European Roulette
A Typical Roulette Table Layout

Roulette simply means “little wheel” in French and most people think it originated in France. No one can say with absolute certainty where the game originally comes from.

History of Roulette

Some gambling experts reckon that roulette was invented by Blaise Pascal, a mathematician in the 17th century and from there the game was modified by Louis and Francois Blanc in the latter part of 19th century. The zero was added by them in order to increase the house’s edge. The French government prohibited roulette in the country during the 19th century, so they decided to introduce the “new wheel” in Germany.

The Monte Carlo casinos were started by Francois when he first introduced roulette as a casino game in France. The game of roulette has its own set of myths and it’s believed that Francois had to coax the devil in revealing the roulette wheels secrets. If you include the numbers zero through 36 the amount you get is 666, better known as the devils number. This is the main reason why roulette was not permitted in France during this period.

Roulette is considered to be one of the most glamorous casino games of all time with payouts of up to 35 times the bet placed; in essence it’s a very lucrative game to play indeed. In casinos throughout Europe, Roulette remains hugely popular, especially in the famed gambling rooms of the grand casino in Monte Carlo. In recent years the game roulette has become remarkably popular at internet casinos.

In London, Chinese gamblers flock to the low-stake roulette wheels often spending an entire day covering the layout with chips. Before we look at the game in detail and deciding upon the best strategies to follow, there is one simple question to answer: how many zeros are there on the wheel? In Europe, generally the roulette wheel contains 36 numbers, plus one zero-this offers the house an overall edge of 2.7%. In America the wheel contains 36 numbers, one zero and one double zero. This offers an overall edge of just 5.25%.

Therefore it is vital that before staking a single dollar, euro or pound first check on which wheel you’re playing. If the wheel contains one zero, the odds against you are bad; if the wheel contains two zeros, the odds against you are very bad!

As a gambling game players are normally offered poor odds, strictly speaking there are deep-seated flaws with roulette. Firstly, unless you bet on one single number, even if you win you will lose all your bets on other numbers. Secondly, depending on the wheel there are 37 or 38 different numbers on which you can bet-plus an additional dozen or so alternative wagers. Everyone tends to bet on different numbers, once the result is known there tends to be just one happy player at the table-everyone else has lost. In casino games like Blackjack, Craps and Baccarat, the players are normally on one side and the house on the other and when they win everyone is happy. In contrast to roulette, which is a very individual casino game, you are in effect willing all the other players to lose.

Internet casinos cater to an international clientele, they offer both versions of the game-a feature that U.S roulette players can capitalize upon.

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