History of Roulette Game
The roulette has overpassed several centuries and traveled all around the world to come to casinos in the form we know it now. There are different opinions where it came from and what version was the first. We offer you to get out more about all of them and study the full evolution of roulette game.
The Origin of Roulette Games
The tradition to use spinning wheel for gaming goes back to the Greco-Roman period when Roman soldiers used to spin chariot wheel to determine a winner. The mechanism of that “game” also included an arrow which pointed one of 10 winning spaces on the ground. The Greeks used a shield instead of chariot wheel but the idea of the game itself remained the same – the wheel or shield stopped and the marked space on the ground against an arrow was considered a winning one.
Roulette wheel game is sometimes believed to be a mix of two popular games:
of Hoca and “Even-Odd” games
- Italian game “Hoca” Game
- English “E-O” (meaning “Even” and “Odd”)
Hoca game was very widespread in Europe in the middle of 17th century. Even Cardinal Mazarin, the chief minister of France, opened casinos offering Hoca games with the aim to collect money for the Treasury. The game used circular table on which a ball was rolled. The players could bet on any of 40 cups on the table. Three out of 40 cups marked with zero were house cups, as a result the house had 7.5% edge over the players.
Along with Hoca, “E-O” game was played in England. It also used circular table with 40 sections marked with “E” and “O” (meaning Even and Odd): 20 of them were marked with the letter “E” and another 20 – with The letter “O”. There were also two bar spaces that won all the bets for the casino. The game had quite high house advantage still being very popular with the players.
European Roulette: Where It All Began
The history of European roulette, which was originally called French roulette, goes back to 1655 when French scientist Blaise Pascal created it as a perpetual motion machine. The name of the game means a “small wheel” from French. At first, it was just a game played in monasteries as a way of entertainment but soon after it moved to all French casinos. The game was thought to be an entertainment for glamorous and intelligent visitors.
Later on, in 1843, Francois and Luis Blanc opened the first casinos in Homburg, German, which offered only single-zero roulette (the roulette with only one “0” slot). There is a legend that Francois and Luis Blanc traded their souls in exchange for the secret of roulette. This legend is often followed by the fact that if you add all the numbers on the roulette wheel you get the number 666 which is the number of the beast.
In the 1860s gambling games were banned in Germany, that is why both Blancs moved to Monte Carlo and turned it into real European gambling center. In Monte Carlo single-zero roulette became extremely popular and despite the fact that the roulette version with extra 00 slot and higher house edge was also known among the gamblers, the casinos rarely featured it.
The History of American Roulette
by all casinos throughout the world
Late 1800’s brought the game to America where it became incredibly popular among those who loved to play with luck and believed in fortune. Roulette was very popular in the days of Gold Rush. But most casinos in the United States started offering double-zero version of French roulette game as it was more beneficial for the casino owners. Since than single-zero French roulette game widespread in European countries is traditionally called “European roulette” and double-zero game played in American casinos – “American roulette”.
According to historians, some versions of American roulette used the numbers from 1 to 28 and 0, 00 and the sign of American Eagle. All extra pockets (0, 00 and American Eagle) were the house pockets, which means that when the ball landed on any of them the casino won all the bets on the table. The payout for any one number bet was 21 to 1.
First American roulette wheels are said to contain extra sign of American Eagle which has been always the symbol of American liberty.
Eagle was house slot which means that the casino edge was even higher than at modern American roulette. This tradition soon vanished and all roulette wheels featured only zero house slots.
Roulette game quickly spread throughout the United Stated and underwent some modifications. As the game became a good source of income for cheaters, it was decided to change the design of the table and roulette wheel was placed on the top allowing to prevent any frauds. The table layout was also much simplified and now it became easier for players to place the bets and for croupiers to make the payouts. Eventually, American-style roulette layout was accepted by most casinos all over the world.
Modern Roulette Games
Today roulette games are offered not only at land casinos and gambling establishments but also can be played on the Internet. The first Internet casinos Gaming Club and InterCasino were launched in 1995 and 1996 correspondingly. These dates can be considered as the starting point of online roulette gambling. Now along with traditional single- and double-zero roulettes the players can also win money in new game variations that can be found both at land and online casinos. These are multiball roulette which is played with up to 3 balls rolled on the wheel; no zero roulette game with zero slot’s missing; and mini-roulette version with small wheel and possibility to bet just on 12 numbers.
Today more and more players prefer to play roulette games on the Internet. And it is not surprising as online gambling has lots of advantages, some of which are:
- playing roulette online is very convenient as you can start the game at any place where Internet is accessible
- you don’t have to dress smart and follow any casino etiquette
- the game rules are available at any moment you need
- you can pause the game and come back to roulette table at any moment
- online roulette games are much quicker that those at land casinos
- the players have enough time to think over their betting decisions and clear the bets if needed
- all money transactions are made within several clicks of the mouse
- you can try all roulette games for free before betting real money
Whichever roulette game you choose from the variety of modern variations, you can be sure that you will get real pleasure from playing one of the world’s favorite games of luck.
