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No Zero Roulette is a rather beneficial game for gambling fans. Its main distinctive feature is that the Roulette wheel lacks the traditional green zero pocket. The absence of zero decreases the house edge, increasing a player’s chance to win. Note that in many online casinos this game is also known as Zero Edge Roulette.
History
The absence of zero on the wheel, which reduces the house edge, is clearly a distinguishing characteristic. However, very few people know that the original Roulette wheel used in playing for cash did not have additional pockets either. Neither zero, nor double zero was known in the old days, and came about much later as gaming establishments figured out how to increase their edge in this most popular casino game.
Modern Roulette fans should thank the Blanc brothers, Louis and François, for reducing the players’ winning chances. In 1843 they modified Roulette games and offered a new version of the Roulette wheel, one with the green zero pocket. Yet until that time, Roulette, which had been invented as early as the 17th century and went on the rise in the 18th century, had been doing just fine without zero. Perhaps that’s why it had enjoyed steady popularity among gamblers for decades.
After the Blanc brothers revolutionized the rules of Roulette, zero has become its mandatory component. Only with the recent development of Internet casinos did No Zero Roulette return to the gambling industry. It’s at online casinos where one can play No Zero Roulette nowadays, sometimes even for free. In traditional casinos this game is still quite rare, which, of course, is not surprising: no traditional gambling establishment would offer a game that gives no edge to the house.
No zero Roulette odds and table layout
The absence of just one pocket significantly affects the betting options available to a player as well as the winning chances of both the players and the casino. By and large, unlike in traditional European Roulette or American Roulette, in No Zero Roulette a player and the house have absolutely equal odds of winning, strictly 50%-50%.
Zero Edge Roulette is particularly advantageous for those, who prefer making even money bets (red / black, odd, even, or high / low). In these bets the odds of winning are equal to the odds of losing, giving each player an exact 50%-50% chance. Moreover, the game is also beneficial for those players, who favor single number bets: the odds of the player winning increase, while the payout rate remains unchanged, 1:1. As a result, a player has nothing to lose, while without zero the odds of losing a single number bet decrease by one since this additional pocket is not on the wheel in this game.
Certainly, the absence of zero affects the betting some of them that are found in traditional roulette games, simply do not exist in No Zero Roulette. The process of playing remains the same as in other variations of Roulette. Players make their bets, the croupier spins the ball, and the players just wait to see which pocket it will drop in.
Rules
According to a popular belief, because there is no house edge in No Zero Roulette, it is nearly the most advantageous game for a gambler. In reality, however, many online casinos offering No Zero Roulette impose a tricky rule (every so often it's written in small fonts on the relevant webpage to reduce its noticeability): in each betting round a player is charged a certain amount of money. In other words, each spin of the wheel generates a financial charge. Sometimes, a player is only charged a commission of a percentage of the win. Although the amount of the charge may be miniscule compared to the amount bet by a player, this rule – if a player plays for real money – can potentially turn the player’s profit into nearly nothing. Therefore one has to beware of such rules when playing Zero Edge Roulette.
Betting Options in No Zero Roulette
Without zero, some of the betting options common to the classic European or American Roulette are not available in this game. Only the following bets can be made:
- Even money bets (red or black, odd or even, high numbers (19-36) or low numbers (1-18).
- Single number bets (bets on any number 1 through 36). In addition to this, betting on a single number and two numbers adjacent to it (‘The Number and Neighbours’) is allowed in some casinos.
- Split bets (bets on two numbers adjacent to each horizontally or vertically): for example, 5 and 2, or 3 and 2.
- Street bets (bets on three numbers in a horizontal or vertical row): for example, 1, 2 and 3.
- Corner bets (bets on four adjacent numbers in a square shape).
- Bets on six numbers (two adjacent streets).
- Dozen bets: bets on the first dozen (1-12), second dozen (13-24) and third dozen (25-36).
