Russian Roulette

A Look Into the Beginnings of Roulette

Have any of you ever wondered about the roulette game and how it came into existence? The game in itself is one of the most widely played and most famous casino games available today, and for those who enjoy the game, it is also interesting to know of its origins.

Roulette in French would mean a "small wheel", and is so far, known to be invented by the famous French mathematician, Blaise Pascal during the seventeenth Century in France. However, some sources would argue that the game could also have originated in the Chinese territories, and the concept could have later been taken to Europe via Dominican monks who, at the time, were also doing trades with China. The former is the more popular and recognized story with regards to the roulette wheel's invention. The fact that the game is called "roulette", which is a French word, and is the most commonly known name for this casino game around the world, would say it all really!

Upon the invention of the roulette wheel, some modernizations were done, again in France by two Frenchmen namely, Monsieur Francois and Monsieur Louis Blanc during the year 1842.

Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Prince Charles who was then, the ruler of Monaco, inadvertently helped in turning the roulette wheel into a very popular game by introducing to Monaco various gambling activities and establishments in order to take away the region's monetary problems. The game was so popular that it started spreading its roots, not only to the American continent, but all throughout the rest of the world.

The roulette game possessed a considerable amount of popularity in many parts of America, especially during the era of the "Gold Rush" in California. Certain modifications were done to the wheel, like the changing of the zeros into double zeros, and such. Hardly of much consequence really!

The game of roulette has two main and essential variations to the wheel. This would include the first variation, known as the American roulette wheel, which consists of thirty eight numerals that includes the following numbers: zero, double zero, and the numbers one all the way to thirty six. As you may have wondered about why there are double zeros in the game, this of course, is said to give a 5.26 house advantage.

The second variation is known as the European Roulette Wheel, which consists of thirty seven numerals in a line up similar to the American version, but without the double zero. This game, compared to the American version, gives only a 2.70 percent house advantage, which is why most roulette players would prefer to play European roulette and not the American one.

Wherever casino you choose to go to in the world, you will always be guaranteed, more oftentimes than not, that there will always be roulette games available. It is a classic game that is most popular in the European continent, where it is said to have originated.