Minimum bets at live table games continue to increase. The spread of 000 roulette tables creates a higher bet minimum for 00 roulette in many casinos. Single zero and European roulette are mostly located in high-limit areas with $50 to $100 minimum bet requirements. This leaves low-limit players with electronic roulette as their only option.
Roulette is often available as an electronic table game. Most electronic roulette machines have an automated wheel with a surrounding bank of gaming stations with a screen at each player’s seat where individual bets are placed. However, some heads-up games have an individual wheel at each seat. Other upright machines have a video wheel on the screen.
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Lower minimum bets on electronic roulette games
Electronic table games offer players options with lower minimum bet requirements. For example, in Las Vegas, it takes $15 to $50 to play 00 roulette on the Strip. However, electronic roulette is available for $0.50 to $5. These low minimums are also common in other casino markets. Game King machines may have even lower minimums, depending on the denominations available.
Like a live roulette game, chip minimums are typically less than the game minimum. Electronic roulette games often have quarter or fifty-cent chips.
Electronic roulette paytables
The paytable on most electronic roulette machines is under a settings or help menu. On Bally upright video roulette games, the paytable is displayed on the main screen. Many times, these paytables include the original bet in the payout amount.
A standard roulette game pays the following:
- 35:1 for a straight bet
- 17:1 for a split bet (two numbers)
- 11:1 for a street bet (three numbers)
- 8:1 for a corner or first four bet (four numbers)
- 5:1 for a six-way bet (six numbers)
- 2:1 for numbers 1 through 12; 13-24; or 25-36 (12 numbers)
- 1:1 for numbers 1 through 18, numbers 19 through 36, odd, even, red or black bets (18 numbers)
However, sometimes the paytable is displayed misleadingly. A quick way to spot these misleading paytables is to pay attention to even money bets. When betting on half the set, excluding zero(s), the bet should pay 1:1. A paytable that includes your original bet will have a payout of 2 for 1-18, 19-36, odd, even, red or black bets.
This does not mean the paytable is incorrect. It means that every payout value includes the original bet in addition to winnings earned. To be a traditional paytable on these machines, the payouts should read:
- 36 for a straight bet
- 18 for a split bet (two numbers)
- 12 for a street bet (three numbers)
- 9 for a corner or first four bet (four numbers)
- 6 for a six-way bet (six numbers)
- 3 for a set of a dozen numbers
- 2 for numbers 1 through 18, numbers 19 through 36, odd, even, red or black bets
Straight and split bets may have a higher house edge
Short pays are commonly found on Bally upright single zero and some double zero machines. On these machines, straight and split bets may have lower payouts.
Depending on the number of zeros, the house edge is the same for all bets with the above payouts. A single zero roulette game has a house edge of 2.7%, double zero has an edge of 5.26%, and triple zero roulette has a house edge of 7.69%. A five-number bet on a 00 roulette table has a 7.89% house edge. In Atlantic City, even money bets on a 00 roulette game only have a 2.63% house edge.
Most short-paying electronic roulette machines only pay 31:1 for a straight bet and 15:1 for a split bet. For a single zero game, this increases the house edge of these bets from 2.7% to 13.51%. The advantage of a single zero on the wheel is lost for these two bet types. For comparison, a roulette wheel with five zeros and the standard paytable would have a house edge of 12.2% on a straight bet.
On a double zero game, the house edge increases from 5.26% to 15.79%. For comparison, a triple zero machine with a standard paytable only has a house edge of 7.69% on the same bets. A roulette wheel with six zeros would have a house edge of 14.29%. For machines with multiple denominations available, the paytable may change for each minimum.
Although the payouts for the straight and split bets are decreased, the other wagers remain the same. Roulette players looking for lower limit action on the other bet types will find a lower house edge with a single zero machine when compared to a live double or triple zero game.
Carnival roulette games have uncalculatable house edges
Roulette games like RouletteX, PowerX Roulette, Reel Roulette, and Roulette Xplosion short-pay straight bets in return for a chance of random multipliers. We have seen the payout for a non-multiplier straight bet as low as 26:1, although it is typically 30:1 or 28:1.
The number of multipliers and values varies every spin. Multiplayer versions of Reel Roulette also have two different colored balls that affect the payout. Not knowing the frequency of these events makes the house edge uncalculatable for straight bets on these games. However, other wagers are not affected.
Electronic roulette games to avoid outright
Some games do not just affect a wager or two, but the whole paytable. Unfortunately, we have seen triple zero roulette as an electronic game in heads-up and multiplayer form. An Interblock game named Bonus Wheel Roulette is a version of quad zero roulette. The game uses two wheels. One has numbers 1-36 and four gems instead of zeros. A second wheel of multipliers spins on a winning gem to determine the amount won.
Every spin of the roulette wheel, like all table games, is in the casino’s favor. So, understanding where to look allows gamblers to play their favorite games with the lowest house edge.
