History Of The Roulette Table
The following article is excerpted from The Facts of Blackjack by Walter Nolan. The book is an excellent resource for learning how to play roulette.
The History of Roulette. Roulette is one of the most easily recognisable casino games to ever grace the floors of gambling spots worldwide. Few of us would be surprised by this game’s iconic status, especially considering how many cultural, literary and film references it inspires on any given day.
The origin of the game of roulette is lost in the dark recesses of history, where factual accounts are difficult to find. Many historians believe that roulette evolved from early games of chance that used a wheel to determine outcomes. E.O. was such a game, and the following paragraph describing E.O. appeared in Modern Hoyle of 1814. For the curious readers here is a detailed overview of the history of roulette and interesting facts about it.
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- The history of roulette The history of roulette is the history of gambling itself: high-octane action, insurmountable odds, the house always wins. So why do so many gamblers still love the Devil's Wheel and how has it become the game of choice in casinos - both offline and online - across the world in 2020?
- From physics to online fun: The history of Roulette. Add up all the numbers on the wheel - that's 1 through 36 - and you've got yourself a total that can only be described as devilish. Legend has it that the inventor of the single zero Roulette wheel made a deal with the devil to obtain winning Roulette secrets.
'An E.O. table is circular in form, but of no exact dimensions, tho' in general about four feet in diameter. The extreme circumference is a kind of counter, or depot, for the stakes, marked all around with the letters E and 0, on which each adventurer places money according to his inclination. The interior part of the table consists, first, of a kind of gallery, or rolling-place, for the ball, which, with the outward parts, above, called depot or counter, is stationary or fixed. The most interior part moves upon an axis, or pivot, and is turned about with handles, whilst the ball is set in motion around the gallery. This part is generally divided into 40 niches or interstices, 20 of which are marked with the letter E, and the other 20 with the letter O. The lodging of the ball in any of the niches, distinguished by those letters, determines the wager. The proprietors of the tables have two bar holes, and are obliged to take all bets offered, either for E or 0; but if the ball falls into either of the bar holes, they win all the bets upon the opposite letter, and do not pay to that which it falls; an advantage in the proportion of 2 to 40, or five per cent in their favor.'
The game described was first played at Bath, England, in 1739. Who originated it is not known, but it undoubtedly developed from the game of Even or Odd (E.O.), where someone took a handful of buttons, beans, marbles, or whatever was handy, and the opponent tried to guess whether the total was even or odd. With a little ingenuity any simple gambling game can be made into a banking game. Craps, by using a wheel instead of dice, could easily be converted to a roulette-type game.
It is interesting to note that in 1814, writers had trouble figuring percentages. In the set-up explained, the player had nineteen chances of winning, twenty chances of losing, and one chance to break even on a bar, which is disregarded in figuring percentages. Thus, the player's chances are 19 in 39. The bank's advantage is 1 in 39, or 2.56 percent.
While the English played E.O., the French were already playing roulette in the exact form in which it is played today. The relationship between E.O. and roulette is apparent, but it is unknown whether they developed separately or if one is an off-shoot of the other. It has been speculated that the renowned seventeenth-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal invented roulette as a byproduct of work done on a perpetual motion machine. More than likely, roulette developed spontaneously from some other game of chance. Gambling on the turn of wheels has gone on for centuries. Romans turned chariots on their sides and spun the wheels. Ancients spun shields balanced on the points of swords. No doubt spin-the-bottle was once known as spin-the-earthenware-pot.
French-style roulette was introduced in England about 1820, brought over by refugees from the Revolution. Both E.O. and roulette were played at Bath until the greater variety of bets offered by roulette made E.O. obsolete. The 1850 edition of Bohn's Scientific Library doesn't mention E.O., but it does contain a complete and detailed description of roulette as played in casinos today.
It's a 6 to 5 pick whether the English or French introduced the game to the United States. It was probably the French, for New Orleans offered the first real commercial gambling in the United States, and the French have always been more imaginative and enthusiastic in their gambling than the English. It is the French who are responsible for blackjack, chemin de fer, Baccarat, and pari-mutuels.
American roulette is exactly the same game that was played in Europe over two hundred years ago. It was the mainstay of the gambling resorts in New York, Florida, Michigan, Indiana, and other areas before World War II. In the thirties, roulette in Nevada received its fair share of the action. Craps didn't replace it as a more popular game until after the war. Most men in the military service were exposed to barracks craps games, so craps is what they played on visits to Nevada. Today craps tables out-number roulette tables by two and a half to one. Casinos in Atlantic City are offering European-style roulette wheels now as well as American-style wheels. Perhaps this change will regain roulette the great popularity it once enjoyed.
Roulette is one of the oldest and most popular games in the casino. It’s especially popular among women. The history of the game is fascinating in itself.
Some historians say that Blaise Pascal invented roulette in 1655, and players first got to enjoy the game at a makeshift Parisian casino.
Others say a now-nameless French monk invented the game because of the ennui inherent in the monastic lifestyle.
And still more historians claim that roulette is based on an ancient Chinese game where players tried to arrange 37 animal statuettes into a magic square of 666. (These historians don’t have details of how this game was supposed to have been played, though.) According to this latter theory, the game moved from China to Tibet to France via Dominican monks. One of these monks changed the statues to numbers and arranged them on a wheel from 0 to 36. But even the earliest French roulette wheels had both a 0 and a 00, so that latter theory might be unlikely.
The History of Roulette Wheels
According to some game historians, the first roulette wheels in French casinos were identical to the wheels used in today’s casinos. This is incorrect. The American Hoyle, which was published in the mid 19th century, contains detailed rules, including the design of the wheel and layouts as used in both France and the United States at the time. Both American and French roulette at the time differed significantly from the modern versions.
The Historical American Roulette Wheel
Until the latter part of the 19th century (around 1890), American roulette wheels used a design different from that of the European wheels. These early American roulette wheels used 31 numbers and symbols. The numbers were from 1 to 28, 0 and 00, and a picture of an American eagle. (The picture of the eagle was, in effect, a “000”.)
The casino won all bets on the layout except for a bet on the winning symbol. These winning single number bets paid off at 27 to 1. Bets were also available on red or black, both of which paid off at even money. The game also had four “columns” bets, each of which consisted of a bet on 7 numbers and which paid off at 3 to 1.
The casino had a larger house edge on this early version of the game. Here is the house edge for each of those wagers:
- Single number bet: 12.9%
- Red of black bet: 9.68%
- The columns bet: 9.68%
Roulette was not especially popular in the United States at the time, and given the high house edge, it’s not hard to understand why.
Early French Roulette Wheels
French roulette wheels at that time resembled modern American roulette wheels. They had a 0 and 00, but they only had 36 numbers total instead of 38. The casino paid off at 34 to 1 on a single number bet.
Another difference in these wheels is the colors on the 0 and the 00. The 0 was black, while the 00 was red. All color bets on the 0 or 00 were considered “bars”. Those bets were neither won nor lost.
Modern Roulette Wheels
Modern American roulette wheels have 38 numbers from 1-36, a 0, and a 00. Half the numbers are black. The other half are red. The exceptions are the 0 and the 00, which are green. On a modern American roulette table, the green bets are lost on all even money bets.
Modern French/European wheels have 37 numbers. They’ve eliminated the 00, but other than that, the wheels are much the same as modern American roulette wheels. All slots casino sign up bonus. This cuts the house edge in half, just by virtue of having fewer zeros.
Why Has Roulette Changed So Much?
The changes to roulette represent the growing frustration of gamblers who sustain big losses at the roulette tables. Eventually anyone will begin to realize how bad the odds are stacked against them, and casinos make adjustments to their games to find a balance between a house edge that’s high enough to make the game profitable while also being low enough to attract lots of players.
In America, we’ve seen the table eliminate the eagle, so that there are only the 0 and the 00. The next step in that progression will be to eliminate the 00, too, which has already happened at some live casinos. And almost all online casinos offer a single zero version of roulette.
Roulette Anecdotes
Roulette players have won and lost fortunes on the so-called Devil’s Wheel. A Mexican businessman is said to have won $67,500 at Caesars Palace. The casino allowed him to wager $500 on straight, split, corner, street, and line bets. He wagered $500 on the 4, and he also made four $500 split bets and four $500 corner bets. When the ball landed on the 4, he won $67,500.
I read about a woman who lost over $3 million over the course of five years playing roulette at various casinos. (Her husband was quite wealthy.)
The Popularity of Roulette
Roulette has historically always been more popular in European and Latin American casinos. The game is found in most legal and regulated brick and mortar casinos in the United States, and it’s also a popular game on the Internet. Women are particularly attracted to roulette because of its air of glamour and sophistication. It is a beautiful and colorful game. It’s also easy to play.
Roulette Table Free Online
Newer versions of roulette include electronic versions and games with multiple spinning balls. The future probably holds additional innovations for the game, but only time will tell