Player Story: Spin the Wheel

Player Colonne shared his tips and thoughts on playing roulette online, suggesting that with some practice, you can soon play roulette like Bond in Casino Royale.

Roulette and casinos have existed for centuries, and the basic concept of either has not changed much. Even when online casinos first appeared on the scene, roulette has changed the least from its land casino setting.

One thing that most definitely has remained untouched is that the odds remain in favor of the house (much less in favor of the land casino house than the online version), while the gameplay and strategies have remained unchanged.

Roulette, which means 'small wheel' in French, is all about spinning the wheel hoping the ball will stop at the right number. The rules of the game of roulette are very straightforward. Each game sequence is dictated by a single spin of the wheel with no accumulations and continuation bets. This means that every bet, winning or losing, has to be reset before each spin, meaning that it players are always under pressure to get their bets down on time, with all the pushing, shoving and jostling required for a player to get their bets placed on time, which is what playing roulette in a land casino usually involves.  

The roulette wheel is always spun in the same direction and, as it rotates; a small white ball is placed inside the wheel, with the croupier calling out the famous phrase "no more bets" as the wheel begins to slow down. As soon as the call is out, I stop breathing, and it feels like an eternity until the ball finally stops spinning...

After what feels like an eternity, the wheel finishes its rotation, the ball will land in one of the notches on the wheel: every notch notes both a number and a color. 

In the European version of the game, there is only one zero, while in the American version, there are two, which means that the odds are considerably more in favor of the house. There are no advantages for a player to wager on the American version of roulette, with all of the advantages being in favor of the house. This is why there are not many American versions of roulette online, and if your casino has it, then resist the temptation to test it.

Both online and offline, the one thing that is for sure is that roulette players have absolutely no say in the outcome of the spin. All they need to do is bet on the statistical eventuality of which number the ball might land on.

Roulette players who have studied the game will know which bets to place will have chosen a path of odds that can vary from 36-1 to 1-36.  Odds of 36-1 means betting on just one number and hope that number hits, an exciting bet, but one that rarely works out well for the player in the long term. 1-36 means betting on 36 numbers, including the zero, hoping that the single number that wasn't bet on won't come up. That means they win one for every 36 chips betted. In an online setting, it can be done and some players have enjoyed reasonable profits.

Online casino players enjoy the important tactical privilege of controlling the pace of the game so that they have all the time they need to place any bet they want before the virtual heel begins to spin. They can even play turning on the "automatic pilot" mode if they want to.

The game becomes interesting when deciding which bet or bets to take. Most players prefer to find themselves somewhere between 36-1 and 1-36, and only time spent practicing and understanding will help you reach your ideal comfort level regarding betting combinations. Before you know it, you will hit the roulette table like James Bond in Casino Royal...