Tips to Beat the House Edge in Online Roulette

Tips to Beat the House Edge in Online Roulette

Step into any land-based casino and you can’t help but find a crowd gathered around the roulette table. It continues to be a pleasure for many to fall in love with the little wheel online. For casual fans, making straight-up bets might be all you want to do. However, for those looking for more, understanding the relationship between house edge and online roulette is essential for long-term success.

Breaking Down House Edge

Before moving forward, we must first understand the relationship between house and RTP, two essential terms for every casino player.

TermDefinition
House EdgeEven when you win, the house takes percentage of your winnings.
RTPA measure to help players figure out how much they get back over time from a $100 wager.

The lower the house edge, the greater the prospect of playing those real money casino games. On the flip side, the higher the RTP, the lower the house edge, the better the odds of winning over the long term playing those games.

Understanding the Roulette Variants

Playing online roulette offers more variants than ever before compared to playing in person. However, the three main variants, American, French, and European, are still the standard that players should consider. Take an up close look at how the house edge applies to the three main roulette variants.

Game VariationHouse Edge
American Roulette5.26%
European Roulette2.71%
French Roulette2.71%

Because American Roulette has the double zero, the house edge is the highest at 5.26%. For this reason, it is not recommended for players to begin. However, you can bet on the double zero, and make the unique basket bet from the additional zero.

This is why European and French Roulette remain highly popular. They both have the single zero. French Roulette continues to appear among the live dealer games. With the special single-zero rules, that means the house edge falls even lower to 1.35%, which is why it continues to gain steam.

Other popular variants include Lightning and Auto Roulette. Both games are based on the European variants with a similar house edge. Auto Roulette plays faster because it doesn’t have a croupier spinning the wheel. Lightning Roulette features lightning animations with the shot at random winning multipliers reaching 50x or more.

Playing online doesn’t necessarily mean playing with a live dealer. Most iGaming sites support RNG roulette games. For beginners, it makes sense to start here to learn the game at your own pace. You can also apply different betting strategies to help you manage your budget.

Understanding the Different Roulette Bets 

For beginners, making the straight-up is the easiest. You simply bet which number the ball falls on and see what happens. To understand how the house edge applies, it’s important to know that the roulette wheel is based on two categories, inside and outside bets.

Outside bets are the easiest for beginners to make, and they pay even money. Common outside bets include red or black, high or low, odd or even. With these types of even money bets, the odds give you a rough 50% chance of winning. Hit the correct number, an odd or even number, or any high or low number, and you win.

For high and low numbers, the roulette wheel is broken up into two sets of numbers: 1-18 (low) and 19-36 (high). If you bet on a low number, if the ball lands in that range, you win. The same applies to high numbers. Inside bets pay more, but the odds aren’t on your side. Outside of the straight-up bet that pays 35:1, it’s more challenging and more expensive to pull off bets like the dozens.

The Importance of Picking Up Bonuses

Besides the 24/7 access, including on social media, the cool part about playing online roulette is the rollout of bonuses available. Most welcome bonuses apply to most roulette games. Other popular online roulette bonuses include cashback and reloads.

Conclusion

By understanding basic blackjack strategy, you can enjoy your online playing experience. It’s common for beginners to have betting methods like the Paroli and the Martingale to get comfortable. However, using them too much might have you drain your budget, so use them sparingly. When playing online, only stick to legal sites for fair results and timely payment of your roulette winnings!