One of the oldest casino games in the world, roulette, is and remains one of the most popular table games of the modern day.
With so many ways to play, roulette has captured the attention of most online casino fans one way or another. Most notably, on Reddit.
Not sure how to play roulette? We've got you covered. Read on to learn how to play roulette, read roulette odds, and leverage some of the best roulette bets according to Redditors. We'll also share which online roulette casinos we'd recommend most.
How do you Play Roulette? Gameplay and Roulette Odds Explained
The most straightforward explanation for how to play roulette applies to all its variations. Every roulette wheel (like the one pictured above) has at least 37 pockets, and in each round, players aim to correctly predict which pocket the ball will land in.
Roulette Table Layout Variations
When choosing which roulette game you'd like to play, you'll notice there are three versions that stand above the rest in terms of popularity: European, American, and French. European roulette has the standard 37 pockets, numbered 1-36, plus a single zero, resulting in a ~2.70% house edge.
American roulette is similar in many ways but features a roulette wheel with 38 pockets instead of 37. The wheel is numbered 1-36, with both a single zero (0) and a double zero (00) pocket, resulting in a ~5.26% house edge, which is more than twice that of European roulette.
Players seeking the absolute best odds often stick to French roulette. This version uses a 37-pocket wheel just like European roulette, but has a house edge that can drop as low as ~1.35% on even-money bets thanks to a couple of unique rules: "La Partage" and "En Prison."
For reference, an "even-money" bet refers to a wager that covers around half the wheel (~48% chance to hit) but doesn't include the zero. In French roulette, the La Partage rule returns half of a player's even-money bet if the ball lands on zero. Some casinos offering French roulette swap the La Partage rule for the En Prison rule, which instead "holds" (or "imprisons") a player's bet until the next round.
If the bet wins on the next spin, the player will receive the original wager amount in full. If not, the casino takes it. When comparing European roulette to its American and French counterparts, the odds of certain outcomes may differ, but the ways each bet is won remain largely the same. Look to the table below for a breakdown of each roulette bet and its odds across roulette variants.
| 🪙 Bet Name | 🛞 Numbers Covered | 🤑 Payout | 📊 Odds (EU% | AM% | FR%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⬆️ Straight Up | 1 | 35 to 1 | 2.63% | 2.70% | 2.70% |
| 🪓 Split | 2 | 17 to 1 | 5.26% | 5.41% | 5.41% |
| 🛣️ Street | 3 | 11 to 1 | 7.89% | 8.11% | 8.11% |
| 📐 Corner | 4 | 8 to 1 | 10.53% | 10.81% | 10.81% |
| 📏 Line | 6 | 5 to 1 | 15.79% | 16.22% | 16.22% |
| 🧁 Dozen (Column) | 12 | 2 to 1 | 31.58% | 32.43% | 32.43% |
| 💵 Even-Money | 18 | 1 to 1 | 47.37% | 48.65% | 48.65% |
What are the Best Roulette Bets According To Reddit?
Redditors are great at sharing interesting information drawn from personal experience, leading to a wide range of perspectives. When it comes to the best roulette bets and strategies according to Reddit. As such, it's not surprising that many users pointed out that the best roulette bets will vary from player to player, with bankroll and preferred length of gaming session being key determining factors.
Overall, these were the best roulette bets according to Reddit:
The "Hit and Quit" or "YOLO" Strategy (Most Upvoted)
- 📊 The Strategy: Use all the money you're willing to bet during this session on one even-money wager (Ex. $50 on "Red" or "Black").
- 🤔 The Logic: You have a ~48% chance to quickly double your money.
- 🤖 The Reddit Narrative: Several users agreed that, statistically speaking, this is the optimal move for someone with a lower bankroll.
- ✅ TAN Take: While we can see the logic behind this strategy, we'd still consider it too risky to recommend personally. Most low-budget players enjoy roulette casually, and this strategy focuses on maximizing profits rather than extending play sessions.
The "5 Double Streets" Strategy (High Probability, Low Reward)
- 📊 The Strategy: Place a $5 wager on five different "double streets", which will cover 30 out of a possible 37-38 numbers.
- 🤔 The Logic: By doing this, you'll give yourself a ~79% chance to win each round.
- 🤖 The Reddit Narrative: While some users saw the logic in this, others were quick to point out that this is a highly volatile strategy for a small bankroll. For example, one failed round of five $5 double street bets would result in a $25 loss, after which you'd need five consecutive wins just to break even.
- ✅ TAN Take: We have to agree with the contrarian Redditors on this one. The probability of winning each round may be high at ~79%, but it's important to remember that number is independent of previous rounds, meaning you're far from guaranteed to walk away with ~79% in overall profit.
The "Slow Grind" Strategy (Extend Game Sessions)
- 📊 The Strategy: Try to make your bankroll stretch for as long as possible by wagering the minimum amount on an even-money bet each round.
- 🤔 The Logic: Since an even money bet pays 1:1 and has a near 50/50 chance of hitting, your bankroll will fluctuate at a slow rate, thus extending your play session for as long as possible.
- 🤖 The Reddit Narrative: Many users agreed this is the best way for a casual player to stretch every dollar if the goal is to sit at the table and play with friends for as long as possible.
- ✅ TAN Take: We like this strategy quite a bit, given the goal of endurance in a casual social setting. It's also a good way to get a feel for roulette itself if you're a beginner.
The "Chasing Corners & Splits" Strategy (Medium Volatility)
- 📊 The Strategy: Break your bankroll into smaller parts and target inside bets with either the "Swing Big" or "Covered Corners" strategy. For example, if you broke a $100 bankroll into $5 and $10 chips, the Swing Big method would involve putting $5 straight up on 4 numbers of your choosing, whereas the Covered Corners method would require spreading $5 chips across 5 or 6 non-overlapping corner bets.
- 🤔 The Logic: Give yourself multiple chances at a large payout. Swing Big gives players 5 spins to hit a 35:1 payout, whereas Covered Corners includes a large portion of the board (20-24 numbers) and pays 8:1 if it hits.
- 🤖 The Reddit Narrative: Users generally agreed that this was a great way to both extend your play session and give yourself a legitimate chance to win big, without losing your entire bankroll in one shot.
- ✅ TAN Take: While risky, we still believe this is a decent middle-ground strategy, and we'd personally pick Covered Corners over Swing Big to maximize both play time and payout potential.
What Are The Best Roulette Online Casinos?
The best online roulette casinos typically offer multiple variants, unique rules, and other fun features. If you've never held an account with any of the casinos listed below, feel free to sign up using our links to receive a welcome bonus!
🥇 BetMGM Casino
When it comes to the best roulette casino sites, it's hard to beat BetMGM Casino. The selection of roulette variants is both plentiful and diverse, offering rare iterations like "101 Roulette," which expands the wheel to 100 numbers (plus five green slots), and "Mini Roulette" (played with a reduced 12-number wheel).
Roulette high rollers and others looking to swing big will enjoy "Roulette Royale" as well, a standard European roulette game linked to a massive progressive jackpot network. What's more, players can enter BetMGM-branded private roulette rooms to enjoy a wide range of table minimums and maximums.
🥈 DraftKings Casino
DraftKings Casino is known for paying homage to its sportsbook roots by offering sports-themed casino games, with popular exclusive titles like "DraftKings NBA Slam Dunk Roulette" leading the charge. In fact, DraftKings has many uniquely themed roulette games such as "K-Pop Roulette", "Pride Roulette", and "Quantum Roulette".
The DraftKings app is considered one of the best for on-the-go gameplay as well, with minimal lag to report and convenient features such as the ability to save and deploy custom bets.
🥉 FanDuel Casino
There isn't anything particularly unique about the best roulette games at FanDuel Casino, but the selection is quite solid. With ~50 roulette variants to choose from, highlights include "Roulette GO" as well as an exclusive title in "FanDuel First Person American Roulette".
The wide range of minimums and maximums across the different options is appealing as well, with multiple $0.10 minimum-bet tables for casual players and $10,000 maximum-bet tables for high rollers.
