There are two things you should know before playing Roulette; the difference between an American Roulette Wheel and a European Roulette Wheel, and of course, the US Dollar Euro exchange rate!
Perhaps by chance or by mistake, but the first Roulette machine was sighted in the mid-18th Century in France. It was the outcome of a failed experiment by the French physicist, mathematician, and inventor, Blaise Pascal. He was trying to machinate an ever-spinning self-charging wheel that did not require any force exertion to exact its motion. He did end up with what would quickly be adopted as the spinning Roulette wheel.
Fast-forward to date, countless decillion spins later, and we now have two specialty Roulette Wheels…
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Zero-Zero and Zero versus Zero only
Other variants of the European Roulette wheel are often considered faux pas deviations (excuse the pun!) of the typical Single Zero (0) European Roulette Wheel.
Be sure to note the Double Zero (00) difference in the slots of an American Roulette wheel which has:
- 2 slots for the numbers 00 (Zero Zero) and 0 (Zero),
- plus slots for the numbers 1 (One) to 36 (Thirty-Six).
On the other hand, the Double Zero slot is conspicuously missing in a European Roulette Wheel which has:
- 1 slot for the number 0 (Zero),
- plus slots for the numbers 1 (One) to 36 (Thirty-Six).
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Thirty-Eight divisions versus Thirty-Seven divisions
Not only is the “Zero-Zero DIfference” what is the difference between American and European Roulette, but so are the number of divisions or “pockets” in the said wheels. You can simply count a pocket per number from:
- 0 to 36 (Zero to Thirty-Six) which adds up to 37 pockets in the European Roulette wheel
- 00 plus 0 to 36 (Double Zero plus Zero to Thirty-Six) which totals 38 pockets in the American Roulette wheel
Each numbered pocket is colored alternating between red and black, while the 0 and 00 pockets are colored green.
American grease for the Wheel.
The addition of the double zero numbering in the American Roulette wheel was introduced to tip the odds in favor of the house. While they greased the wheels alright, to their advantage, it is not unheard of to find an American casino with the European Roulette Wheel. In this case, given that House advantage is lower than with the American Roulette Wheel, the minimum bet is also pegged higher than with the 00 Roulette Wheel, with love from Europe.
Now that you know what is the difference between American and European Roulette.
Why play Roulette?
Probably the most laid-back and least high-strung of the casino games, both American and European Roulette allow any player to play with an air of mature level-headedness. It’s been said time and time again from its early inception to date, that Roulette is a fair-chance game, with equal probability for any outcome. Your chances of landing the Roulette ball on the number 36 are just the same as landing it on 0, number 24, or any other number… more in European Roulette which holds true to “pure chance”.