Roulette
How To Play Roulette
Following the bouncing ball… Europe’s most popular game, roulette, must be played precisely to provide a chance of winning. Despite a hefty house edge, players can find games that will be more favorable, and by using simple betting systems, they can beat the game.
Roulette players are often the most studious of all gamblers. You’ll find them at the oblong roulette table hunched over a pad, carefully distributing their chips in a predetermined pattern only they understand. As the dealer spins the ball around the wheel, they stare at it as if their hopes and dreams can influence where the ball falls. When their bets are swept away, they turn again to the pad that only records where they’ve been, not where they’re going.
French Twist
The roots of roulette can be traced back to prehistoric China and the French monks. In the 17th century, a French scientist, Blaise Pascal, who invented the first calendar, introduced a primitive version of roulette.
It wasn’t until 1842 that Francois and Louis Blanc invented a single “0″ roulette game. Ironically, the French brothers were forced to offer the game in Hamburg, Germany, since gambling was illegal in France at the time. The new game decimated the competition, which were offering an earlier version that featured higher odds. After Louis died, Francois was invited by the Prince of Monaco, Charles III, after whom Monte Carlo is named, to bring his game to the principality in southern France. Francois and his son Camille developed Monte Carlo into the world-famous resort we know today.
When roulette came to the US in the early 1800s, the Blanc’s improvements were removed, and a double “00″ returned. For a while, in fact, slick American operators added a triple “000″, tripling the house edge and virtually ensuring that Americans would never warm to the game. The European game is today played in the great gambling palaces of Europe by tuxedoed men and elegant women in flowing gowns. It is especially popular with the ladies, who enjoy the glamor and relative simplicity of the game.