Introduction
Roulette is a popular and simple game that is available at nearly all online casinos. Unfortunately roulette rarely counts towards wagering with cashable bonuses because it is possible to simultaneously bet on winning and losing outcomes, greatly reducing variance.
Rules and Play
After placing your bets, the dealer spins the wheel. If the wheel lands on a selected bet, then the dealer pays the winning bets according to a standard paytable. Possible bets are listed below:
Red/Black, Odd/Even, 1-18/19-36 (18 numbers) -- Pays 1:1 (returns 2x Bet). 0 and 00 are neither even or odd for the purposes of this bet.
1-12/13-24/25-36, Column (12 numbers) -- Pays 2:1 (returns 3x Bet)
2 Rows (6 adjacent numbers) -- Pays 5:1 (returns 6x Bet)
Corner (4 adjacent numbers) -- Pays 8:1 (returns 9x Bet)
Row (3 adjacent numbers) -- Pays 11:1 (returns 12x Bet)
Split (2 adjacent numbers) -- Pays 17:1 (returns 18x Bet)
Single Number -- Pays 35:1 (returns 36x Bet)
0/1/2, 0/2/3 -- Pays 11:1 (returns 12x Bet). This bet is only available in single-zero roulette.
0/1/2/3 -- Pays 8:1 (returns 9x Bet). This bet is only available in single-zero roulette.
0/00/1/2/3 -- Pays 6:1 (returns 7x Bet). This bet is only available in double-zero roulette and has a higher house edge than other bets.
Voisins du Zero ("Neighbors of Zero") -- A combination of several of the above bets, covering the numbers between 22 and 25 on the wheel (22,18,29,7,28,12,35,3,26,0,32,15,19,4,21,2, and 25)
Tiers ("The third") -- A combination of several of the above bets, covering the numbers between 27 and 33 on the wheel (27,13,36,11,30,8,23,10,5,24,16,33)
Orphelins ("Orphans") -- A combination of several of the above bets, covering the numbers not included in the Voisins du Zero and Tiers bets (17,34,6,1,20,14,31,9)
Neighbors of ... -- A combination of 5 single number bets: a selected number and the two numbers on either side of that number on the wheel
Strategy
There is no optimal strategy to roulette. All strategies have the same house edge in American and European roulette. If we assume the outcome of the spin is random, then all of the many roulette betting systems will fail over time.
The one aspect of return that can be controlled is variance. Larger bets and numbered bets have a high variance. Small outside bets have a low variance. One can create a bet with zero variance by betting all 37/38 numbers, or by betting 18 red / 18 black / 1 zero (European Roulette). Roulette rarely counts towards wagering with cashable and sticky bonuses because of this possible "riskless" bet.
