Roulette

No other game in the gambling industry symbolizes this pastime like the roulette wheel. The game evokes images of elegant casinos of yesteryear, the smell of wealth and the thrill of watching the roulette wheel turn. The game is old as the casino world itself and has successfully evolved into contemporary times with the advent of online gambling. Today millions of people try their luck at roulette from every corner of the world.

Roulette is a game of chance. Simply put, this means that nothing we do can influence the way the wheel turns and where the ball lands. Perhaps because of this point, and because it is so simple to play, roulette is so popular. For centuries, players have been placing their money in the hands of Lady Luck and praying for a good outcome. Sometimes she disappoints and sometimes she pleases. The bottom line is that players keep returning again and again to the roulette wheel to enjoy the excitement of the game.

As with most popular gambling games, nobody can pinpoint the exact time or place of origin of the roulette wheel. There is some evidence in history that Roman soldiers used their chariot wheels lying down to play adhoc betting games. Other, more recent evidence shows that an entertainment wheel was part of the traveling carnival culture in the 1500s. However, the most accepted theory is that it was the 17th Century French mathematician, Blaise Pascal who designed the first roulette wheel.

The first ‘commercial’ use of the roulette wheel was recorded under the name Roly Poly – a popular pastime among Britain’s rich and royal in the early 1700’s. The anti-gambling acts in England in 1745, soon put an end to all gambling pastimes, including roulette, however. In the late 18th Century, in a bid to revive a flagging economy, the Prince of Monaco reintroduced gambling in casinos across his kingdom. French nobility flocked to play the game of roulette, which started to appear in Parisian gambling houses in 1796.

The French version of roulette had all the elements of modern roulette, including the red and black colors and the numbers from 1 to 36. However, it also had two zeros which made for a high house edge. In the 19th Century, two enterprising Frenchmen introduced the game to Germany, at the same time removing one of the zeros, bringing the house edge down considerably and making the game much more attractive to the average man in the street.

Roulette arrived in the United States in the early 1800s and casino establishments reintroduced the second zero once more to the wheel, pushing up the house edge again to 5.26%. Popularity of the wheel has fluctuated in the U.S. according to times and trends. At present, it is safe to say that roulette has a respectable segment of the gambling population rooting for it, and its popularity is increasing because of the instant availability of the game thanks to internet gambling. The game is still more popular in Europe than it is in the United States because of the lower house edge on the Continent, but it has certainly enjoyed a revival all over the world after years of being sidelined.

American Wheel – A roulette wheel with 38 numbers.

Black: A bet on the black numbers on the wheel.

Carre (French): Meaning a corner bet.

Column Bet: A bet on 12 numbers at the same time.

Croupier: The person responsible for running the roulette table.

En-Prison: A rule in some versions of roulette which allows the player to surrender half his or her bet , or to ‘imprison’ the amount for another spin of the wheel.

European Wheel: Another name for the French roulette wheel that only has 37 numbers.

Even Bet: Pays out 1:1, a bet on all the even numbers. An odd bet is one made on all the odd numbers on the wheel.

Green Numbers: The numbers 0 and 00 on the roulette wheel.

High Bet: A wager on all the high numbers on the wheel (ie. 1-18). A low bet would be a wager on numbers 19-36.

Inside Bet: Wagers with a high house edge, placed on the numbers inside the layout.

Neighbors: Those numbers next to the winning numbers.

Outside Bet: When players bet on anything other than the actual numbers on the wheel (eg. red, low, odd).

Single Number: A bet on one number that pays 35:1.

Special Line Bet: A wager that is placed to incorporate the first five numbers on the wheel (eg. 0, 00, 1, 2, 3).

Square Bet: Also known as quarter bet. The player wagers on a group of four numbers. Payout is 8:1.

Street Bet: The player wagers on a group of three numbers. Payout is 11:1.

Zero: A bet on ‘zero’. Payout is 35:1.

[ Continue to Part 2 of this Roulette Guide ]