Roulette – ancient entertainment that still exists

How come one gets passionate about something? Does this passion originate from a free mobile application, from an online video-slot, or from a luxurious casino in the heart of Monaco? 

As a matter of fact, passion starts with human greed and desire to boost the income. Would anyone refuse to turn a couple of cents into thousands of dollars? Time proves that every venturous entertainment was created out of lucrative impulse – be it a greedy emperor with a desire to distract attention of his nationals from increase of taxes, or a cunning fellow who dreams of making a fortune from the silliness of his neighbour; or a regular car mechanic wishing to get more clients in his workshop. 

Behind each and every demonstration of human greed and bulimy there is a great story of creating a popular venturous entertainment stealing a way into the hearts of players all over. Same splendidly started the story of roulette – one of the most popular gambling activities. 

From the ancient times to the heart of today’s world

History scientists proved that a wheel for gambling purposes was used even in Ancient China. Tied captured soldiers were moved in between two rotating discs having sharp pricks on their edges. Since the pricks were of different sizes and shapes, agony of the suffering could last from a few minutes up to an hour. The crowd placed bets on success of the torture. 

It’s also an incontestable fact that the principle of a “rotating wheel” to get a benefit was used during the Greco-Roman epoch. To play the game the Greek used their round metallic shields, and the Roman soldiers used cart wheels. The principal military officers encouraged such entertainments considering that this provides necessary psychological relief and some rest for soldiers after battles. 

Where does the word “roulette” come from? If translated from French it means “a small wheel”. There are two theories of this game creation. Based on the first one, the pioneer in developing the roulette was a French philosopher, mathematician, physical scientist, writer and mechanic named Blaise Pascal. This genius scientist carried out numerous experiments in the middle of the XVII century in order to create an internal engine. Approximately during 1655 he created an unusual wheel which thanks to its special constructional peculiarities could rotate around an axis using its own inertial forces. Upon learning about this development some handymen discovered the way of getting a benefit dividing its internal surface into prize winning sectors. 

Another theory has quite a mystical background. Brothers Francois and Louis Blanc bargained with the Devil to learn the secrets of roulette. It was them who in 1843 divided a prize winning sector into slots from 1 to 36 and added sector “zero” which made all the stakes get lost in favor of the game owner. 

If we put together all the numbers on the hub, it will turn to be “666”, that’s why the roulette is sometimes called “Devil’s Wheel”. It should also be noted that the residents of France could not play this game at that time, because it was prohibited by the laws of the country. But despite this fact, the new game got the name “European roulette” and started gaining popularity all through Europe. In 1863 Francois Blanc opened the legendary casino in Monte Carlo upon request of the Prince of Monaco. Thus, he created the wheel of fortune of an incredibly large size attracting clients to the new building. 

Migration to global recognition 

It’s not exactly known when the roulette appeared in America, but the first place where it was used was New Orleans, LA. Originating there it started to spread through the United States gaining popularity much quicker than anyone could even imagine. 

In 1888 one of the gambling experts of those times Hoyle was the first to describe the American roulette: “This most interesting game of fortune has numbers 1 through 28. There are three sectors for the bank – zero, double zero, and an American Eagle.  When the ball falls into either of them, the banker sweeps every thing upon the table, except what may happen to be bet on either one of these three”. 

Some time later the owners of American gambling venues started to use 36 prize winning sectors on the wheel leaving two sectors for the bank. Thus, there was noted the increase in income (5,7% against 2,7%) of the American roulette in comparison with European analogues having only one sector for the bank – “zero”. 

The closer to modern age, the more successful the “endeavour”

Legalisation of gambling in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century made the next impetus to roulette extension. Rules of “European roulette” were accepted in France, though a few amendments were made to attract a larger number of venturous gambling lovers: casinos and gambling venues of this country took only half of the stakes if the ball fell into sector “zero”. This innovation was called “La Portage”, which means “the right to surrender”. This type of roulette is the most profitable for gamblers and made 1,35% of the total casino income. 

Nowadays there are three world known roulette venues – Las Vegas in the United States, which started to grow when Nevada legalised gambling in 1913, Monte Carlo in Europe, and Macao in Asia. 

Ultramodern tendencies

Internet expansion during the 1990s and its appearance in every home made a new impulse for creating another unique option – online roulette. The basis for this network gambling is the generator of random numbers. At the moment there are numerous online casinos that offer their clients different roulette modifications that they can enjoy without leaving their homes: American, European, Chinese, French, alphabetical, roulette with double zero or without any “zero”, and even La Boule roulette. 

If there is no “zero” sector, it doesn’t mean that the roulette is the most profitable one, because the owners create other finesses to enlarge their own income. For example, they can take commission (about $0,05) for every spin of the wheel.  

Online gambling resources remain independent from bans on gambling in different countries, because the Internet is an international platform, and it does not comply with country specific laws. This allows every person on Earth enjoy playing the roulette. What is important is the knowledge of theory of chances and your own winning strategy. 

We will tell you more about most popular ways of winning at the casino in our next article.