The Game Of Roulette
April 13, 2020 3 min to read
The roulette wheel, a game of chance and math
Category : Hobby, Lifestyle
Ever since the dawn of men, we have been gambling one way or another. Today, there are many gambling games that are offered both in live casinos and the online ones, but few can match the popularity and allure of roulette.
Roulette has been around for centuries now and we have managed to invent various different formats and versions of the game. Today, roulette is a global phenomenon that is played by millions and we wanted to have a look at just what makes the game so appealing to the masses.
If you are looking to learn more about the game, keep reading, and if you are looking to start playing, you should visit the best place to play roulette games in Ireland and choose one of the many online casinos that offer this game in all its formats.
See full list on wikihow.com. Roulette is a game that requires you to guess which number/collection of numbers will appear on the roulette wheel. To decide which number/s appear, the wheel spins in one direction and a small ball is spun in the other direction by a croupier.
How Roulette Works
Of all the gambling games out there, roulette is probably the most unique one. While most other games use either cards or dice, roulette is a completely separate game, which requires a special wheel, table and ball, all of which are made just for this particular game and spread across the glamorous casinos across the world.
A game of roulette is played on the wheel and the table at the same time. Players use the table to place their bets on one or more of the 37 available numbers. Then, once all bets are placed, the dealer spins the ball in the wheel. The game is finished when the ball lands in one of the 37 sockets on the wheel, corresponding the 37 numbers on the table.
Players can bet on numbers themselves, as well as the color of the number (red or black) or whether the number will be odd or even. All payouts are made using a predetermined paytable, with bets like red/black (outside bets) paid at even money, and straight up bets on numbers paying 35:1.
In each case, the house retains a small edge. The 0 number is green and it is neither odd nor even, which means whichever bet you make, the house will always have a 2.7% edge over you. The goal for the player should always be to get some wins and quit while ahead, as in the long run the mathematical odds are always in favor of the house.
Applying Strategy to the Game
No matter which strategy one uses, the house edge always remains at 2.7% in the European version of the game and 5.2% in the American version. However, these are only the long run theoretical odds, and in the short run every session will end up with either a win or a loss that will rarely amount to these theoretical numbers, due to mathematical variance.
For this reason, people have invented many short term strategies that tend to give good results. Some of these include the Martingale System, which includes doubling the bet until a win is made, reverting to the original bet after every win. The Paroli System, on the other hand, keeps increasing bet up to a point selected by the player, giving them every chance to acquire the profit they had in mind.
While some players prefer to make low volatility outside bets, others will opt to bet on straight numbers and hope for the best. Whichever approach or strategy you take, it is important to remember that both strategy and chance always play a part in the game of roulette.
What’s More Important, Chance or Skill?
In the end of the day, chance is the thing that will determine how you will do at the roulette tables. No matter how smart you may be or how skilled you think you are at the game of roulette, there is just no telling where that ball will land. Trying to predict this is out of the option!
Instead, we recommend you take a step back, remember to enjoy the game for the thrill and adrenaline it can provide and never go too far with your attempts to win. Always play responsibly and only use the money you can afford to gamble away, otherwise roulette can quickly turn from harmless fun into a dangerous addiction.
Roulette is one of the most easily recognisable casino games to ever grace the floors of gambling spots worldwide. Few of us would be surprised by this game’s iconic status, especially considering how many cultural, literary and film references it inspires on any given day. The game itself has been around for ages and hasn’t failed to create a giant following among gambling fans! So, what is roulette’s background and how did it become the quintessential casino game? We’ll take a look at exactly that in this page, including a handful of references to the biggest wins in the history of roulette and an overview of the game’s rules. Stay tuned for an exhaustive look at one of casino’s most iconic staples!
The Roulette Origin Story
As history would have it, the famed game is not so much the result of an intention, as it is actually a by-product of something else. And that ’something else’ was Blaise Pascal’s search for a perpetual motion machine sometime in the 17th century. So, while our man Blaise didn’t invent the roulette wheel per se, he made the game into what it is today. You see, roulette had already existed in France as a board game, and combining this with a variety of British games like Roly-Poly and E.O. gave Pascal the magic combination of elements – a true recipe for success, if there’s ever been one! Pascal, a brainiac well versed in maths and physics, missed the mark with this invention by a wide margin – since the wheel is far from being perpetually in motion – but therefore left the world with a fantastic gambling tool that soon took over royal courts and gambling halls all over Europe.
The Roulette Background Could Go Even Further, Though
Those seriously doubting that a French mathematician could invent the game can turn to speculating about whether roulette’s origin stretches even further than assumed. In fact, several pieces of evidence point to an existence of roulette-like games being played in ancient civilisations! For instance, the Chinese supposedly played a board game with 37 animal figures positioned on squares, with a total value of 666 (just like roulette!). Also, Greek soldiers would also play a game where they drew numbers on a shield, spun it next to a spear and guess which number the spear would point at. Whether this is true – we’ll never know, unfortunately. There aren’t any documents supporting or refuting these suspicions, so we can keep on playing the guessing game in this respect as well.
In Comes the Zero to Give the Casinos an Edge
The early wheels in the casinos in Paris actually had a single and double zero pocket, one in red and one in black. Eventually, the colour green was chosen for both zero slots, as to set them apart from the rest of the numbers. These two slots on the wheel were reserved for the house, giving it a major advantage over the players.
Later on in 1843, a single-zero wheel was introduced by the Blanc brothers and soon proved to be more popular than its predecessor. It’s no wonder this reinvention of the wheel was a crowd-pleaser: it reduced the bank’s advantage over the players by half! What’s not to like? It is supposedly here where the split between European and American wheels originates – before the Blancs’ version of the wheel got popular in Europe, the double-zero variant had already been imported into North America.
America Brings in the Double Zero and then Some
Once across the ocean, the game became the talk of the town not only among the French immigrants who brought it over, but also the rest of the populace. The epicentre of this action was in none other than the iconic jazz land city of New Orleans, a gambling hub that was also filled with French immigrants at that time. Even though the wheel still had a single and double-zero slot, casinos weren’t happy with their cut so they placed yet another slot onto the wheel – the eagle slot. With a whopping edge of 12.9%, it’s no wonder gambling halls pushed their agenda for a modified wheel. Eventually, these style of wheels went out of fashion (thank goodness), leaving the wheel again with the two zero slots in the US.
If you’re looking for some American flair, you’ll be happy to know that you can easily find American Roulette in pretty much every online casino. Those of you keen to up the thrill with a higher-edge game should take a look at our take on American Roulette and the best online casinos to play at. And, of course, European Roulette has stayed firmly put since it took over casinos in Monaco and kicked its double-zeroed sibling to the curb – which is good for you and your wallet! In fact, European Roulette and French Roulette are wildly popular when compared to its Yankee offshoot – with many roulette casinos offering primarily these two variants.
Roulette Goes Digital
The rise of the internet – and, inevitably, internet gambling – has ushered in a special kind of heyday in roulette history. As popular as it has been on land, it became even more notorious in virtual casinos thanks to players no longer having to leave their houses to spin the wheel. The prospect of playing while tucked into a blanket on your sofa is just too hard to resist for many – and there’s no wonder why! Gambling has never been so easy-going and low effort – and who doesn’t love a chance to be lazy when given the opportunity? Random number generator-operated software has replaced the fate of physics in this case, but, on the other hand, this gave way to exciting new variants of roulette, for example, Pinball Roulette.
Live Roulette Takes Things to the Next Level
Refusing to be just another online game, roulette has moved on with an even better format based on live streaming of the game and betting via the casino’s online platform as you watch. Since the 1990s, live casinos have been getting into the swing of things with more and more exciting game variants of popular casino games, and as streaming quality got better, the market just started booming with choices spreading out among a handful of renowned live game providers. So, those who do still prefer the “real” touch, as opposed to RNG, can enjoy countless live roulette tables offered at all major casinos in the UK.
Roulette Today
Online roulette has enjoyed a stable level of popularity in the UK, and, unlike slots, there’s not that much need for kooky and out-of-the-left-field variants of this game. The rules go according to one of three variants – European, French or American. Between these three, you’ll find plenty of choice to stay entertained but still within a manageable-sized roster. There are, however, a few recent additions to the scene which might make your ears perk up. For instance, Age of the Gods Roulette has brought the progressive jackpot format to this famed table game as well. Based on a franchise of mythology-themed slots, this variant triggers a jackpot round at random, giving you the chance to land one of the four jackpot levels. In the live roulette department, Double Ball Roulette from NetEnt or Book of Ra Roulette from Extreme Live Gaming are intriguing twists on the standard template, with the latter even incorporating side game offshoots of the famous Novomatic slot of the same name.
The Biggest Roulette Win in History
With such a big reputation, it’s no surprise to guess the source of the fame – the possible explosive wins that you can land while playing roulette. Though we wouldn’t promote these one-off chances as something regular, we still have to acknowledge the payout power this game can have when it is done well. Let’s have a look at some of the most legendary wins in roulette history, courtesy of some very lucky (and slightly reckless) players!
Ashley Revell from the UK – Live on TV
Ashley Revell, evidently a man with a lot of faith, thought it was a great idea to sell his possessions, empty out his bank account, and put it all on a roulette bet. This certainly sounds unorthodox, at best, and insane at worst, but believe it or not – Ashley did right. Of course, nothing is as innocent as it seems, as our friend also got a sweet TV special deal out of it. But the crux of the story remains: he bet every single penny of the $135,000 he had on red – and won! And though we’ve seen bigger wins than this, Revell’s story takes the cake thanks to the epic setup and backstory.
Roulette - Wizard Of Odds - Wizard Of Odds
Charles Wells – The Guy Who Broke the Bank
The Game Of Egg Roulette
Another player who happily threw caution to the wind was Charles Wells, back in 1891. It took him two legendary visits to a Monte Carlo casino to scoop up a million francs at each visit, which was a massive amount of money back then! Unfortunately, his luck couldn’t keep up, and Charles was soon on the receiving end of some pretty harsh blowback.
His epic wins were followed by a series of losses and arrests – which was not helped by the fact that he was a famed suspected trickster and scammer. Wells never recovered from his extreme financial rollercoaster, and he died broke and destitute.
Mike Ashley – Lucky 17, Like James Bond
If there are people who can truly play roulette with abandon, its millionaires, nay – billionaires – like Mike Ashley. The owner of Newcastle United has surely got no shortage of funds, made clear when he headed to the roulette table in 2008 with a bold wager in mind. He thus made headlines with a “complete” bet focused around the number 17, meaning he made every possible wager on inside bets, splits, streets and line bets. It’s definitely a ballsy move to make, but, clearly, Mike subscribes to the ‘If you got it, flaunt it’ lifestyle. Wagering a “measly” £480,000 on one spin, he won £820,000 in return. Not sure how much he had lost before, though.
Chris Boyd – UK Computer Programmer
Similar to Ashley Revell, Chris Boyd bet a grand sum of $220,000 on the colour red. Though not as extreme as in the former case, Boyd’s wager came from his intense savings of over three years – so fortunately, he still had possessions of his own, including a car to drive off in in case he lost. However, there was no need for that as the bet on red worked out for Boyd, to the tune of some sweet cash. In another freaky twist of events, it’s rumoured that the slot the ball landed on was the same as Ashley Revell’s lucky red 7!
The Future of Roulette
The Game Of Russian Roulette
From the humble beginnings as perpetual motion reject to the current state of roulette as the premier casino game online and offline, there’s surely much more in store for the famed game. The introduction of novelty variants and progressive jackpot roulette games at our top online casino picks will surely continue with further expansion. We can also hold our breath for more virtual reality games which are sure to permeate the gambling world in no time. Several of these are already on the market, with Microgaming delivering a standout flagship VR roulette in 2015 – one that already managed to scoop up a coveted Digital Gaming Innovation of the Year award at the Global Gaming Awards!
How to Use Your Knowledge of Roulette History
Knowing the history of roulette unfortunately won’t improve your chances of winning the game, but you will hopefully navigate from this page with a newfound appreciation for this legendary pastime. You can take inspiration from the guys who made our ‘Big Wins’ list – though we’d advise you not to get swept away by emotions just yet. Instead, check out the roulette rules page to get some deeper knowledge or explore a betting system like Martingale in hopes of minimising your losses. If you’re into getting down to business, you can go ahead and play a round or two of the best roulette games at our following top casinos, in addition to countless other casino games.