Roulette, meaning “little wheel”, is said to have originated in France in the 18th century.
The wheel, as we know it, was actually invented by accident, at the hands of the mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal in the 17th century.
Roulette quickly became one of the most popular casino games, going on to travel around Europe, eventually landing in America, where a double zero was added to increase the house edge.
Over the years, many strategies have been devised to try and help players beat the wheel, but the question remains: is Roulette really a case of skill and strategy, or is it based purely on luck?
Read on to find out more.
Skill
There are some factors that skilled Roulette players could spot, or have additional knowledge of, that could help to improve their winning chances.
An example of this is knowing which wheel to choose, as Roulette can be played in many different forms.
There’s European Roulette, French Roulette, and American Roulette.
French Roulette is the game with the best winning odds, with a house edge that has the potential to go as low as 1.35% if certain rules are in play.
Generally, a skilled player will know that the European wheels are the most popular, as these have a house edge of 2.70%, as opposed to the 5.26% house edge in American Roulette.
There are also other things to look out for in Roulette, such as the size and liveliness of the ball (also known as a pill) being used.
A livelier ball is generally harder to predict, but it’s not uncommon for the croupier to swap out the balls during gameplay, to keep the game fair.
Strategies
The most popular and commonly used strategy in Roulette is The Martingale System.
The concept behind this system is fairly simple – all you do is increase the amount you bet after every loss, so when you eventually win, you get all your lost money back.
After this, you re-start with the initial amount. To use the system most effectively, you’ll want to only place your bets on even-money outside bets, which have almost a 50% chance of winning.
There is the risk of losing a large amount of money in this system, as you’ll be constantly increasing your bets, and a win is never guaranteed.
Another popular method is the Fibonacci system, which is deemed a slightly safer Roulette strategy.
Based on the sequence of numbers devised by Italian mathematician Leonardo Bonacci – who later became known as Fibonacci, the sequence, where each number you get is equal to the previous two, goes:
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987
In Roulette, this system is implemented by adding the last two bets together, which could leave you with a profit, even if you lose more games than you win.
Luck
No matter how many strategies are created to improve your chances of winning a game of Roulette, the gameplay is designed – and monitored – so that the outcome is always random.
The unpredictability of the game is what makes it so popular, as the thrill of watching the wheel spin and testing your luck in the hope of making a profit is the aim of the game.
In fact, Roulette is one of the casino games that relies the least on skill and strategy, whilst these can sometimes help, the outcome of ‘the devil’s wheel’ is generally based purely on luck.