There’s something pretty special about watching a little white ball zip around a spinning Roulette wheel and ultimately dropping into one of its pockets. This is true when playing standard Roulette, but the popularity of Roulette is heightened all the more when you look into Live Roulette variants. Of course, this shows that not all Roulette games are created equal, but knowing your Live Roulette variants can seriously impact your gameplay.
European Roulette
Let’s start with the gold standard – European Roulette. This is the classic version, and it features 37 pockets in total with just a single zero. Subsequently, European Roulette is the easiest to learn for beginners, and it also has the most favourable house edge at just 2.70%. That said, you can place wagers on outcomes that will double your money if correct, such as high/low, odd/even, and red/black.
Alternatively, you can push the boundaries and place bets on individual numbers to seek the highest returns on a single spin.
American Roulette
American Roulette offers a version that contains an extra zero pocket. Compared with European Roulette, which has 37 pockets, you get 38 pockets here due to the extra zero pocket – shown as a double zero on the wheel itself. This slight adaptation nearly doubles the house edge to 5.26%, meaning your average chances of scoring a win in American Roulette are less than in European Roulette.
French Roulette
French Roulette actually has the same layout as European Roulette, meaning it has 37 pockets and player-friendly rules. However, this version has a few extra rules that can help you out depending on the bets you make. For example, the ‘La Partage’ rule means you only lose half your even-money bet if the ball ends up landing on zero. This is ideal if you plan on making conservative wagers when you play Roulette online.
There’s also a rule known as ‘En Prison’, which gives you another chance when zero hits. These rules drop the house edge even further on certain bets.
Lightning Roulette
Here’s where things get interesting. Evolution Gaming’s Lightning Roulette takes the classic game and supercharges it with random multipliers – replicating adjustments seen with themed reel titles for online slots. Before each spin, between one and five numbers get struck by lightning, receiving multipliers of up to 500x. Sure, straight-up payouts drop from 35:1 to 29:1 to accommodate these multipliers, but landing a lightning number can be absolutely massive.
Speed Roulette
If there was one criticism of Live Roulette, it would be that it can be a bit slow. That’s because you always need to wait for a predetermined count to reach zero before the dealer will send that ball zipping around the edge of the wheel. However, there is a much faster alternative for anyone who lacks patience, and this is called Speed Roulette.
This version cranks up the pace significantly. Rounds complete in about 25 seconds from start to finish, instead of the typical minute or so you might see with alternative variations of Live Roulette. Then again, the reduced timeframe applies solely to the time you’ve got to place wagers – the ball itself and the wheel rotation speed remain the same.