Casino games don’t get any more classic than roulette. Walk into any live casino in Canada, and you’ll see that colourful roulette wheel in motion – or a bank of virtual roulette screens where that table used to be. Either way, roulette has captivated players across the Americas since it was first brought over by European settlers in the 1700s.
So why aren’t more Canadians playing European Roulette? Long story short, the original form of roulette developed in France is now known as American Roulette; this is the game most players in the Western Hemisphere are familiar with. European Roulette is a variation that was introduced in Germany in 1843, and stayed on that side of the Atlantic for the most part.
Until now. With the internet at your fingertips, you can play European Roulette anytime you like at Bodog Casino – Canada’s top destination for the best online casino games in the business. Online roulette is one of the easiest and most popular games to play at Bodog, but the more you know about it, the more enjoyment you’ll get from your time at the tables. Our comprehensive European Roulette guide has everything you need to get those wheels in motion.
Rules of European Roulette
Chances are you’re familiar with the basic rules of roulette: There’s the famous numbered wheel, always spinning, and there’s the little white roulette ball that gets placed on the edge of the wheel and spun in the opposite direction. Eventually, that white ball loses momentum and lands in one of the numbered pockets on the wheel – the winning number for that spin.
All standard roulette wheels feature the numbers 1 through 36, some marked in Red, some marked in Black. The European wheel (still referred to by some as the “French” wheel) also includes a green 0, the “single-zero” that distinguishes European Roulette from its American cousin. These are the 37 numbers you can bet on, using the betting layout provided on the roulette table to place your wagers.
There are many different bets you can make in European Roulette. The payouts range from even money to the maximum 35-to-1, depending on the degree of difficulty for the bet you’re placing, but the house edge is always the same: 2.70%. That’s the lowest house edge in online roulette, and one of the lowest you’ll find at any of the table games at Bodog Casino.
Because the house edge is always the same no matter which bet you place, you don’t need to learn any betting strategies – but the rules of European Roulette still have to be followed. Your chips have to be placed on the layout in the right spot for your wager before that roulette ball is launched; if you’re brand-new to the game, this can be one of the trickier things to figure out, but it’s much easier when you play online roulette at Bodog.
Table Layout in European Roulette
When you step up to the roulette table and look at the felt, virtual or otherwise, you’ll see the all-important roulette layout next to the wheel. The “inside” of the layout shows three columns of 18 numbers each, with the 0 in its own space at the top; other designated betting areas surround these numbers on the “outside” of the layout.
The table layout in European Roulette includes a second racetrack-style oval with the same 37 numbers, in the same order as they appear on the wheel, plus three more betting areas marked within. These bets are unique to the European game, giving it a more “continental” flair than American Roulette; we’ll take a closer look at all these wagers in a moment, and what makes these two games (and layouts) different.
The important thing to remember for now is where your chips are supposed to go. If you’re playing the Classic European Roulette game at Bodog Casino, you’ll see your stack of virtual chips on the table below the layout, in denominations of $1, $5, $25 and $100 – all in Canadian dollars, of course. We also have a newer version European Roulette with a more streamlined look and $500 chips for you to play with.
No matter which flavour of European Roulette you choose, you can bet anywhere between the minimum $1 and the maximum $500 per spin, as long as you have enough money in your Bodog account. All you need to do is place your chips on the right spot before you hit that “Spin” button. Here’s how.
Bets You Can Place While Playing European Roulette
When you think of the most popular bets in roulette, two in particular stand out: the Straight (aka Single) bet, where you pick any one of the numbers on the wheel, and Red/Black, where you bet on the roulette ball landing in either a Red or a Black pocket. The Straight bet is the quintessential “inside” bet from the inside of the layout, while Red/Black is the king of the outside bets.
Inside Bets
The Straight bet is so named because it’s the most straightforward of the inside bets – just pick a number, place your chips within that numbered square on the layout, and you’re good to go. If your number comes up, you’ll win that maximum 35-to-1 payout.
Warning: If you’re playing live, make sure your chips don’t straddle the border of your square when you place your Straight bet. In roulette, you’re allowed to bet on more than one number at the same time; if your chip is on the border between two squares, or the corner shared by three to four squares, you’re betting on all of those numbers.
It’s a lot harder to mess up your chip placement when you play roulette at Bodog Casino. Each betting area is highlighted as you hover over it, showing which numbers you’ve got covered and what your potential payout is before you place your wager. You’re not under any time pressure when you play online roulette at Bodog either, so there’s no need to worry about fumbling your chips and placing the wrong bet.
Having said that, if you do want to bet on multiple roulette numbers at once, you could always just make multiple Straight bets, one stack of chips for each square. But then you’d be missing out on the wider range of bets you can place while playing European Roulette. It’s common practice for players to choose groups of numbers that are connected on the layout in some manner, like 4-5, or 10-11-12.
Here are all the different inside bets you can make in European Roulette, including their payouts and instruction on where to place your chips:
– Straight, aka Single (35-1): one single number, completely within that square
– Split (17-1): two vertically/horizontally adjacent numbers, on their shared border
– Street (11-1): three numbers in a horizontal line, on that line’s outer edge (left or right)
– Trio, aka Basket (11-1): 0-1-2 or 0-2-3, on their shared corner
– Corner, aka Square (8-1): four numbers with a common corner, on that corner
– First Four, aka Top Line (8-1): 0-1-2-3, on the corner shared by 0-1 or 0-3
– Six Line, aka Double Street (5-1): six numbers from two adjacent horizontal lines, on the shared outer edge for those lines (left or right).
Outside Bets
Six numbers still not enough for you? Let’s move to the outside portion of the European Roulette layout, where you’ll find the most popular bets this game has to offer. Each bet has its own designated area, and this time, you don’t have to worry about finding common edges or corners; as long as your chips don’t touch the inside part of the layout, all is well.
First, we have the outside bets that pay out even money when you win:
– Red/Black
– Odd/Even
– Low/High, aka 1-18/19-36
Each of these bets covers half the numbers between 1 and 36, with the single-zero (which is neither Red nor Black, Odd nor Even, Low nor High) generating that 2.70% house edge. Even money bets give you the lowest payout in roulette, but they also cash in nearly half the time – it’s all about risk versus reward.
Call Bets
Lastly, we have the bets found on the racetrack oval on the European Roulette layout. These are more properly referred to as “announced bets” when you play online roulette, since you have to put your chips down rather than just call out your bet to the croupier and play on credit, but most players use “call bets” or even “French bets” as their preferred term.
Let’s start with those three call bets marked out in the middle section of your oval:
– Voisins du Zero (“Neighbours of Zero”): two chips on 0-2-3, two on 25-26-28-29, one each on 4-7, 12-15, 18-21, 19-22 and 32-35.
– Orphelins (“Orphans”): one chip each on 6-9, 14-17, 17-20 and 31-34, plus one chip on 1.
– Tiers du Cylindre (“Thirds of the Wheel”): one chip each on 5-8, 10-11, 13-16, 23-24, 27-30, 33-36.
Each of these call bets is actually a combination of several Splits and other inside bets – the payouts and the house edge are the same when all is said and done. You can also place a Neighbours bet at Bodog Casino by selecting any of the numbers on the oval; this is a 5-chip bet covering that number and its two closest companions to the left and right. For example, “20 and the neighbours” is a bet on 31-14-20-1-33.
Other types of call bets, like Jeu Zero (“Zero Game”), are available at many live casinos in Europe. It all depends on which country you’re in; Germany is especially fond of Jeu Zero, or “Zero Spiel” in their native tongue. Don’t be afraid to ask your croupier if you’re not sure which bets are on tap, but again, this isn’t something you have to worry about when you play online at Bodog.
Differences Between European Roulette and American Roulette
When it comes to the divide between European and American Roulette, it mostly boils down to one thing: the double-zero (“00”). That additional green space means there are 38 numbers on the American wheel instead of 37, but the payouts don’t change, leading to a house edge of 5.26%. European Roulette was first invented as a promotional tool, removing the double-zero to create the lower 2.70% house edge and draw in more customers; this new game was brought from Germany to Monte Carlo, and eventually spread across the Eastern Hemisphere.
There are some other very subtle differences between European Roulette and American Roulette. We’ll leave those for now, but keep in mind that American Roulette does away with the racetrack oval – you’ll only find it on the European layout. Combine those sophisticated call bets with that lower house edge, and it’s easy to see why so many players around the world prefer European Roulette.
Play European Roulette at Bodog
You don’t have to choose between roulette games at Bodog Casino; you can even play European Roulette at Bodog in one window and American Roulette in another. We also have our new exclusive VIP Series versions of both games waiting for you on our roulette menu, as well as exciting variants like Double Dragon Roulette and Vulcano Roulette. And don’t forget about our Live Dealer roulette games, where you can chat with our live attendants – or play AutoRoulette if you prefer.
Not only does Bodog offer the best roulette games on the web, we also have the most generous Welcome Bonus packages for our new players. Create your free Bodog account if you haven’t already, then make your first deposit, claim your 100% Casino Welcome Bonus (we’ll make it 150% if you use Bitcoin or any of our other digital coins), and join the thousands across Canada and the Americas who enjoy playing European Roulette at Bodog Casino. Online roulette is popular for a reason, and there are ways to maximise your potential. Our outside roulette bets guide a is a perfect place to start. Enjoy, and good luck.