Online roulette uses a random number generator to approximate the spin of a "real" roulette wheel. Most wheels you see in Vegas are numbered one through 36 in alternating black and red colors. There are usually, but not always, two green numbers, zero and double-zero, which are there to give the house a slight edge. Anyone who tells you you have a 50-50 shot when playing the "outside" in roulette is not telling the whole truth.

Were there no green spaces on a roulette wheel then yes, your odds would be 50-50. But the green spaces are just enough to lower your odds below 50 percent, since there is a better-than-four-percent chance the wheel will come to land on one of these two spaces. Some casinos feature roulette wheels with only one green space. While this may seem like a negligible advantage (or disadvantage in the other instance), in the long run this one space can determine fortunes won and lost.

Playing Online Roulette
As with casino roulette, online roulette presents gamblers with plenty of options. The most popular of these is playing a single number. While the odds of actually landing on one chosen number are small, the payout is proportionately large--usually 35:1. Other options for roulette online include playing several numbers at once. By placing your chips at the intersection of two or four numbers, you "cover" them all but divide your payout in equal measure.

Any of the aforementioned strategies is known as "playing the inside," because these numbers tend to be congregated in the central region of the betting table. Playing the outside, on the other hand, means gamblers can select red or black, then place their chips on the appropriate square. Another option when playing the outside in casino roulette online is covering "ranges" such as one through 12, 13 through 24, and 25 through 36. Again, the payouts drop to reflect your improved odds when betting in this manner.