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The Secrets of the Roulette Wheel: 200+ Years of the World's Most Iconic Casino Game

Red or black?

Odd or even?

17?

Perhaps no object represents a casino quite like the roulette wheel.

It has appeared everywhere from Monte Carlo gaming rooms to Las Vegas movies – and despite centuries of technological change, the basic sight of a ball spinning around a numbered wheel remains instantly recognisable.

But roulette has a fascinating history.

And some of the things players believe about it aren't true at all.

Did Blaise Pascal invent roulette?

Sort of.

But not intentionally.

Blaise Pascal was one of the great mathematical minds of the 17th century.

Among his many experiments was an attempt to develop a perpetual-motion machine – something capable of continuing to move without an external source of energy.

It didn't work.

Perpetual motion remains impossible.

But Pascal's experiments with a spinning wheel are often cited as one of the influences in roulette's development.

By the late 18th century, games recognisably resembling roulette were being played in France.

The name itself comes from the French for “little wheel”.

From France to Monte Carlo

Roulette became fashionable across Europe during the 19th century.

Then came an important development.

François and Louis Blanc introduced a roulette wheel featuring a single zero at Bad Homburg in Germany.

This distinguished their game from versions featuring both 0 and 00.

The Blanc family later became associated with casino gaming in Monte Carlo, where single-zero roulette became part of Europe's glamorous casino tradition.

The distinction still matters today.

Why does American roulette have 00?

A traditional European roulette wheel contains:

1–36 plus 0.

That's 37 pockets.

A traditional American wheel contains:

1–36 plus 0 and 00.

That's 38.

That extra pocket changes the odds.

Consider a straightforward bet on red.

On a single-zero wheel there are 18 red numbers – but 37 possible pockets.

On a double-zero wheel there are still 18 red numbers – but now 38 possible pockets.

That's why the standard mathematical house edge is around:

2.70% on European single-zero roulette

versus

5.26% on traditional American double-zero roulette.

One tiny extra pocket makes a significant mathematical difference.

Why is zero green?

Red numbers.

Black numbers.

Then suddenly… green.

Early roulette games didn't always use the green zero we're familiar with today.

Historical wheels could use red and black for the zero pockets too.

Green eventually became the distinctive colour for zero, making it immediately distinguishable from the game's red and black numbers.

Today it's almost impossible to imagine roulette without it.

Inside bets versus outside bets

Look at a roulette table and you'll see lots of different ways to place a wager.

They broadly fall into two groups.

Inside bets

These are bets made on specific numbers or small groups of numbers within the numbered grid.

Examples include:

Straight up: one number.

Split: two neighbouring numbers.

Street: a row of three numbers.

Outside bets

These cover larger groups.

Examples include:

Red or black

Odd or even

1–18 or 19–36

Dozens

Columns

The potential payouts differ because the probabilities differ.

But here's an important point:

A bet covering more numbers isn't a secret way of beating roulette.

The payout is adjusted accordingly.

“It's been black six times. Red MUST be next.”

Welcome to one of the most famous traps in probability.

The gambler's fallacy.

Imagine the last results were:

BLACK
BLACK
BLACK
BLACK
BLACK
BLACK

A crowd begins gathering around red.

“Surely it can't be black again?”

It absolutely can.

On a properly operating roulette game, the wheel doesn't remember the previous result.

Previous spins don't make a particular colour “due”.

Humans are extremely good at spotting patterns.

Unfortunately, we're also extremely good at spotting patterns that don't predict anything.

What about roulette systems?

Martingale.

Fibonacci.

D'Alembert.

Paroli.

Players have devised countless betting systems over the years.

Many involve changing the size of your next wager according to whether you won or lost the previous one.

Can they change the experience of playing?

Yes.

Can they change the underlying probability of where the ball lands?

No.

Changing the size or sequence of your bets doesn't remove the zero or alter the mathematical house edge of the wheel.

And systems requiring increasingly large wagers after losses can expose players to rapidly escalating stakes.

No staking system makes roulette predictable.

What is the most famous roulette number?

If you said 17, you're not alone.

The number has developed something of a celebrity reputation among roulette fans.

It sits prominently in the centre of the betting layout and has appeared repeatedly in popular culture.

But mathematically?

17 isn't luckier than 16.

Or 18.

Or 32.

On a fair single-zero wheel, every individual number has the same probability of being selected.

That doesn't stop people having favourites.

And that's part of roulette culture too.

Why is roulette still so compelling?

Think about how much entertainment has changed in 200 years.

Cinema.

Television.

Computers.

Smartphones.

Virtual reality.

And yet the fundamental theatre of roulette remains incredibly simple.

A wheel.

A ball.

A table.

A moment of anticipation.

Perhaps that's why roulette has survived technological revolution after technological revolution.

There's something inherently dramatic about watching that ball slow down.

Nobody at the table knows exactly where it's going to land.

And despite all the systems, superstitions and theories developed over the centuries, that's still true today.

From Monte Carlo to Blackpool

Roulette has travelled an extraordinary distance.

From the gaming salons of France to Monte Carlo.

Across the Atlantic to America.

Onto the Las Vegas Strip.

And into casinos around the world.

More than two centuries after the “little wheel” first became fashionable, it remains one of casino gaming's great icons.

Next time you see one spinning at Coral Island Casino, take another look.

There's an extraordinary amount of history going around with it.

Discover roulette and more at Coral Island Casino.

18+. Please gamble responsibly. Every roulette spin is independent and no betting system can guarantee a win.

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