| An History of
Roulette |
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Fanciful stories about the
invention of Roulette include its invention by the
17th century French mathematician Blaise Pascal
and first played in a casino in Paris, by a French
monk to help break the monotony of monastery life,
and by the Chinese, from whom it was transmitted
to France by Dominican monks. Whatever its
antecedents and origins, Roulette emerged only in
the late 18th century as a glamorous attraction in
the casinos of Europe, where it has long been
associated with the gaming rooms at Monte-Carlo.
The Roulette wheel layout used in Europe and in
America generally not the same. The Roulette
wheels in Europe are numbered 1-36, and have a
green zero section. The Roulette wheels in
America, however, have a green zero and double
zero, giving the American casinos twice the house
edge. Things have improved however, in the mid
1800's, Roulette wheels in Europe had the double
zero system, while those in America had even a
triple zero.
Roulette history is hard to come by because the
origin of Roulette is lost, and there was likely
some form of a wheel based game going back almost
as far as the origin of the wheel itself. There
are stories that the game was invented in China
and brought to Europe by traders who were trading
with the Chinese.
Several early versions of a wheel and spinning
ball were invented in the 17th and 18th centuries
in Europe. The first games that we would recognize
as modern Roulette were introduced in Paris
casinos around the end of the 18th century. This
game contained all of the features that we have
today with the one exception, the single zero was
colored red while the double zero was colored
black. This led to some confusion for players and
the color green was introduced for the zero and
double zero to alleviate the confusion.
In the mid 19th century the single zero game was
invented in France, this reduced the casino's edge
thereby increasing the odds of the player. When
gambling was outlawed in Germany the inventor of
the single zero machine (Louis Blanc) accepted an
invitation to go to Monaco to establish and
operate a casino. The casino set the standards for
Roulette in Europe, and Roulette remained
exclusive to Monte Carlo until 1933. This led to
the gambling and resort industry in Monaco as many
of Europe's rich were attracted to the luxurious
Monte Carlo casino.
The use of the double zero Roulette wheels
survived in the United States and is sometimes
called the "American Wheel". The
introduction of the single zero wheel (with better
odds for the player) resulted in the demise of the
double zero wheels in Europe and has become known
as the "French Wheel" in Roulette
history.
In Europe (also Atlantic City in the U.S.) the
Casino's offered another refinement to the game
that increased the odds yet again for the player,
the option of "En Prison" was offered.
With the en prison option if the player has bet an
even money bet (Even-Odd, Red-Black, 1-18 or
19-36) and zero or double zero is the next outcome
the player has two options:
- The player can "imprison" the bet.
This means the bet stays where it is and the
next spin determines if the bet is lost or
returned to the player.
- The player may surrender half of the bet.
Most people exercise the en prison option so don't
be surprised if the croupier assumes that you will
also, be sure to tell him/her if you would prefer
to surrender half of your bet.
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• History
• Rules
• Strategy
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