise, you lose the bet amount.
The European roulette wheel and table layout
The European roulette wheel consists of 36 red and black colored slots that contain numbers from 1 to 36 in a random order, and a green slot that contains the number “zero”. The main difference between the European roulette wheel and the American roulette wheel is that the American roulette wheel has an additional zero or “00”. A single digit difference may seem very small but this small difference can go a long way in increasing the house edge.
The absence of the additional zero on the wheel keeps the house edge to 2.70% in European roulette, which is why it is preferred by most online roulette players.
The European roulette table layout is the same as the American roulette table layout. The table is divided into three columns containing the numbers from 1 to 36. The zero bet option is placed on top of the columns, and the dozen bets, the odd and even bets, and the color bets options are placed beside the columns.
European roulette odds and bets
As mentioned before, European roulette is highly popular because of its lower house edge of 1/37 or 2.70%. This means that for every $100 you bet on roulette, you stand the chance of losing only $2.70 over the long run. Here is a note on the different inside and outside bets that can be placed when playing European roulette online.
Straight bets – A straight bet is nothing but a single-number bet, where you bet that the outcome would be a particular number. The odds of your winning this bet are 2.7%, but the payout is 35 to 1.
Split bets – A split bet is a bet on two adjacent numbers, where the payout is 17 to 1. The odds of winning this bet are 5.4% when you play European roulette online.
Dozen bets – A dozen bet is wager you place on the first 12, the second 12 or the third twelve numbers on the table. The odds of this bet are 32.4%, and the payout is 2:1.
Column bets – The column bets are what you place on one of the three columns on the European roulette table. The odds of your winning this bet are 32.4% and the payout is 2:1.
Line bets – A line bet is an inside bet that covers the six numbers in two adjacent rows. The payout here is 5:1, with odds of 16.2%.
Corner bets – Corner bets cover four numbers and pays 8:1. The odds of winning this bet are 10.8%. To place this bet, the chips have to be placed at the intersection where four numbers meet.
Even/Odd bets – When you bet that the outcome would be an even number or an odd number, it is called an even bet or an odd bet. The odds of your winning this bet are 48.6%, and payout is just 1:1.
Red/Black bets – Here, you place a bet on the color of the slot – red or black – where the ball is most likely to land. The payout here is again 1:1, and the odds of winning this bet are 48.6%.
1-18 and 19-36 – Also known as high/low bet, this is a bet you place on the numbers from 1 to 18 or from 19 to 36. The odds of your winning this bet are 48.6%, with a payout of 1:1.
The En Prison rule
Similar to the “la partage” rule of the French roulette, you would encounter something called the “En Prison” rule while playing European roulette online. Under this rule, if you place an even-odd, red-black, or a high-low (1-18/19-36) bet, and the outcome is a “0” (zero), you can either get half your bet back, or leave it “en prison” (in prison) for the next spin. If you win the second spin, you get back only the bet amount. If the outcome is again a zero or if you lose, you lose the total bet amount.
The en prison rule is not applicable to all online roulette games, and it may differ from one online casino to another.