Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number, various groupings of numbers, the colors red or black, whether the number is odd or even, or if the numbers are high (19–36) or low (1–18).
To determine the winning number and color, a croupier spins a wheel in one direction, then spins a ball in the other direction around a tilted track running around the circumference of the wheel. The ball eventually loses momentum and falls onto the wheel and into one of 37 (in French/European roulette) or 38 (in American roulette) colored and numbered pockets on the wheel.
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The first form of roulette was devised in 18th century France. A century earlier, Blaise Pascal introduced a primitive form of roulette in the 17th century in his search for a perpetual motion machine.
The game has been played in its present form since as early as 1796 in Paris. An early description of the roulette game in its current form is found in a French novel La Roulette, ou le Jour by Jaques Lablee, which describes a roulette wheel in the Palais Royal in Paris in 1796. The description included details such as:.
There are two spaces containing zero and double zero. They are painted red and black alternately and they are distributed evenly around the wheel. There are eighteen black numbers and eighteen red numbers. The croupier throws the ball into one of these divisions called roulettes. The ball stops finally without touching any particular compartment. There are thirty-seven cells or compartments including zero and double zero.
The book was published in 1801.
In 1843, two Frenchmen named Francois and Louis Blanc introduced the single 0 style roulette wheel in order to compete against other casinos offering the traditional wheel with single and double zero house pockets. The single 0, along with the double 0, were added to wheels outside America to increase house odds as American players were overwhelmingly winning at traditional wheels with just a single zero. In some forms of early American roulette wheels – as shown in photographs from that era – there were numbers 1 through 28 plus an American Eagle symbol.
The Eagle slot, which was a symbol of American liberty, was a house slot that brought the casino extra edge. Soon, the tradition vanished and since then the wheel features only numbered slots.
Single 0 wheels are found throughout Europe but are most common in Monte Carlo casinos. Double 00 wheels are found only in Las Vegas casinos where house edge is greater. In Europe or France, this person may be called simply “croupier.” In North America or Australia he is called “dealer.
” His main job is to spin the roulette wheel and release the ball into it. He also announces bets placed by players who have chosen not to spin their own wheels such as when players bet on “opposite” sections from where they sit such as betting Red while sitting at a Black table section etc. Sometimes he has to pay out winnings too but this happens automatically thanks to computerized payout systems these days. .
The dealer has no personal stake in where the ball falls; his job is simply to spin it and release it into play according to strict gaming regulations designed to ensure fairness for both casino patrons and operators alike. This means that dealers cannot control where the ball lands any more than individual players can; it all comes down to chance at every turn of the wheel.
So while some players may believe that dealers can influence where the ball lands by how they spin it or release it into play, this simply isn’t true; if anything, dealers are under more pressure than anyone else when it comes to ensuring that play is fair at all times.
