An Introduction to Roulette and Its History
One of the oldest casino games known to exist today is roulette. Both the roulette table and the roulette wheel have become established conventional symbols of a casino or gambling. Some have said that a casino will not really be complete in the absence of a roulette table with a group of people playing the game.
The name roulette is a French word that really denotes a little wheel. Since the name is French then we can readily trace the genesis of this game in France. To trace the history of the game of roulette we must traverse about 300 years back in time to the 17th century. There are a couple of popular theories that try to explain the origin of roulette.
The first one, and perhaps the more popular explanation of roulette's origin, is that it was invented by Blaise Pascal, a noted French mathematician and scientist. This theory goes all the way back to 1655 and says that the game or roulette was first played in Paris.
The second theory explains that the game of roulette was created by a French monk. This unnamed monk is said to have invented the game in order for him and the other monks of his order to relieve themselves of the monotony of their day to day activities.
We can definitely say that the original roulette wheel is the French Wheel. The original roulette wheel has the numbers one to 36 inscribed on the wheel. In 1842, Francois and Louis Blanc transformed the game and added the single zero to add to the house edge of roulette thereby making a 37-slot roulette wheel.
Roulette made its way to the United States where the roulette wheel took on another fascinating transformation. A double zero was added to the slots therefore making a 38-slot wheel, which of course significantly added to the house edge. That is not the only modification that was made on the roulette wheel but the double zero is the most distinct of the alterations that was made.
Some revisions to the roulette wheel included wheels having only the numbers one to 28; other wheels had an American eagle on it. One thing is certain, that the game of roulette became widely popular beginning in the 1800s.
The game of roulette is not like other casino games, which involve some players' skill to actually tip the favor to the player's side. Roulette is classified under casino games that involve only pure luck. There is definitely nothing we can do about the mechanical performance of the wheel nor can we predict the random sequence of numbers.
Today, roulette can be enjoyed everywhere since the dawn of the Internet and modern computer technology. We can sit down and have fun with this timeless game of chance handed down to us from previous generations.