From the glitz and glamour of Monte Carlo to the online tables of Betfair Casino, roulette is the game that just keeps giving, and perfectly exemplifies the casino lifestyle. A game of pure chance with a spinning wheel, a single ball and 36 numbers to choose from. But how well do you really know the wheel? It has numerous parts that we don’t necessarily think about but know that they exist – so how about we have a closer look at the wheel and see what we can find.
First things first, let’s have a look at the wheel itself and the numbers you have to choose from. There’s 1 all the way to 36 with a zero or two to split the wheel and give the house an edge. But what do the numbers add up to? If you add them all together you’ll find they equal 666! This is purely co-incidence, but the realisation has given the game a bad reputation in certain circles and led to the wide spread ban across Europe in the 18th and 19th century. And this ban would have a unique impact on how the roulette wheel evolved.
The Blanc brothers devised a new version of the wheel with only a single zero in order to attract customers. While they were fleeing the ban, they ended up in Monaco where their version of the wheel became the standard. Even now, it stands in contrast to the game played in America with their double zeroes representing a noticeable difference in the odds you can expect. This adjustment to the house edge is something that many advantage players have to think about when deciding what games to play.
For more details, just check out this exploded view of the wheel that goes over some of the key features that help to give the roulette wheel it’s uniquely random way to play a game.
