The notion that fortune is tied to cycles and turning of wheels is buried in deep antiquity. The wheel itself was developed about 5,000 years ago. During the time of Christ, the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus had a rotating horizontal chariot wheel fixed with numbers around its circumference and used it in games of chance. The Zodiac wheel was also conceived of more than 2,000 years ago and forms the basis for horoscopes that predict a person’s fortune based upon cycles of movements of the stars and planets. Wheels or other objects were spun in various ways for games in primitive societies. Despite this long history, the origins of the wheels used in casinos today came much later in European history.
Hoca and E-O
Carl Sifakis suggests that today’s roulette wheel may have had its origins in wheels called E-O and hoca that appeared in the early 1600s in central Europe. E-O stands for even-odd. A circular table had 40 gouges or pockets carved into it around the edge. Twenty pockets were marked as even and 20 as odd. Two (1 odd and 1 even) had X’s marked on them as well. The game paid even money to a winner. If a player bet on even, and an even number received the ball that was rolled around the table, the player won. If the ball fell into an even pocket marked with an X, it was a tie. If the ball fell in any of the 20 odd pockets, the player lost. This gave the house a 2.5% advantage. The game of hoca also had the table with 40 pockets, but 3 were marked with zeros, and the even money payouts gave the house an advantage of 7.5 percent. These games ceased operation with the appearance of the French roulette wheel.
The French wheel was purportedly developed by French mathematician Blaise Pascal, who lived from 1623 to 1662. In his mathematics work he expounded at length on probability theory. His wheel was useful for explaining his theories. Legend has it that Pascal conceived of the wheel during a retreat at a religious monastery. Others perfected the wheel that is used in French roulette (also called European roulette) today. Given the early origins of the game, it can be suggested that roulette is the oldest casino game still in active play.
French (European) and American Roulette
There are two basic styles of roulette games – French (European) roulette and American roulette. There are other variations of games with different sets of numbers, including the big wheel, boule, golden ten, and espherodromo. which are discussed later in this entry.
Both the French and American wheels have numbers from one to thirty-six on parts of the inner circle, each separated by frets. The French wheel also includes a zero, and the American wheel has a zero and a double zero. The croupiers rotate the wheel, and as it spins in one direction, he or she rolls the ball (plastic or ivory) in the opposite direction in a circular groove at the top of the wheel. Soon the ball slows down and falls toward the numbers in the inner circle. As it does, it hits small metal bumps on the surface of the wheel that cause the ball to bounce in ways making its path random as it finds its number or the zero or double zero. This number is the winner.
The player makes bets on a layout showing the thirty-six numbers in three columns and twelve rows. At the top of the columns the zero (and double zero) are placed. On the sides of the columns are places for bets on odd or even numbers, red or black, and low or high numbers.
The French wheel has a different distribution of numbers around the wheel than does the American wheel. On both, red and black numbers alternate, but not even-odd or high and low numbers. The logic of the number arrangement seeks to enhance making the number selection random.
The French game is worked by several dealers who are called croupiers. The main croupier controls the wheel. Others help by making bets for players by placing their chips on the layout. The players all use casino value chips, so it is important that the croupiers keep a close track on just who is making each bet, as all the chips are the same. Another croupier places a marker on the winning number and separates the winning bet chips from other chips that he rakes in. All bets are paid out with wins that allow the casino to have a 2.70% edge. The bets on the individual numbers are paid at 35 to 1 even though the true odds are 36 to 1. Even payouts are given for odd-even, red-black, and high-low, and the chance of each bet winning is 18 in 37. Bets may also be made on columns, rows, adjacent numbers on the layout, four numbers on the layout, and special combinations of numbers that appear near other numbers. A voisins bet (meaning “neighbors”) is placed on the four numbers that surround the last winning number. A les voisins du zero bet covers the numbers surrounding the zero. A finals bet can be placed on all numbers ending in the same digit (for example, 6, 16, 26, and 36), and les tiers is a bet covering one third of the wheel. Les orphelins is a bet covering numbers not in les tiers or les voisins du zero.
As the croupiers place bets for the players and deliver payouts for players, and all the chips look the same, the playing process is slow. Each game involving the spinning of the wheel takes two minutes or more if there are several players. This contrasts with the American wheel game where a play usually occurs more than once a minute, and even as many as 100 times an hour.
The American game offers worse odds for the player, as the wheel has two zeros along with the thirty-six numbers. The odds against the player hitting a single number are therefore 37 to 1, but the payoff is the same as with the French game, 35 to 1. This gives the house an edge of 5.26%. Red-black, even-odd, high-low bets are paid even money, but the player’s chances of success are 18 in 38 for the same 5.26% house advantage. The player could do worse yet. He or she could bet on a series of five numbers at the end of the table – the 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3, with a payoff possibility of 6 to 1, whereas the true chances are 33 to 1, for a house advantage of 7.89%. In some casinos with American roulette (e.g., Atlantic City casinos), a bettor on even payout bets (odd-even, red-black, high-low) loses only half of his or her bet if the zero or double zero comes up. This rule, called en prison (because half of the bet remains on the table unless it is withdrawn), reduces the house edge to 2.70% on this bet.
In American roulette, only one dealer is needed to spin the wheel and to handle all wagers. The players purchase (with cash or casino value chips) individual colored chips that are distinguished from those of all the other players. The players place their own chips. All the dealer must do is make sure there are no bets placed after the ball descends into the winning number’s space.
The English variation of roulette offers the player the best odds. A French wheel is used with its single zero, but players have their individualized American chips. The house edge of 2.7% is in contrast to French roulette because of another difference. In French roulette the player is obligated to tip the dealer with each win. If the player wins thirty-five chips, he or she “must” pay one to the croupiers as a tip. Must is a strong word, but if the tip is not paid, the croupier just might lose track of that player’s future bets if they are winners (after all, the chips are all the same for all the players). In England this is not a major problem – first, because the players have individualized chips, and second, because tipping of dealers is prohibited in the casinos. Hence in effect, the true edge in England is 2.7%, whereas, in reality, in France it is closer to the American edge of 5.26%.
Because of the odds disadvantage, the game of American roulette is not popular. Indeed, roulette action in Las Vegas casinos is close to zero, certainly less than 1 percent of the action. Yet the game of roulette has qualities that should be attractive worldwide. Actually, roulette is the premier table game of most European casinos. Roulette is a simple game that is easily understood even by the most novice gambler. Also with but a few exceptions (the en prison rule and the five-series bet in American roulette), all bets on the roulette table have the same expected payout – 94.74% for American roulette and 97.3 percent for French roulette – whether the player bets on one number, two, a column, or odds or even, red or black, or high or low numbers. It is a democratic game; all the players, amateur and professional, get the same chances. Unlike blackjack or craps, there is no “stupid” bet – that is, once one decides to start playing.
Roulette is also a game that permits players to try a wide variety of systems. Many casinos encourage systems by keeping boards that display the last twenty numbers that have come up on the wheel. Also some casinos publish books showing the actual numbers that came up on individual wheels over weeks, months, and even years. Whatever system a player may conjure up, the player can pretest it by applying it to real numbers and sequences of numbers that have come up on actual wheels.