Roulette is one of the most popular games nowadays and is available both in brick-and-mortar casinos and online. There have been many variations developed throughout the years.
We will acquaint you with a fair portion of them and help you navigate through them in order to find the right one for you. But first, let us introduce you to the origins of this fun and interesting game.
Brief History of Roulette Games
The game of roulette had its beginning in France according to most people. However, the evidence suggests that there were variations throughout the world but we have mostly found similar games in Europe. However, none of them are quite like the game that was developed in France by Blaise Pascal. Yes, the same guy you learned about in school.
In fact, it was not a game at all – he was attempting to create a perpetual motion machine. It was one of his physics experiments, which was ironically a failure. He was attempting to disprove one of the laws of physics we now know to be true beyond a shadow of a doubt.
His wheel had no zero or double zero. Those were added later on once the game took off and people realized that there was barely any house edge. The origin of both the zero and double zero are questionable at best. There are many theories each of which presents different evidence. The most popular theories suggest that the zero was added in France while the game was in its early stages of development and the double zero was an American invention.
What goes past speculation is the fact that variations carry the name of the places where they were developed. Back in the days, you would have had to go to another continent to play the different variations or at least kind of travel around the world. Now all variations are available online. There are some simple variations of online roulette, which are simply animated versions of the game. There are also more complex versions available and those are the live ones, as they are held in a studio and live streamed. A more sophisticated software is required for all of this to reach the player in a timely manner.
Top Software Providers
As with any other casino game, software providers are constantly racing to be the first and best. There are many big names involved here, but we are here to sift through them for you and present only the best. Naturally, we must mention Evolution Gaming and Playtech.
Evolution Gaming is not only a leading roulette software provider but an overall live casino software provider that is sought out by the largest number of online casinos. Its software makes the games available across all platforms with flawless performance. Even if your Internet connection is not all that good, the games do not lag. Evolution Gaming offers an unbelievable selection of variations of the popular game and the only thing that may be potentially viewed as a downside is that the games are not available for free. The games they offer are all live and because of this focus on live games, they are the best live casino software providers.
Playtech is also an all-around live casino software provider and has a wide selection of games to choose from. It offers more than only live casino games and so there is a large selection of Playtech online roulette games to play. Its online games have beautiful graphics and run perfectly on desktop, mobile, tablets, and any other possible platform. Their premium collection of roulette games is the best one so far but it should also be noted that they also offer 3D versions of the game. Playtech is the provider behind the popular Age of Gods roulette which has some amazing bonus features.
NetEnt and Microgaming are another two big names and they are both leaders in the development of online roulette software. NetEnt offers both online and live games and so it has an impressive collection of games. They provide a seamless gaming experience available across all platforms and even in landscape and portrait mode. The company’s live games offer the players perfectly synchronized video and audio along with a feature that allows them to bet during a spin, just like in a brick-and-mortar casino. The games are available in multiple languages which is another plus.
Microgaming also offers both live and online roulette games. The best roulette games they offer are from the Gold Series. The graphics are beautiful and the game runs smoothly across platforms as it is developed by Quickfire, a Microgaming company which was created specifically to increase cross-platform compatibility. The live casino games by Microgaming are also of an impressive quality and they are produced in top-of-the-line studios.
Most Popular Variations and How They Came To Be
Like all casino games, roulette has an incredible number of variations. There are some almost as old as the game itself and some that have come to be only after the game’s debut on the Internet. So there are classic and modern types. Here, we have presented for you the most popular of all.
American Roulette
American Roulette is pretty much like classic roulette with one small exception – the double zero. Of course, this is no insignificant detail as it increases the house edge significantly. So, what is the story behind the double zero? Well, it was actually present from the beginning but instead of 00 there was simply black. To avoid confusion, the color green was selected and the number was added. Later on, around the end of the 18th century, the game was first introduced to Americans in New Orleans. It was introduced to them by French immigrants who had run away from the destruction of the French Revolution. But the American casinos did not like it because of the low house edge and so they decided that they should add their own little American spin on the game.
The American game initially featured not only a double zero pocket but also an American eagle one. This made the house edge way larger and yet people loved it. Americans loved the risk and tension and so the game took over the country. Later on, the eagle was removed and more numbers were added, resulting in a lower house edge. Overall, the official version of the game started having 38 numbers, as opposed to the usual 36 and had them in a different order than the original version. Nowadays, thanks to the invention of the Internet, this variation has further variations and they have their own and so on.
The variation we will specifically review is the one by Playtech. It is a part of their Premium Series and looks amazing. The graphics are flawless and the features are quite impressive. You can change the color of the table, you can change the view and you can change the direction in which the wheel is spinning. Another great feature is the stats one which allows you to see where the ball has landed previously directly on the wheel, allowing you to create a better strategy easier.
Another notable version is the one by Evolution Gaming. As we already mentioned, their games are all live ones and this one is no exception. The game is played on a constantly spinning wheel, the direction of which is changed before each spin. The automated spin lowers the chances of predicting where the ball will land and the change in direction lowers them even further. This makes the game more dynamic and challenging.
Both of these have a high cross-platform compatibility and offer a truly immersive gaming experience. Usually, American Roulette games do not contain bonus features as they prefer to aim for the real-life experience that the game offers in brick-and-mortar casinos, so there is no room for too much deviation.
European Roulette
European Roulette was developed by two Frenchmen by the name of Francois and Louis Blanc who had to leave their home country because of the gambling prohibitions at the time, which was around 1842. The two of them decided to move to Germany and more specifically Bad Homburg. Their version of the game spread like wildfire through Germany, then all of Europe. This was due to the fact that the house edge was 2.70%. In fact, the game was so liked that Prince Charles of Monaco III invited them back to France and later on, they would become the creators of the infamous Monte Carlo Casino Resort.
This low house edge is present in the online version of the game by Playtech as well. Like the previous game by them we mentioned, you can customize the game to a very high extent. You can change the felt color, the direction that the wheel is spinning in, and the view with the difference that in this one, when you change the angle you can minimize the additional bet portion of the table that the American version of the game does not have. This is the Tiers, Orphelins, and Voisins du Zero section, which are also known collectively as call bets. The game also offers a zoom-in so you can see where the ball lands.
Evolution Gaming offers multiple variations of European Roulette, not always specified as ‘European’ as this type has become somewhat the default as it is the most widespread version of roulette in the world. Unlike American roulette, which, as the name would suggest is mostly seen in the US, European Roulette quickly took most continents by storm. So, this Evolution Gaming take on it is superior to other versions in multiple aspects. The overall quality is one of them, being one of the easiest ways to recognize a game by this software provider. Another is the features available, which are plentiful, like the extensive stats window.
French Roulette
French Roulette stands out from all other versions of the game quite clearly. This is because of a few reasons, the main one being that, usually, the table color of this game is red, so it is fairly easy to spot in a casino. Another reason is because of the betting options it presents the player with, which are many. You can make various numbers of combined bets depending on where you are playing but they are usually far more than any other game of roulette offers. Yet another reason is that this game has two options that absolutely favor the player – en prison and la partage.
En prison is what happens when the ball lands on zero and a player has not placed a bet on it, to put it more clearly – the losing even-money bet is kept ‘in prison’ until their next wager. If the player wins, they receive their bet back. If they do not, they lose. If la partage is the option available, the player immediately receives half of their bet back. These rules, when in place, make the house edge drop to 1.35%.
The Playtech game has over 30 call bet options alone, then there are all the neighbor bet options present in the European version too, so it is an overall amazing online adaptation. All the features mentioned earlier about their other versions of roulette are present here too. However, the table has a completely different layout, as it should. Playtech’s Premium French Roulette functions with the rule of la partage.
The Live French Roulette game offered by Evolution Gaming also has this rule in place. This game is consistent with the standard set by this provider and offers great possibilities for players. All the usual viewing options are also present and you can change the quality of the video stream as well. Not only are all of these options available but you can choose from several variations of French Roulette.
Another great option if you want to play this game is the one produced by NetEnt. The visuals of this online game are simply gorgeous. The game starts with a short introductory clip of a zoom-in on a roulette wheel from a great angle. The graphics are amazing and the game is highly customizable to each player’s taste. It is definitely a version of French Roulette worth mentioning because it simply gives you the feeling that you are in a casino right from the start.
Immersive Roulette
This is a live game by Evolution Gaming that has become perhaps the most popular variation of live roulette. This is due to the fact that it provides the best live casino experience out there. The game is a masterpiece which becomes obvious from the second you load it. Not only is it streamed in the highest quality, which is, of course, adjustable, but it automatically switches between camera angles and has slow-motion shots, providing a truly cinematographic experience that completely immerses players in the game.
The game itself is a cross between European and French roulette as its layout is European but it also has call bets which are typical for French roulette. Other than that, the game is the typical European variant. It has no en prison or la partage rules. The table layout is also in European style, rather than French. The game allows for call bets and neighbor bets of up to eight numbers which are placed on the racetrack which can be either present on the screen at all times or minimized.
If you wish to see the statistics, you are granted an easy access to them through a sector wheel map, as most online roulette games have. It also shows you which numbers are currently hot and cold. Hot numbers are those that appear frequently and cold ones are those that have not appeared in a while. The game’s history is also readily available to you, which is useful as it can help you construct a better strategy.
Of course, as in all Evolution Gaming products, this game also includes a real-time chat with both other players and the croupier, extended audio settings, the Save Favorite Bets feature, and many others. The user interface is great and is highly intuitive. The overall functionality of this game is top notch. It is clear why this would be a favorite for so many players. It is an absolutely premium experience.
Premier Roulette Diamond Edition
This is a game by Microgaming and it is a variation of European Roulette. The betting options are quite a few, much like the previous game we described. So, it is also a bit of a mix. What adds to the experience here and what makes this game worth mentioning is that the level of customization is incredibly high. There is an unbelievable number of options available.
One of those options, the most obvious of all, is the table’s color and the roulette wheel itself. You have six variations that you can choose from, all of which look spectacular. The graphics of this game are crystal clear and it just plays like a dream. The animation is simply unbelievable. It is apparent that a lot of efforts went into making this game.
Another obvious thing is the statistics option. Now, this is not simply a sectored wheel map, this is a carefully constructed, fully-fledged statistics expert kind of a thing. You get the wheel, you get graphs, you get more information than you know what to do with – it is incredible! You can see the statistics based on every possible classification.
Furthermore, you have the option to turn on expert mode. Once you do, you get the Tiers du Cylindre, Les Orphelins, and Voisins du Zero section, and the automatic spins section, in which you can select how many of them you want to have. Additionally, you have a section allowing you to save the different layouts of the table you may have liked.
Of course, you can see the history of your gameplay in the upper left corner of the game, and you have rebet and rebetx2 options as well as the capacity to change the value of your bet and select a different chip. Here, the chips’ value ranges from 0.25 to 1,000.
Age of the Gods Roulette
This is a relatively new game from the Age of the Gods series by Playtech. All of the games from this line have been a great success and this one is no different. This is a roulette game with a progressive jackpot and the chances of winning are huge. They are even bigger if your bet is higher.
This game is unique and that is obvious by just looking at it. Unlike standard roulette games, you get a beautiful background image consisting of colorful gods and goddesses, making it much more attractive than the usual mundane table. The look of the jackpot round is also quite unique. It looks like something straight out of Greek mythology.
Unlike most roulette games, Age of the Gods Roulette has a massive progressive jackpot, giving everyone the chance to win a sum that could potentially change their life. The Age of the Gods progressive jackpot is a part of all Playtech’s Age of the Gods series, including the slots. Every time a real money bet is placed on any of the games from this series, 0.99% of the amount of their bet is added to the progressive jackpot.
There is no way to actually enter the progressive jackpot round in Age of the Gods Roulette as it is randomly triggered. It does not matter if your previous spins have been winning or losing ones, it is all solely based on luck. Entering the jackpot round guarantees you a win starting at $50. However, there are 4 different jackpots. The first one is called Power Jackpot. The second one is called Extra Power Jackpot and starts at $500. The third one is called Super Power Jackpot and starts at $5,000. The last one is called Ultimate Power Jackpot and starts at $100,000.
What the jackpot round actually consists of is a completely different screen which reveals 20 golden coins. Beneath them hide the different jackpots. You have to flip them over until you match 4 of the same kind. You win a different amount based on which jackpot you have managed to match and how high your wager was.
- American Roulette
- Best Real-Money Roulette Sites
- Best Roulette Systems
- Double Action Roulette
- Double Ball Roulette
- European Roulette
- French Roulette
- High Roller Roulette
- Phenomenal Live Roulette (Luckystreak)
- Play Roulette Online
- Progressive Jackpot Roulette
- Roulette Bets and Betting Patterns
- Roulette Odds and Probabilities
- Roulette Rules
- Roulette Strategies
- Roulette Variations
- Ultimate Roulette (Ezugi) Means Extreme Casino Fun
