Roulette

Roulette is one of the most popular games in Europe, while in the US it is one of the least played games in the casino. The ratio of roulette tables between the old world and the new world is almost 10 to 1, why is that? There are some very good reasons why most Americans don’t play roulette. One, it is one of the games of “chance” as opposed to games of “skill”, like blackjack and poker. Second, players don’t like the high house edge that the American wheel offers, with the zero and double zero. Third, most European games offer “en prison”, which will reduce the house advantage when playing the outside bets. The math for these strange European rules is significant. The 5.26 percent house edge on American wheels is reduced to 2.70 percent when only a single zero wheel is used. When “en prison” is offered it further reduces the house edge to only 1.35 percent, which is almost equal to the pass line bet at craps. Unfortunately, only a few casinos around the US offer the single zero French wheel and only Atlantic City uses a rule similar to en prison, called “surrender”. In this instance, when betting on an outside position, if the green zero or double zero show up, the player only losses half their wager. This is also a better game since the house advantage is only 2.63 percent. Do a little homework before your next visit to the casino and find out what roulette rules are in place.