Roulette is seen as the ultimate game of chance. Sure, you might see reports that claim that scientists have used something like chaos theory to beat the system. But we know that for the rest of us, it’s all about pure random chance. You spin, and then you win or lose: There’s nothing that will help us predict where that ball will land on the reel.
And yet, due to this association with random chance, there is perhaps a complacency among casual casino players to assume that all roulette games are the same. They are not, and the odds of success in each game can differ a lot.
When it comes to online roulette, in particular, there is a lot of choice on offer. And because the creators of the games will programme the titles to ensure that they reflect real-world possibilities, your choice of game is just as important as it would be were you to walk into a casino building in Dublin for a game.
Choose European over American
To illustrate, we can give you the most basic of examples: American roulette and European roulette, both of which are available at most online casinos. The payouts for these games are exactly the same. For instance, if you bet on the winning number and it comes up (called a straight-up), you would win 35-1 on your bet.
However, an American roulette wheel has 38 segments (numbers 1-36, 0, 00), whereas the European wheel has 37 segments (1-36 and just one 0 pocket). This means that the chances of success are better on a European wheel. The estimate is that the house edge for American roulette is around 5.26%, whereas for European roulette is 2.7%. And, don’t forget, software-based games are designed to reflect these probabilities.
And it can go further as well. Some versions of French roulette have a rule called “La Partage”: Your secondary school French might tell you that La Partage can be translated as “share”. Regardless, this means that if the ball lands in the 0 pocket and you have placed a losing straight-up bet, you will get half your stake back. This almost halves the house edge in European roulette games, putting it around 1.35%.
The small percentages add up
These figures might not look like a huge amount, but they can really add up over a few rounds, and they are obviously important for super high rollers. But the important aspect is that this information is readily available at the online casino sites. Irish casino brands that are licensed to operate online in the country will provide information on the rules and payback percentages (this is known as RTP for virtual casino games) for each of the variations. You should take a few minutes before playing any game and see if you glean whether it is better than another. It’s not just roulette – it’s the same for poker, blackjack and slots too.
Of course, no matter what you do at an Irish online casino, it’s always best to play within your limits. But if you have set aside a budget to play, then have a check of this information. You can usually find it through a menu or button on any induvial game. Casinos make a lot of profit of people blindly betting without thinking. But doing a bit of due diligence beforehand really can move the dial away from the casino, albeit every so slightly.
