Now that we can all play casino games online whenever we feel like it, it’s perhaps surprising that so many people choose to play roulette above other table games. Or is it? There are plenty of good reasons why roulette has always been such a popular game.

It’s familiar and easy to understand. When a novice looks at games such as blackjack or craps, they may be nervous about playing them as they’re not familiar with the rules. With roulette, though, the iconic roulette wheel is instantly recognizable and the concept of playing is easy to grasp. At the most basic level, you can simply pick a number and bet on that, or bet on black or red. If you play online at sites such as 32red, Gala, and Roxy Palace there’s often also the opportunity to play in free play mode, where the bets you place are only virtual. This is great when you want to experiment with different betting choices.

Then there’s the player return to consider too. Play at Pkv games and there’s the possibility of getting a return of up to 38-1 if you have good luck when you press on Spin. The different variants have a varying house edge. American roulette has a higher house edge, thanks to the presence of the double zero pockets on the wheel. French and European roulette wheels, on the other hand, have only 37 pockets, meaning the house edge is lower. At 32 red, there are five types of roulette games to play, including American French and European roulette. There’s also Roulette Royale, which has a progressive jackpot to play for.

It’s a game with a history to it. Roulette is a game that has been played for hundreds, possibly thousands of years. This latest incarnation of online roulette is a perfect hit with today’s modern world, where people want to be able to play casino games wherever they are, without having to visit a land-based casino. But a similar game was played in ancient China, using icons of animals engraved on a stone, and in the Roman Empire, soldiers would spin a chariot wheel to share out the spoils of a battle or a ransacking.

Whether you win or lose is down to luck. Nothing can help you predict the outcome of a roulette wheel spin, although many players have sworn that their success is down to following a system. As long as a physical wheel is not weighted or fixed in any way, every spin is unique and therefore not connected to the results of past or future spins. Online, that element of chance is provided through random number generator software, which means that a player has the same chance of winning on every spin. No win is guaranteed, of course, so all players have to accept that they’ll have losses as well as wins along the way. But for many, that’s the appeal. You don’t need to outwit the dealer or other players as you do in other casino table games, you simply choose your bets and see what luck brings you.

Whatever your reason for choosing to play roulette, remember the golden rule of gambling every time you place a bet – only ever bet money you can afford to lose. That way, win or lose, you’ll always have fun without any stress.

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Rosalinda is a game theory analyst and an avid reader. She loves studying old casino cultural history. Her friends refer to her as an interesting nerd.