Double Ball Roulette Explained
Everybody likes a bit of innovation, especially in a relatively unchanging game such as roulette. Throwing two balls into a roulette wheel seems like a simple idea, but it can have some profound effects on how the game plays. Namely, Double Ball Roulette games come with a much wider spread of bets and RTP values. Essentially, good bets are far, far superior to ‘bad’ bets. That’s why double ball roulette can be a minefield for beginners.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though. We’ll start with the basics of how double ball roulette works.
What is Double Ball Roulette?
As the name implies, Double Ball Roulette is a variant of the classic casino game which uses two balls instead of one. Importantly, only one wheel is used, with both balls simultaneously spinning.
When it comes to the type of roulette wheel used, both American and European variants exist. As always, though, we recommend solely playing the European ones. Just like in the base game of roulette, adding that extra zero in American roulette doubles the house edge. That said, Double ball roulette also exists in land-based casinos as well as online ones. You may not always have a choice. Still, if you do, only play single-zero double ball roulette wheels.
Some of you may also be wondering how Double Ball Roulette works in a literal sense. Shouldn’t the balls slam into each other all the time? Yes, they would in a classic roulette wheel. However, these roulette tables don’t use the typical method in which the dealer just rolls the ball onto the wheel. Instead, the tables come equipped with compressed air tubes which shoot out the balls simultaneously. The two balls then travel at the same speed, ensuring they never come into direct contact.
Of course, this only applies to land-based casinos and live casino Double Ball roulette games. RNG-based online roulettes don’t need such mechanics, for obvious reasons.
How to Play Double Ball Roulette
This sort of layout deeply affects the available bets and how they work. While the betting table mostly looks the same, the various bets don’t necessarily have the payouts, odds, and RTPs you may be used to. We’ll start by explaining how Double Ball Roulette bets work. Then, we’ll list the paytable for all possible wagers so you better understand the payouts.
Outside Bets in Double Ball Roulette
For example, to win an Even Money Outside bet like Red/Black or 1-18/19-36, both balls need to land in the correct pocket. This pretty much halves the probability of success, but the payouts are increased to 3:1.
This is true for all Outside bets in Double Ball Roulette. Dozen, Column, Odd, Even, Red, Black, 1-18, and 19-36 are all classic Roulette bets that have been changed in such a way. However, the double ball system opens up opportunities for completely new types of Outside bets. These are specific to Double Ball Roulette and require two balls to work properly.
First of all, there’s the Red/Black bet (not to be confused with the classic Red and Black.) This wager wins if either Red or Black wins. In other words, you need both balls to land on the same color of pocket, regardless of which color it is. It pays 1:1, and is the only 50/50 shootout in Double Ball Roulette.
Secondly, there’s the On Any Number Double Ball Roulette wager. This bet predicts that both balls will land on a single number, regardless of which number it is. With odds of 35:1, the probability and payout of this wager are almost identical to straight-up bets in single-ball roulette games.
Lastly, we have On Selected Number. This wager wins if both balls land on the same number, which you have to specify beforehand. As you might imagine, this is not a very likely outcome. The wager pays at odds of 1300:1, and it’s still not really worth it.
Inside Bets in Double Ball Roulette
Inside bets are quite the opposite of Outside bets. Only one ball has to land in the correct pocket to win an Inside bet. This effectively doubles the chances of them winning compared to standard variants. To be frank, most players prefer Inside wagers in this type of roulette for the decreased volatility.
For example, a classic Straight-Up bet wins no matter which ball lands on the specified number. As such, it offers a payout of 17:1. You can apply this logic to any Inside bet – just take the usual payout and divide it by 2. It makes sense, considering the win probability is doubled.
Importantly, if both balls win the inside bet, your winnings are doubled!
Payouts
Here’s the full Double Ball Roulette payout table with all the details you need. These are the industry-standard odds, and most good games of this type will use them exactly as-is. Also, the overall RTP is identical to European Roulette – 97.30%.
| Inside Bets | Payouts |
| Straight Up | 17:1 |
| Split | 8:1 |
| Street | 5:1 |
| Corner | 3.5:1 |
| Line | 2:1 |
| Outside Bets | Payouts |
| Red/Black | 1:1 |
| 1-18 | 3:1 |
| 19-36 | 3:1 |
| Red | 3:1 |
| Black | 3:1 |
| Odd | 3:1 |
| Even | 3:1 |
| Dozen | 8:1 |
| Column | 8:1 |
| On Any Number | 35:1 |
| On Selected Number | 1,300:1 |
Strategy Tips for Double Ball Roulette
There are essentially two approaches to playing this game. You’ll either want to take advantage of the increased payouts of Outside bets, or the increased probability of Inside bets.
Our favorite bet is the Line bet. It offers fair payouts at 2:1 odds. However, winning 4:1 with both balls in the correct area of the wheel happens quite often. It’s the main reason why Line wagers are so good in Double Ball Roulette.
Moreover, Call bets to retain much of their effectiveness. Since they’re mostly made up of multiple inside bets, Call wagers win even more often. However, be careful with complex wagers such as these. The lowered Inside payouts could mean that your winnings are not enough to cover the initial stake.
