History of Roulette
Roulette is a French word meaning "small wheel". There are several interesting legends about roulette origin.
According to the first, Blaise Pascal tried to find the perpetual motion. He engineered a device in a form of a big wheel for his experiments. One of his friends had a good idea to use this device for gambling.
Another mystic legend tells about Francois Blanc who founded the first casinos in Monte Carlo. They say he sold a soul to devil for the secret of roulette. If you don't believe, please sum all the wheel numbers; total is 666.
Roulette in the layout we see it today appeared in 1765 in Paris. French emigrants imported this game into USA and the first American casino appeared in New Orleans in 1800. In 1861, a casino was opened in Monaco that became the capital of gambling business after the ban of casinos in Europe in 1873.
Now, every casino in the world has a roulette wheel. Roulette is popular because it is simple, easy to play, exciting and thrilling.
Roulette Rules
Roulette consists of a wheel, a small ball and a table marked with separate boxes containing numbers from 0 to 36. Roulette rules state players can place bets on any particular number or a set of numbers. Once the bets have been completed, the wheel starts spinning and a small ball is released on to the wheel in the opposite direction of the spinning wheel. The ball stops in one of the numbers and all players who had bet on it win.
| Bet |
Description |
| Even Odd |
Bet placed on fields "even" or "odd" and covers 18 numbers. Zero is not covered. |
| Red Black |
Bet placed on fields "red" or "black" and covers 18 numbers. Zero is not covered. |
| High Low |
Bet placed on fields "1-18" or "19-36" and covers 18 numbers. |
| Dozen |
Bet placed on fields "1st 12", "2nd 12", or "3rd 12" and covers 12 numbers. |
| Column |
Bet placed on field at the end of vertical column and covers all columns (12 numbers). Zero is not covered. |
| Six-Line |
Bet placed on the end of line between two rows. Bet covers the 6 numbers in two adjacent rows. |
| Corner |
Bet placed on the common point of four adjacent numbers and covers all of them. |
| Street |
Bet placed on the end of row and covers this row (3 numbers). |
| Split |
Bet placed between two numbers and covers them. |
| Straight |
Bet placed on single number field and covers only one. |
There are two basic kinds of roulette such as French with only one zero and American with double zero (0, 00).
Voisins de Zero
 The Voisins de Zero (from French it means "neighbors of zero") is a call bet covering up to the half (17 numbers) of a wheel at one sector. The Voisins de Zero requires the 9 or 9-order count equal chips to combine seven natural bets. The bet schedule and computations are at the next table: |
| Numbers |
Chips |
Win |
Probability |
Result |
| 0 2 3 |
2 |
22-7=15 |
3/37 |
08.11% |
45/37 |
| 4 7 |
1 |
17-8= 9 |
2/37 |
05.41% |
18/37 |
| 12 15 |
1 |
17-8= 9 |
2/37 |
05.41% |
18/37 |
| 18 21 |
1 |
17-8= 9 |
2/37 |
05.41% |
18/37 |
| 19 22 |
1 |
17-8= 9 |
2/37 |
05.41% |
18/37 |
| 25 26 28 29 |
2 |
16-7= 9 |
4/37 |
10.81% |
36/37 |
| 32 35 |
1 |
17-8= 9 |
2/37 |
05.41% |
18/37 |
| Win |
9 |
10.06 |
17/37 |
45.95% |
171/37 |
| Loss |
9 |
-9 |
20/37 |
54.05% |
-180/37 |
| Total |
9 |
|
37/37 |
100% |
-9/37 |
So, the Voisins de Zero takes 9 chips and returns -9/37 on average or -1/37 (-2.703%) of the bet. It is the same to any other bet. Average win is 171:17 = 10.059 (or 111.76%).
Tier
 The Tier (from French it means "third") is a call bet covering 12 numbers (up to the third of a wheel) placed in one sector. It requires 6 or 6-order count equal chips to combine six natural bets. Bet schedule of the Tier is in the table below: |
| Numbers |
Chips |
Win |
Probability |
Result |
| 5 8 |
1 |
17-5=12 |
2/37 |
5.41% |
24/37 |
| 10 11 |
1 |
17-5=12 |
2/37 |
5.41% |
24/37 |
| 13 16 |
1 |
17-5=12 |
2/37 |
5.41% |
24/37 |
| 23 24 |
1 |
17-5=12 |
2/37 |
5.41% |
24/37 |
| 27 30 |
1 |
17-5=12 |
2/37 |
5.41% |
24/37 |
| 33 36 |
1 |
17-5=12 |
2/37 |
5.41% |
24/37 |
| Win |
6 |
12 |
12/37 |
32.43% |
144/37 |
| Loss |
6 |
-6 |
25/37 |
67.58% |
-150/37 |
| Total |
6 |
|
37/37 |
100% |
-6/37 |
So, the Tier bet takes 6 chips and returns -6/37 on average or -1/37 (-2.703%) of the bet. Any other bet has the same expected result. Average win is 144:12=12 chips or 200%.
Zero Spiel
 The Zero Spiel (from German it means "zero game") is a call bet covering the sector of 7 neighboring numbers around zero. The Zero Spiel requires 4 (or 4-order number) equal chips to combine four natural bets in the following schedule: |
| Numbers |
Chips |
Win |
Probability |
Result |
| 0 3 |
1 |
17-3=14 |
2/37 |
5.41% |
28/37 |
| 12 15 |
1 |
17-3=14 |
2/37 |
5.41% |
28/37 |
| 26 |
1 |
35-3=32 |
1/37 |
2.70% |
32/37 |
| 32 35 |
1 |
17-3=14 |
2/37 |
5.41% |
28/37 |
| Win |
4 |
16.57 |
7/37 |
18.92% |
116/37 |
| Loss |
4 |
-4 |
30/37 |
81.08% |
-120/37 |
| Total |
4 |
|
37/37 |
100% |
-4/37 |
Therefore, the Zero Spiel takes 4 chips but returns -4/37 on average or -1/37 (-2.703%) of a bet. It is the same as other bets. Average win is 116:7=16.57 chips or 414.29%.
Orphelins
 The Orphelins (from French it mean "orphan") is a call bet covering 8 numbers of two opposite sectors. It fills all the place rest after Voisins de Zero and Tier. The Orphelins requires 5 or 5-order count equal chips. The bet schedule and computations are in the following table: |
| Bet |
Chips |
Win |
Probability |
Result |
| 1 |
1 |
35-4=31 |
1/37 |
2.70% |
31/37 |
| 6 9 |
1 |
17-4=13 |
2/37 |
5.41% |
26/37 |
| 14 17 |
1 |
17-4=13 |
2/37 |
5.41% |
26/37 |
| 17 20 |
1 |
17-4=13 |
2/37 |
5.41% |
26/37 |
| 31 34 |
1 |
17-4=13 |
2/37 |
5.41% |
26/37 |
| Win |
5 |
15 |
9/37 |
24.32% |
135/37 |
| Loss |
5 |
-5 |
28/37 |
75.68% |
-140/37 |
| Total |
5 |
|
37/37 |
100% |
-5/37 |
So, the Orphelins takes 5 chips and returns -5/37 on average or -1/37 (-2.703%) of bet. The player edge of the Orphelins is the same as any other bet. Average win is 135:9 = 15 chips or 300%.
French Roulette Rules
The wheel of French roulette consists of 37 numbers from 0 to 36. The next table contains the indexes of every natural bet.
| Bet |
Win |
Probability |
Player edge |
| Even Odd |
1 |
18/37 |
48.65% |
-1/37 |
-2.703% |
| Red Black |
1 |
18/37 |
48.65% |
-1/37 |
-2.703% |
| High Low |
1 |
18/37 |
48.65% |
-1/37 |
-2.703% |
| Dozen |
2 |
12/37 |
32.43% |
-1/37 |
-2.703% |
| Column |
2 |
12/37 |
32.43% |
-1/37 |
-2.703% |
| Six-Line |
5 |
06/37 |
16.22% |
-1/37 |
-2.703% |
| Corner |
8 |
04/37 |
10.81% |
-1/37 |
-2.703% |
| Street |
11 |
03/37 |
08.11% |
-1/37 |
-2.703% |
| Split |
17 |
02/37 |
05.41% |
-1/37 |
-2.703% |
| Straight |
35 |
01/37 |
02.70% |
-1/37 |
-2.703% |
You can see that a player loses about 2.703% of his money on any bet. It is clear that any composite bet has the same expected result. Let's see, for example, the following popular call bets:
| |
Voisins de Zero |
Tier |
Orphelins |
Zero Spiel |
| Bet size, chips |
9 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
| Covered numbers |
17 |
12 |
8 |
7 |
| Win probability |
45.95% |
32.43% |
24.32% |
18.92% |
| Average win |
111.76% |
200.00% |
300.00% |
414.29% |
| Player edge |
-2.703% |
-2.703% |
-2.703% |
-2.703% |
Some casinos have the next attractive rule. Once the wheel stops on zero the players lose only half on any even money bet. It increases the player edge to -1/74 (-1.35%), but still casino has the advantage.
American Roulette Rules
The most obvious difference between French and American roulette is the game table layout and, of course, the odds! The American roulette has additional zero signed "00" The location of the numbers on the roulette wheels in the French and American games differs also. The next table contains the indexes of natural bets:
| Bet |
Win |
Probability |
Result |
| Even Odd |
1 |
18/38 |
47.37% |
-2/38 |
-5.263% |
| Red Black |
1 |
18/38 |
47.37% |
-2/38 |
-5.263% |
| High Low |
1 |
18/38 |
47.37% |
-2/38 |
-5.263% |
| Dozen |
2 |
12/38 |
31.58% |
-2/38 |
-5.263% |
| Column |
2 |
12/38 |
31.58% |
-2/38 |
-5.263% |
| Six-Line |
5 |
6/38 |
15.79% |
-2/38 |
-5.263% |
| Corner |
8 |
4/38 |
10.53% |
-2/38 |
-5.263% |
| Street |
11 |
3/38 |
7.89% |
-2/38 |
-5.263% |
| Split |
17 |
2/38 |
5.26% |
-2/38 |
-5.263% |
| Straight |
35 |
1/38 |
2.63% |
-2/38 |
-5.263% |
| 0-00-1-2-3 |
6 |
5/38 |
13.16% |
-3/38 |
-7.895% |
You can see that player lose 5.263% of wagered money on any bet. The special bet "0-00-1-2-3" has a player edge -7.895%! Hence, the American roulette is at least two times worse than French is. It is a very nice way for casinos to add only one zero and with it to increase their income twice!
