Roulette is one of the oldest and most well-known casino games there is. But how much do you know about the live variation, played online with a live dealer?
This newer format of Roulette brings together online play with a physical Roulette wheel, being spun in a studio and live-streamed to players. Live Roulette is another way for players to experience the game of Roulette online, and here’s everything you need to know about the format.
How does a game of live Roulette work?
The core mechanics of any game of Roulette are simple, as players place wagers on where a spun ball will stop. Live Roulette sticks to the standard format, with the main difference being the technology behind the scenes.
The Roulette wheel and table setup are located in a studio setup, where the live dealer can run the game for online players. Using physical game components allows for random chance through physical factors to determine the outcome of the game, rather than using a random number generator (RNG) like other online casino games.
High-definition cameras capture various angles of gameplay, allowing players to choose which views they want to focus on within their online interface. Players place their wagers through their game interface, with the live dealer placing physical chips on the table to represent those wagers.
But the thing that allows live Roulette to work the way it does – with real-time gameplay – is optical character recognition (OCR) technology.
Optical character recognition converts the images from the cameras into readable data that can be transmitted to the game software. This allows the program to process the outcome of the Roulette wheel’s spin without the need for manual input, but instead, simply ‘reading’ it from the camera feed.
Varieties of live Roulette
Like most casino games, there are many different varieties of Roulette that players can choose from. But there are three major formats that form the basis of almost every Roulette game: European, American and French Roulette.
Each of these have a lot in common and only a few distinctions between them. But, the differences between European, American and French Roulette mean that they all offer variation to players.
European Roulette is the most commonly played variety, with a single green zero and 36 other numbered pockets alternating between black and red.
American Roulette has an extra pocket on its wheel that shifts the house edge, altering the odds of various wagers.
French Roulette is almost identical to the European variant – unsurprisingly – with the exception of some extra rules and the fact that its table uses French terminology. La partage and en prison are rules that come into play if the ball lands on zero and the player has made an even-money wager (such as black/red or odd/even).
All three are available in live Roulette format, so it’s important to understand the distinctions between them. Before joining a game, players should check the listed rules and know which variety of Roulette is being played.
Live Roulette is a different way for online players to access this classic casino game. Whether they prefer the European or American format, there are live Roulette options to suit every preference.