How Does Roulette Work

Roulette is a classical table game with a rich history. Some believe that a mathematician Blaise Pascal invented its prototype in the 17th century, while others claim the game originated in ancient civilizations. Anyway, roulette wheel as we know it was established in casinos in the 1790s. The game gained huge popularity during centuries, and recently also adopted online forms. Nowadays, the array of types of roulette is really impressive, and innovations are still being implemented to the mechanism.

A Bit of History

Roulette evolved from other European entertainments which involved guessing the winning number. The wheel of roulette is highly symbolic: not only it resembles the cycle of life, but also numbers on it add up to 666.

The wheel contains numbers from 0 to 36 arranged in a certain manner. At some point, a double zero sector was introduced to the game. It was played in this version in casinos of Monte Carlo until French entrepreneurs, brothers Blanc set back the standard of a single zero pocket on the wheel. Nowadays, only American roulette features both 0 and 00. There are even variations with three zeros, but they aren’t popular at all.

Zero sectors were at first colored red or black, as the whole wheel. Later, it was established that red and black numbers alternate, while 0 or 00 are green.

The sequence of numbers differs depending on the version. The logic of arranging the numbers is that they need to alternate as much as possible. Odd ones are not placed next to even ones, as well as high next to low.

Physical wheels used in land-based casinos are based on the very same model. Huxley Mk7 and Cammegh Classic are the most common designs. In online casinos, roulette, like any other game, works owing to the RNG. Wondering how does roulette work, you need to understand that it’s always a mathematical algorithm standing behind it.

Apart from the wheel, there’s a table with a specific layout. It indicates all types of bets available in the game.

Betting Options

The game is entertaining not only owing to the mesmerizing process of the ball moving across the wheel, while players wait for it to land on a certain number but also thanks to the variety of bets you can place. Before playing, discover the winning odds of each type.

Inside bets in roulette:

• straight up (one number): 35 to 1
• split (two numbers next to each other): 17 to 1
• street (three numbers in a row): 11 to 1
• corner (four numbers): 8 to 1
• five-number: 5 to 1
• six-number: 6 to 1

Outside bets, which are less risky:

• Column (numbers are arranged in three columns on the roulette table): 2 to 1
• Dozen (1-12, 13-24, 25-36): 2 to 1
• Low/High (1-18/19-36): 1 to 1
• Red/Black: 1 to 1
• Odd/Even: 1 to 1

Winning at Roulette

There are lots of misconceptions about winning chances. Betting strategies which you can apply to roulette don’t work in a way they’re often believed to. In most cases, they are just fun calculations that may increase the thrill but have nothing to do with your odds.

Roulette is based entirely on luck and nothing else. It doesn’t matter how thoroughly you make your betting decisions – you will leave the table with a decent win only if you get lucky.

It doesn’t mean, however, that you don’t need to care about bankroll management. In every gambling game, you need to be aware of what you can afford to lose, set yourself budget limits, and never exceed them.

Common Strategies

There are some well-known betting approaches that are commonly used by roulette players. Again, they can’t guarantee you anything, even though they may seem logical and practical. For example, the Martingale system suggests doubling your stake after losing. If you don’t have any luck, persistent use of this technique will only result in huge losses. Fancy systems like ones designed by Labouchere or D’Alambert require some calculations and may be more fun and engaging. They won’t let you win big, though.

Mechanics of Online Roulette

Like most games presented on the Internet, online roulette game is fueled by the RNG. The algorithm works in a way to generate a random number for each session, which will define how the ball will move. Players will see the wheel simulator on their screens. This is how roulette works: you get the visual representation of the process, which is defined by the specific algorithm.

In live dealer roulette games, which are getting quite popular these days, players will interact with croupiers and other users, and the process will be run by people. No matter which version it is, the mechanism behind roulette is unbiased, and you can’t trick or beat it, as well as it can’t cheat itself.