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The roulette was invented in China. Brought to Europe by traders, who were trading with the Chinese.
Several early versions of a wheel and spinning ball were invented in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe. The first games that we would recognize as modern roulette were introduced in Paris casinos around the end of the 18th century. This game contained all of the features that we have today with the one exception, the single zero was red while the double zero was black. This led to some confusion for players and the color green was introduced for the zero and double zero to alleviate the confusion.

In the mid 19th century the single zero game was invented in France, this reduced the casino’s edge thereby increasing the odds of the player. When gambling was outlawed in Germany the inventor of the single zero machine (Louis Blanc) accepted an invitation to go to Monaco to establish and operate a casino. The casino set the standards for roulette in Europe, and roulette remained exclusive to Monte Carlo until 1933. This led to the gambling and resort industry in Monaco as many of Europe’s rich were attracted to the luxurious Monte Carlo casino.

The use of the double zero roulette wheels survived in the United States and is sometimes called the “American Wheel”. The introduction of the single zero wheel (with better odds for the player) resulted in the demise of the double zero wheels in Europe and has become known as the “French Wheel” in roulette history.

Roulette table layout can be named the most easily recognizable symbol of gambling in the entire world. Roulette table contains some typical parts, which can be found on the every roulette set. The long roulette table, which the player usually sees in the large casinos, can accommodate between six and eight roulette players quite easily.

On the table there is a layout containing the numbers that you can bet on. As you’ll learn in the roulette bets section, when you bet on a number, you’re basically betting that when the wheel is spun and the ball finishes its bounce, that it will come to its final rest on the number that you’d bet on.

For American roulette, the layout will contain thirty-eight numbers including a zero and a double zero. For European roulette, which is also called French roulette, the roulette table layout will contain thirty-seven numbers including a single zero. The picture shows an outline of an American Roulette table layout. The side and the end of the table that has the thick gray border is the section that’s fully dedicated to the players. They stand there to place their bets and observe the proceedings and in most cases, especially on a hot casino night, it’s standing room only at the roulette tables.

The end of the table is the dealer or croupier domain and only he/she may enter there. From there, the croupier spins the wheel, and calls the numbers, and is basically in charge of the roulette table proceedings. Online casinos of course it’s a whole different matter. In the world of online roulette, all you really need to know how to do is to use your mouse to place bets. Try it for yourself by playing on our own free virtual roulette game. No real cash involved, it’s all for fun, so try it out. If you want to try it with an online casino be aware their are only certain US accepted casinos.

European roulette has thirty-seven numbered slots including one for the number zero, while the American roulette wheel has thirty-eight numbered slots including two for the number zero (0 and 00).

• In 1873, the Englishman Joseph Jaggers made the first famous roulette biased wheel attack. Mr. Jaggers with a team of six clerks, clocked all the wheels at the Monte Carlo casino and found one wheel to show significant bias. In their attack exploiting this flaw they won over $325,000, an astronomical sum in 1873.

• In the summer of 1891 at the Monte Carlo casino, a part-time swindler and petty crook from London named Charles Wells, broke the bank at each table he played over a period of several days. Breaking the bank meant he won all the available money in the table bank that day, and a black cloth would be placed over the table until the bank was replenished. In song and life he was celebrated as “The Man That Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo.” He later admitted that it was all luck, and he eventually ended up in jail for many years because of his fraudulent schemes.

• In the 1942 film Casablanca, Rick’s Café Americain has a trick roulette wheel. The croupier can cause it to land on 22 at will. Rick (Humphrey Bogart) urges a Bulgarian refugee with whose case he becomes sympathetic to put his last three chips on 22 and motions to the croupier to let him win. After the man’s number dramatically comes up, Rick tells him to let it all ride on 22 and lets him win again. Although the details are not mentioned in the film (the croupier only notes that they are “a couple of thousand” down), it appears that Rick has given the man 3885 ((3*36*36)-3) francs.

• Near the beginning of the 1973 film The Sting, Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) takes his share of the money conned from a numbers runner and loses nearly all of it on a single bet against a rigged roulette wheel.

• In the third part of the 1998 film Run, Lola, Run, Lola uses all her money to buy a 100-mark chip. (She is actually just short of 100 marks, but gains the sympathy of a casino employee who gives her the chip for what money she has.) She bets her single chip on 20 and wins. She lets her winnings ride on 20 and wins again, making her total winnings 129,600 marks (29,600 more than her smuggler boyfriend owed his boss, Ronnie). The odds of two consecutive wins on the same number on a European roulette wheel are exactly 1369-to-1 against.

• In the South Park episode “Red Man’s Greed”, the town, facing destruction at the hands of Native Americans, bets $10,000 to raise money to save themselves. They win, but let it ride, and lose all of it.

• In 2004, Ashley Revell of London sold all of his possessions, clothing included, and brought US$135,300 to the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas and put it all on “Red” at the roulette table in a double-or-nothing bet. The ball landed on “Red 7″ and Revell walked away with his net-worth doubled to $270,600.

• In the music video for “Palace & Main” by Kent, guitarist Harri Mänty goes to Las Vegas and bets the entire video budget on black. He wins, and the profits were donated to charity.

American wheel – The roulette wheel used in the USA, featuring numbered slots from 0 to 36 and the 00 (double zero). Originally, the double-zero wheel started in Europe and the single-zero wheel started in America.

Bankroll – The total amount of money a gambler has to gamble.

Cancellation Betting System – Betting system using a series of numbers that cancels numbers after winning a bet and adds numbers after losing a bet. One specific type of Cancellation System is known as the LaBouchere system.

Chips – Gamble money

Column Bet - A bet on one of the columns of 12 numbers.

Corner bet – when a player bets on four numbers by placing roulette chips at the middle of these four numbers.

Croupier - Name for the dealer

d’Alembert Betting System - System of betting where you raise your bet by one unit after a loss and decrease your bet by one unit after a win.

Double-Up System of Betting – The Betting system whereby bets are doubled after a loss in hopes of recouping the previous loss.

Even Bet – A wager that one of the even numbers will win the next spin.

Even Money - A bet that pays off at one to one: Red, Black, Odd, Even, Low, and High bets all pay even money.

Fibonacci Betting System – Betting system where there is a progressive combination of numbers.

Five number bet – Commonly played in American roulette, where players bet on 0, 00, one, two and three, all at the same time.

French Wheel – Been used in Europe, South American, and elsewhere, but seldom in the USA, featuring numbered slots from 0 to 36 but without the 00 (double zero) of the American Wheel.

Greens – Chips valued at $25.

High Bet - A wager that one of the high numbers (19-36) will win.

High Roller – A person who plays for big money and with big money.

Hot Table – A table where the players have been winning.

Inside bet – A bet placed using the spaces inside the numbered part of the game layout: straight, split, street, corner, and line bets.

Insurance Betting System – Decrease the amount of your bet when you win, usually following a high initial bet or following short let-it-ride progressive wins.

Line Bet - A wager that one of six numbers will win.

Low bet – when players bet on any of these numbers 1 – 8.

Martingale Betting System – A type of Double-Up System whereby you double your bets after every loss.  Meaning that when you win, you’ll win back all of your loss, plus the payoff for the original wager.

Negative progression Betting System – You increase the bet when you lose. Require more capital and usually employed to force a winning outcome following a losing streak.

Outside bet – A bet placed using the spaces outside the numbered part of the game layout: column, dozen, low, high, odd, even, red, and black bets.

Odd Bet – A wager that one of the odd numbers will win the next spin.

Quarter Bet - A wager that one of four numbers will be hit on the next spin. Same as Corner Bet and Square Bet.

Red Bet - An even-money bet that the next number will be red.

Reverse: LaBouchere Betting System – The La Bouchere system in reverse by cancelling the numbers in each loss and then adding them after the win.

Reverse: Martingale Betting System – The Martingale betting system in reveres by doubling up after each win and not after loss.

Roulette ball – Used in a game of roulette, made of ivory, metal, or plastic

Roulette table - Table on which roulette is played, with a roulette wheel and one or two game layouts

Section Shooting – The act of placing the ball in a given section of the wheel.

Section Slicing – Dividing the wheel into sections based upon which numbers have been hitting for the purpose of discovering biases.

Slots - Numbered and colored divisions of the inside track of the roulette wheel.

Split Bet – A single bet that one of two numbers will hit on the next spin.

Straight Up Bet – An inside bet on one number.

Street - The horizontal row of three numbered spaces on the game layout.

Street Bet – A bet that one of three particular numbers will hit on the next spin.

Surrender – The option where a casino only takes only half of a player’s losing bet on the even-money bets when the 0 or 00 hits.

Toke – The tip given to the Croupier.

Wheel Strategies – Strategies that try to exploit imperfections in the wheel in order for the player to get the edge.