Roulette Wheel
Believed to be a product of the inventive mind of the 17th century French mathematician, Blaise Pascal, the roulette wheel has undergone very few changes since that time. The game roulette achieved great popularity when Prince Charles of Monaco introduced gambling to his home country.
Decades after roulette became a popular European gambling game, two Frenchmen by the name of Francois and Louis Blanc came up with the single “0” roulette wheel. This format became the standard format used in all European wheels.
When the game was brought to America in the 1800s, the Gold Rush gamblers rejected the single “0” roulette wheel. Instead, they returned it to its original “00” format. The Double-Zero roulette wheel thus became a characteristic found only in American Roulette.
Types of Roulette Wheels
There are two formats used in standard roulette wheels. The first is the American roulette wheel which follows the “00” format. In this way, the American roulette wheel has 38 numbers, including 0, 00, and 1 to 36. With the Double-Zero roulette wheels, the house advantage is 5.26% since there are two zeros involved, 0 and 00. This means that for every $100 you bet, the house makes $5.26 in profit.
The other type of roulette wheel is the European version. This roulette wheel contains only 37 numbers, 0 through 36. Since the European roulette wheel contains only one zero, the house advantage is relatively lower than that of the American roulette wheel. The house advantage is 2.70%, which means that for every $100 bet you make, the house gains $2.70.
The Layout
The layout of the roulette wheel is something that has been speculated upon by players who are trying to develop some sort of system they could use to increase their winning chances. Most players and croupiers think that the numbers 1 through 35 in the roulette wheel are arranged haphazardly. Although the roulette wheel basically alternates the colors red and black on its rim, they think that the placement of the numbers is quite random. But this is not the case with the roulette wheel.
The roulette wheel is a flawless display of mathematics and balance. All numbers, including the low, high, odd, and even, as well as the red and black colors, are alternated and spaced out over the roulette wheel.
Since the sum of the numbers 1 through 36 is 666 and the 18 odd numbers add to 342, a perfect mathematical balance is impossible to achieve with roulette wheels. However, to compensate for this, roulette wheel manufacturers have devised a specific arrangement that’s going to give their roulette wheels the best possible mathematical balance.
They have placed the numbers 0 and 00 facing each other across the roulette wheel with 18 numbers separating them on each side. The 0 slot is between two black numbers and the colors alternate, ending with two red numbers on each side of 00.