All versions of roulette games are played with a wooden roulette wheel that has a ball that spins. The ball falls into a slot and this determines the winning number. But the bingo games may differ. The European version of roulette is played with a single zero position on the roulette wheel and on the corresponding table layout. The odds are thirty five to one for each number and the house advantage is 2.7%. When the La Partage rule is used the house advantage is lower yet: it is 1.3514%.
The La Partage rule is sometimes referred to as insurance since the house returns half of the even money bets when the ball lands in the zero pockets. The American version is played with a roulette wheel and corresponding table layout with a double zero position. The odds for each number are still thirty five to one, but the house advantage is 5.25%.
The casino games are very different in terms of the house advantage. Las Vegas wouldn’t accept the roulette game with the single zero when it was first introduced. The house advantage wasn’t good enough then. They wouldn’t offer the casino table game until the double zero slot was introduced and the internet bingo game was played with the higher house advantage. Today, most casinos offer both versions of the game. Before playing roulette it is worth while to find out which version of the game they offer. The player’s chances are better with the lower house advantage.
