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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHistorians credit Blaise Pascal<\/a> for giving us the game of roulette. Pascal\u2019s early roulette wheel was his attempt at inventing a perpetual motion machine. Sadly, we still do not have a perpetual motion machine, but we now have the hypnotic spinning roulette wheel as a consolation prize. The lives and labs of inventors are full of hits and misses, and many of the best inventions in history are accidents. The basic rules of invention: if you invent something nobody has seen before, patent it. If you have an accident during the invention process, all is not lost. And if the accident burns down your lab, the military will weaponize it. If you can paint numbers on it, a casino will monetize it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A 1796 French novel describes a roulette wheel in the Palais Royal in Paris. It described the wheel and the betting table in detail, including the pockets and fields reserved for the bank, which makes up the house advantage. Various versions of roulette wheels started rolling around Europe. The French family Blanc brought roulette to the German spa casino town of Bad Homburg, which saw plenty of roulette action\u2014until the German government banned gambling in the 1860s. Undaunted, les Blancs packed up their little wheels and moved to Monte Carlo, the last bastion of legalized gambling in Europe at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The double zero now present mainly on the American roulette wheel was dropped in Monte Carlo. Early French roulette wheels featured both single and double zeros. The double zero was dropped as a way to entice gamblers looking for an edge. The single zero roulette wheel remained a European standard, while the double zero roulette wheel made its way to America via the fine French city of New Orleans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fans of numbers might be interested to learn that there is slightly sinister sum imbedded in all roulette wheels. The sum of all numbers on a roulette wheel totals 666, the \u201cNumber of the Beast.\u201d Legends say Francois Blanc made a deal with the devil to exploit the secrets of roulette and profit from them. This is a prime example of a contract where the devil is in the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All casino games have a house edge, aka house advantage. This percentage figures into every casino game to ensure the profits of the casino. The house edge varies from game to game, and smart gamblers tend to choose games with a lower house edge, thus increasing their chances of winning. Everyone knows that the odds favor the casino, but that same risk is half of the joy of gambling. We prize things that are hard-won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The house edge varies among casino games from 0.1 \u2013 27%. Keno has the highest house edge, while blackjack games, when played using proper blackjack strategy, come out closer to the zero end. While the house always has an edge, you can choose your game based on the percentages to increase your odds of winning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Casinos calculate their house edge<\/a> based on probability and the numbers on the wheel. Because of the extra number on the American roulette wheel (double zero), the house edge increases to 5.26 %. European roulette does not have the double zero, and with one less number in the equation, the house edge decreases to 2.70%. For this reason, many people prefer European roulette over other variants. Americans can always play European roulette online to take advantage of the lower house edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A roulette table features a spinning wheel and a betting table printed with numbers and betting fields. A croupier (casino employee with a fancy French name) spins the wheel in one direction, then spins a ball in the opposite direction around a circular track on the outer edge of the wheel. Eventually the ball loses momentum, bounces around a bit off the edges of the number pockets, and finally falls into to one them. A single or double zero result cancels out all table bets, unless you have specifically bet on a zero field. The croupier pays out the winning bets, and rakes the rest over to the banker area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The layout of the game also varies by region. The position of the numbers on the wheel are not arranged in numerical order. The sequence runs from zero to 36, with numbers placed seemingly randomly along the wheel. The numbers alternate between black and red, with green for the zero. The numerical order of each basic type of roulette wheel is clockwise as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/p>\n\n\n\n The betting field, or the layout, consists of two basic areas: inside and outside. The inside portion of the layout contains all of the individual numbers from 0 to 36, arranged in columns. The outside part of the layout contains combinations of colors and numbers in groups, i.e. even\/odd, black\/red, dozens, high\/low, and columns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another important distinction between European and American roulette: the American variety uses special roulette chips with a different color for each player. European roulette uses the same types of casino chips you would find in a card game. So when playing Euro-roulette, keep track of where your chips are on the table. Or play European roulette online; the computer tracks your bets for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For every game there exists a variety of strategies to help you gain an edge. It\u2019s important to remember that the most obvious bets are not the ones with the best odds. Examine odds charts<\/a> for an exact idea of your chances of winning each type of bet. There are a wide variety of betting combinations available, broken down into two basic types: inside bets and outside bets. Place inside bets on the inside area of the layout, and outside bets on the outside area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside bets (based on odds and chances) are the \u2018safest\u2019 bets to make, but they also pay out lower. The odds of hitting red or black is slightly less than 50% (remember the green zero). Other outside bets vary in probability and payout depending on which you choose. Most players hedge their bets by dividing chips among multiple fields along the layout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside bets (based on probability) involve betting on a specific number (straight bet) or a combination of numbers. You may place your chips directly inside a numbered square, or on the lines and corners which separate groups of numbers. Placing a chip on the line between two numbers is a split bet, betting on three in a row is called a street bet, and a chip on the corner of four numbers is called, you guessed it: a corner bet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the croupier has spun the wheel, no more bets may be placed on the table. However, in French and European roulette, a player is allowed to \u2018call out\u2019 or announce bets aloud to the croupier. These bets are related to the numbers on the wheel, not the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Double Zero<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The House Edge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Roulette Game Play Basics<\/h2>\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSingle-zero wheel (European)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Double-zero wheel (American)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Basic Roulette Betting Strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Roulette Betting System Strategies<\/h2>\n\n\n