(14 votes, average: 4.74 out of 5)
American Roulette is one of the most eye-catching, interesting and thrilling games of chance.
It appeared at the end of the 18th century in Louisiana, the south of USA, when emigrants fled from the Great French Revolution to America and brought a fascinating game called roulette. At the turn of centuries, New Orleans was the gambling heart of the United States.
Despite the intrigue and charm that roulette brought to the gambling industry, many owners of gambling houses were disappointed by the low advantage of the casino and decided to add an extra Double Zero (00) sector. At first, American roulette included numbers from 1 to 28, Zero, Double Zero, and American eagle. As for the rules, they were all against the players: the ball landing on the three special cells gave the casino a great advantage over all gamblers except for those having bet on one of these three sectors.
As for the contemporary American roulette, its main difference is a double zero wheel, which consists of 38 sectors and contains an additional 00 cell. Although Double Zero makes the game more interesting, it also increases the mathematical advantage of the casino to 5.26%, which is higher than in European and French roulette. Moreover, when it comes to the bet of 0-0-1-2-3, the house edge reaches 7.9%.
However, online American roulette can boast of high-quality graphics creating the feeling of presence, easy navigation, accurately chosen audio accompaniment, and the ability to bet in a wide range. The RTP (return to player) depends on the type of the bet and displays the expected return rate in the long run, which means you still have a chance of winning big in the short- and mid-term perspective.
American Roulette: Rules, Features, Payouts
As in any other type of roulette, the key to big winnings is your intuition. You have to predict the future outcome by guessing the cell, which the ball will land in. To make it simpler, online casinos allow players to bet on a group of numbers, color (black or red), etc. Naturally, the fewer the number of sectors you bet on, the higher the possible reward. The top prize is 35:1, which is given for guessing a single number. The lowest prize of 1:1 is awarded for winning a bet on even chance.
Traditionally, the playing field supports inside and outside bets. The first group is riskier, but much more profitable, while the latter implies payouts of either 1:1 (red or black, odd or even, low or high) or 2:1 (columns and dozens). The probability of a win for outside bets varies in between 31.58 and 47.37%.
Inside bets are as follows (bet–payout–winning odds):
- Straight: 35:1, 2.63%.
- Split: 17:1, 5.26%.
- Street: 11:1, 7.89%.
- Square: 8:1, 10.53%.
- Top Line: 5:1, 15.79%.
If the house edge of 5.26% seems to be too high to risk real money, you can use two tricks. The first is to play in a buckshee regime, which is supported by almost all online casinos (however, you won’t be able to withdraw funds). The second is to use the Surrender option, and it’s much more preferable as it implies a return of 50% of the bet if the ball hits Zero or Double Zero. Note that the rule reduces the advantage of the casino to 2.63%, but comes into play only when the bet is made on even chances (either Black/Red or High/Low or Odd/Even).
The Verdict
To sum up, we should note that American Roulette is not the most generous game of chance. However, it conveys the original spirit of gambling and therefore is much more than just another money-making tool.
