Roulette is one of the most popular casino games for a number of reasons. For one, it's easy to understand despite having a lot of betting variations. It's just all about betting on a number or bet type and if you hit it, you win. Aside from the simplicity, it's also very fun to play. It's flashy and seeing the ball tumbles to find a pocket can be very exciting.

In this article, we are going to cover some of the popular variations of roulette and some of the popular strategies that players have developed to help increase the chance of beating the house.

Popular Roulette Variations

* European Roulette - the European Roulette variation is probably the most popular type of roulette variation. The main reason for this is because it has a very low house edge when compared to other variations. This variation features 37 numbers and a single "0." With 2.63% house edge, it's no wonder that most players prefer this version over other roulette variation.

* American Roulette - as the name suggests, this variation is popular in the United States. This variation is very similar to the European with the only difference of having two "0." This might not seem much, but it actually increases the house edge to 5.26%

* French Roulette - if you don't know, roulette took off in France. Hence, there's a variation known as the French Roulette. What makes this variation unique is because of the La Partage rule. With this rule, players who bet on "even money bets" will get half of their bet if they lose to a "0." This rule brings down the house edge to just 1.32%. However, because of the very low house edge, most casinos don't like this variation, and that's why you seldom encounter this roulette type.

Popular Roulette Strategies

* Martingale System - this is probably the most known roulette betting system there is. It's a straightforward betting system as the rules states that you must double your previous bet if you lose. You continue this betting pattern until you win. When you win, go back to the original bet. For example, you bet 1 unit, and you lose. The next bet should be 2 units. If you lose again, you bet 4 units. If you win the next bet, you start betting again with 1 unit. The idea here is that a single win can recoup all your losses plus you win 1 unit. Theoretically, this could strategy could break the casino if the table has no maximum betting limit and you have unlimited money to beat the losing streaks.

* Parlay System - the parlay betting system is the exact opposite of martingale. This means that if you win, you are going to double your previous bet. So if you bet 1 unit and you win, then your next bet should be 2 units. If you win again, then your next bet should be 4 units. If you lose, you start back with 1 unit. It's a strategy better known as the "let it ride" and it can be very fun. However, if you want to use this strategy, make sure that you have a maximum limit as otherwise a single loss could wipe-out all your wins.

Of course, there are a lot more Roulette variations and strategies out there. In fact, no 1-page article could cover them all. However, the points we mentioned above are probably the most common variations and strategies, which makes it a good place to start if you want to know more about roulette.