How to Win Real Money at Table Games: Online Roulette
Imagine stepping into a glamorous casino somewhere on the Mediterranean. What’s the first thing that you see and hear? Chances are it’s the Roulette wheel. This device has been around for over 200 years, but it’s still the center of attraction, even if most of the floor space in modern casinos has been taken up by slot machines. Nothing beats the sight and sound of the Roulette ball skipping across the wheel as it spins.
You don’t have be in Monte Carlo to enjoy that feeling. As long as you have the internet, you can play real money online Roulette any time you want at Bodog Casino. We’ll introduce you to the different Roulette games available at Bodog; all the different bets you can make will be covered, and we’ll even discuss some of the Roulette betting systems people have tried over the years – some with more success than others.
How to Play Online Roulette: American Roulette Vs European Roulette
Roulette as we know it wouldn’t exist today without Blaise Pascal. The 17th-Century French mathematician and philosopher found himself at one point working on a perpetual motion machine, before physics proved such a device couldn’t be made. Pascal couldn’t make it work, of course, but he did come up with a wheel that had very little friction to slow it down once it started spinning. He ended up using that wheel to conduct experiments about probability – experiments that would look much like a game of Roulette to modern observers.
After a few tweaks, Pascal’s wheel would be introduced to French players sometime around the mid-1700s. The game they played was called Roulette, meaning “little wheel.” Roulette was so popular, it spread across Europe and into the New World; different wheels with different number systems were used, but over time, two games became standard. Today, we call these games European Roulette</a > and American Roulette.
The differences between the two Roulette table games are subtle, but also very important. Both wheels have numbered pockets around the outside edge, alternating in red and black colors. Both wheels use the numbers 1 through 36. However, the European wheel has a single zero (0) marked in green, while the American wheel has both a single zero and a double zero (00). This has an effect on the odds for each Roulette game, which we’ll discuss in further detail shortly.
The object in Roulette is to guess which numbered pocket the tiny white Roulette ball will land in once it’s spun around the inside edge of the wheel. After you place your bet on the Roulette table, choosing the area on the layout where your desired bet is marked, the ball is set clockwise in motion (the Roulette wheel will be turning counter-clockwise this whole time), and the ball will eventually land in one of those pockets. Then the winning bets are paid out, and the next series of bets is taken.
Placing Your Bets
When you play online Roulette for real money at Bodog, you’ll place your bets the same way they do at the live casinos, using much the same layout. To get as close to the original game environment as possible, play online European Roulette</a > using the Classic version, which shows you the wheel in motion at the top left of your display. You’ll also see the full layout on the table, with areas marked out for all the different bets you can make. Simply tap/click the chips you want to bet, then tap/click the designated spot on the layout. You can also play online Classic Roulette using the American wheel, or you can try the “New” version of both games, which uses a simplified layout that’s easy on the eyes.
Understanding Online Roulette Odds
The different bets you can make at the Roulette table will have different odds and payouts, depending on whether you play online American Roulette</a > or its European cousin – and also how many numbers you’re betting on at the same time. Here’s a chart that covers all this information:
Bet Winning Numbers Chip Placement Payout Odds (French) Odds (American)
Inside bets (using the outer part of the layout)
Straight (aka Single) Any single number Inside the numbered square 35/1 36/1 37/1
Row 0-00 On the common edge 17/1 18/1
Split Any two adjacent numbers On the common edge 17/1 35/2 18/1
Street Any three horizontal numbers On the common edge on either side 11/1 34/3 35/3
Corner Any four adjoining numbers On the common corner 8/1 33/4 17/2
Top Line - American 0-00-1-2-3 On the common corner for 00-3 6/1 33/5
Top Line - European 0-1-2-3 On the common corner for 0-3 8/1 33/4
Basket 0-00-2 On the common corner 11/1 35/3
Six Line (aka Double Street) Any two consecutive horizontal lines On the common outer corner on either side 5/1 31/6 16/3
Trio - American 0-1-2; 00-2-3 On the common corner 11/1 35/3
Trio - European 0-1-2; 0-2-3 On the common corner 11/1 34/3
Outside bets (using the outer portion of the layout)
Column Any of the three columns At the end of the column 2/1 25/12 13/6
Dozen 1 through 12; 13 through 24; 25 through 36 Inside the specified area (1st 12, 2nd 12, 3rd 12) 2/1 25/12 13/6
Odd/Even Any odd or even number Inside the specified area 2/1 25/12 13/6
Red/Black Any Red or Black number Inside the specified area 2/1 25/12 13/6
High/Low 1 through 18; 19 through 36 Inside the specified area 2/1 25/12 13/6
That’s a lot of different Roulette bets and odds to learn. You don’t have to memorize this chart; the important thing to remember when you play online Roulette is the house edge, which is always 2.70% for European Roulette – no matter which bet you make. For American Roulette, the added double zero generates a house edge is 5.26%; the one exception is the Top Line bet, which has a house edge of 7.89%.
When you play the European version of Classic Roulette (but not the New version), you’ll see another part of the layout that looks like a racetrack oval, with all the numbers 0-36, and three regions inside the oval. These are called announced bets, but are commonly referred to as call bets or French bets. Announced bets are really a combination of two or more bets from the above chart, and they are as follows:
Voisins du Zéro (“Neighbours of Zero”): Bet two chips on 0-2-3, one on 4-7, one on 12-15, one on 18-21, one on 19-22, two on 25-26-28-29, and one on 32-35.
Orphelins (“Orphans”): Bet one chip each on 1, 6-9, 14-17, 17-20 and 31-34
Tiers du Cylindre (“Thirds of the Wheel”): Bet one chip each on 5-8, 10-11, 13-16, 23-24, 27-30 and 33-36.
Neighbour Bets: By clicking on any of the numbers on the oval, you place bets on that number, plus the two numbers immediately to the right and left, for a total of five straight bets. For example, a Neighbour bet on 32 is a series of five single bets on 26, 0, 32, 15 and 19. Note that the Jeu Zéro (Zero Game) is not in play at Bodog Casino; if you click on the zero, you’ll make a standard Neighbour bet that includes 3, 26, 0, 32 and 15.<?
Roulette Online Strategies
Since there’s a house edge attached to every Roulette wager, there’s no betting system you can use to “beat” the game and make a profit – not online, at least. In theory, you could beat the live game by finding a biased wheel, or using some kind of optical tracking device to narrow down where the ball might land. But when it comes to betting systems, don’t fall for the Gambler’s Fallacy and think your next bet has a greater chance of winning if your previous bet lost, and vice versa.
That hasn’t stopped some otherwise very smart people from trying the following Roulette systems:
The Martingale Strategy
With any “50/50” bet like Red/Black or Odd/Even, simply double your bet every time you lose, then revert back to your original bet size once you win.
The Reverse Martingale
Also known as the Paroli: Double your bet after every win, then revert back to your original bet size once you lose.
The Fibonacci Strategy
Works the same as the Martingale, but instead of doubling your bet with every loss, follow the numbers in the Fibonacci series (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13...).
The D’Alembert Strategy
Also known as the pyramid system: Add one betting unit after every loss, subtract one unit after every win.
The James Bond System
Appears in the 1953 Ian Fleming novel Casino Royale: Bet 14 units on High, five units on 13-14-15-16-17-18, and one unit on 0.
Again, none of these systems actually generates a long-term profit, but if you want to try them out, use the Practice Play mode at Bodog Casino and see how far you can take them. More importantly, try all the other bets you’ve learned about in this Roulette guide, then switch to real money play when you’re ready. As always, bet only with money you can afford to lose, and remember: Roulette is to be played for entertainment. Enjoy yourself, and we’ll see you at the tables.
