Many casino games are won with learned techniques and experience. In poker you must read the other players and determine who is bluffing. With blackjack, you need to know when to hold, stand, double down, etc… But even the inexperienced gambler does not need to take lessons to play at a casino. Games such as Keno and the slot machines are based almost entirely on chance. One of the easiest games to play in a casino is roulette. You have no control over any aspect of the game except for your bets. For the new players, it is a great way to play a fully chance-powered game.
The Game of Roulette
The game of roulette is quite easy to play. Once you obtain your chips from the dealer, you can place your bets on whatever number or color you think will win. The dealer will then spin the wheel in one direction and spin the ball in another. The wheel will eventually slow down and the ball will drop in front of a colored number (there are only three colors, but there are 38 numbers). Whoever picked that number or color will win. Everyone else will lose his or her money. There are a total of 16 different bets you can make in roulette. You can bet on either a number (or set of numbers) or a color.
Choosing a number to bet on is really up to your personal preference. Betting on red or black will give you a better chance of winning than a single number. The same can be said about betting on an even, odd, or entire set of specific numbers. You can increase or decrease the level of chance you are willing to take. Make smart bets and stop playing if you start losing too much.
The History of Roulette
The history of roulette is hard to determine. Its date of creation has been credited to a couple of countries, neither one able to provide conclusive evidence of the game’s original existence. The name roulette is French and means “small wheel.” A mathematician may have even created roulette in France in the 17th century. Yet another place of origin could have been China. Dominican monks were trading with the Chinese and learned about the game. They brought it with them when they traveled to Europe. Roulette’s popularity, however, exploded in 18 th century Monaco when Prince Charles introduced gambling as a way to boost commerce there.
The Roulette Wheel
Regardless of which country created the game, the modern version of roulette, created in 1842, is still being used today. However, depending on the country you are playing in, the wheel may look slightly different. The basic roulette wheel had black and red sections that contain numbers. On a European wheel, you will see number 1 – 36 and one green section for the number 0. The American wheel is designed basically the same way except for the addition of an extra green section with double zeros (00).
Wondering why this is important? Well, when playing roulette with an American wheel, because of the two zero places, you have a higher chance of losing. With only one zero section, a European roulette wheel ups your chances of winning.
By Tamara Jude