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As with many games, the origins of ‘roulette’ as one of casino games are shrouded in mystery. The most popular is that it was first played in a casino in Paris, after its invention by a French scientist called Blaise Pascal in 1655. A second very similar theory suggests that the game was designed by a random French monk to ease the monotony of the ancient monastery life. The third claims that roulette was invented by French Dominican monks who aimed to arrange 37 animal numbers (0 to 36) into a unique sum of 666.
Of the three lines of thoughts, the third seems to lack any evidence, but did you know if you added all the numbers on a roulette wheel you’d get 666? Maybe this is the reason why this game is sometimes referred to as ‘the Devil’s Game!’ Nonetheless, in the early stages of the game, it was commonly referred to French Roulette until its widespread to European and American territories.
While the game is undoubtedly of French origin (hence the name), the design and gameplay are evidently influenced by two quite similar and popular European games of the 17th century: ‘Even-Odd’ and ‘Roly Poly.’ Both games involved spinning a perpetual motion machine and wagering on the outcome of the spin.
Roulette Wheel Layout
The roulette wheel is the main and movable part of a roulette table which determines the winning bet. Avid roulette players refer to the wheel as the battlefield. It’s a fixed point of horizon where every gamer has his/her eyes fixed full of anticipation. One number left or right can decide the entire game! The roulette wheel layout and number selection are works of deliberate randomisation.
If you are new into the game you’d assume that the roulette number go in a sequence of 0 to 36. But the numbers are arranged in an apparently random order around the wheel. The roulette wheel is also divided into black and red components, with only one green label representing the 0—all the other numbers from 1 to 36 take random order. The untrained eye would also assume that there’s no difference between the different types of wheels. But at a closer look, there’s a significant difference between the European roulette wheel and the American version.
European Roulette
All the numbers are inside of the wheel and have 37 slots in total (0, 1-36). On the right side of the zero, there are nine black numbers (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, and 17) and nine red numbers (19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32, 34, and 36). On the left side of the zero, there are also nine black numbers (20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 31, 33, and 35) and nine red numbers (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, and 18). The total numbers are as follows: 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25, 17, 34, 6, 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, 33, 1, 20, 14, 31, 9, 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26.
American Roulette
Unlike European roulette, all numbers are outside of the wheel, where two odd numbers change two even numbers and all black numbers are opposite red numbers. The American roulette also has 38 slots (0, 00, 1-36). The zero (0) is located between two red slots and the double-zero (00) is located between two black slots. The total alignment of numbers in the American wheel is as follows: 0, 28, 9, 26, 30, 11, 7, 20, 32, 17, 5, 22, 34, 15, 3, 24, 36, 13, 1, 00, 27, 10, 25, 29, 12, 8, 19, 31, 18, 6, 21, 33, 16, 4, 23, 35, 14, 2.
Roulette Wheel Odds
Wagering on real money requires that you familiarise yourself with the odds, chance of winning, and house edge, each online casino (or any casino for that matter) has. This is especially relevant for the game of Roulette, a casino game where each bet has a mathematical probability of winning (or losing). The chances of winning in this game are significantly affected by the type of roulette you are betting on, and the extra rules that come with wagering.
Its commonly known that European roulette has better odds for punters than both American and French roulette. This is because American roulette wheel numbers have an extra 00, and while French roulette table is similar to European, the 0 section is wider and has no coloured chips for the players. A player has to use cash chips while playing, making it a little slower than the European and American roulette tables.
Nevertheless, to play roulette, you have to understand two main types of bets—the inside bets and outside bets. These names are derivative of the bet position on the layout of the table. Inside bets have less probability of winning, and therefore have bigger odds, on the other hand, outside bets have higher chances of winning, and have much smaller odds and pay-outs. On the roulette tables, there are spaces for making bets on any particular number (inside bets) and additional options (outside bets).
Inside Bets:
There are six different types of inside bets. They include: Six Line, Trio, Corner, Split, Street, and Straight-Up. The inside bet with the lowest chance of winning is the ‘Straight-up.’ As the name suggests, you’ll be betting on one number specific number. For instance, if a player places his/her bet on Black 29, and the dealers spin the wheel, he/she can only win if the ball lands on Black 29, otherwise he/she loses. If the ball lands on Black 29 on the wheel, he/she wins, and all other players’ stakes become losing bets unless they placed on Black 29 as well.
With a ‘Split Bet’ you’d be placing your bets at two adjoining numbers such as 25 and 26. Trio and Street bets you’d be placing your bets on three different numbers in a single horizontal line. For instance, in ‘Street Bet’ you can place a bet such as 13, 14, 15 or 31, 32, 33. In a ‘Trio’ bet you can only place a bet on either 0, 1, 2 (European roulette) or 00, 2, 3 (American roulette).
‘Corner bets’ are bets placed on numbers in a square format such as 4, 5, 7, 8. The best chance you have to win in a roulette’s inside bet is ‘Six Line’ bet. Think of Six Line bets as a combination of two consecutive Street bets. Here you can bet on six numbers such as 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 or 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Outside Bets:
There are also six different types of outside bets on roulette tables. They include: ‘1 to 8’ where players can place their bets on number 1 through to 8; ’19 to 36’ bets placed on numbers 19 to 36’; Red or Black, bets placed on either black or red number; Even or Odd, bets placed on either even numbers or odd numbers; Column Bets, bets placed on numbers down a vertical line such as 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36; and Dozen Bets, bets placed on number between 1-12, 13-24, or 25-36.
Other Essential Things You Should Know About Roulette
- Whether you’re playing roulette online through your desktop or mobile roulette platforms, or in a land-based casino, the game involves several essential elements including the Wheel, the Ball, the Roulette Chips, and the Betting Table. In the land-based or a live roulette casino, there will also be a croupier to spin the wheel.
- The role of the dealer in online casinos is automated through a random number generator (RNG), meaning that when you place bets and spin the wheel, the ball will fall on random numbers.
- There is no mathematical formula to beat a roulette wheel, and therefore, you can never trick the wheel. When the wheel is spun, the ball rolls in the opposite direction of the wheel and rolls out of the rim hitting a number of deflectors, and eventually come to rest in one of the numbers’ pocket. Everything is by chance and luck!
- Knowing how many numbers on a roulette wheel are can give you an advantage. Put plainly, roulette wheel selection is key to winning a roulette game. As aforementioned, an American roulette wheel has 38 pockets with numbers 0 and 00 and 1-36 which alternate between black and red. While the European wheel has 37 slots. This slight difference makes a considerable change in the bets odds making the European the best roulette for real money betting. The house edge for the European roulette is a remarkable 2.70% compared to 5.26% of the American roulette.
- Learn the rules and odds of the game before you start betting with real money. Odds or even, red or black, straight up, trio, streets, etc. getting to grasps these fundamentals is vital before you place your bets. Even though there is no distinct roulette strategy, ensuring that you understand the basic rules and odds can help you make savvier decisions and avoid rookie errors along the way.
