The roulette wheel is the star of the casino game called roulette. It is probably the most familiar sight found in casinos. In fact, when you think about casinos, the first thing that comes to your mind is the roulette wheel. It’s no wonder then why the roulette wheel has become a symbol for casino gambling.
Roulette Wheel Diagram: The Origin
It is a popular belief that the roulette wheel diagram was first thought of by the French scientist and mathematician Blaise Pascal during his retreat in a monastery in France. However, some people believe that the roulette wheel diagram could trace its origins back to Ancient China where the people there played a game involving 37 animal statuettes on a 666 magic square.
Later on, the game was brought from China by Dominican monks who used the game as a form of recreation. This is probably how Blaise Pascal came up with the idea for the roulette wheel diagram.
The traditional roulette wheel diagram contained 38 numbers with two zeros (0, 00) and the numbers 1 through 36. Then in 1842, two Frenchmen by the name of Francois and Louis Blanc introduced a new type of roulette wheel diagram, one with only one zero. This roulette wheel diagram became standardized in all casinos except those found in the United States where the roulette wheel diagram still followed the original layout of two zeros.
Roulette Wheel Diagram: The Forms
As previously stated, there are two forms of roulette wheel diagrams that are commonly used in casinos today. The double-zero, called the American wheel because it is only used in American casinos, contains 38 numbers, including 1 through 36, 0, plus another zero (00). When you play American roulette, the house advantage is 5.26%. This means that if you place a bet of $100 on any part of the roulette table, win or lose, the casino will earn a profit of $5.26.
A cousin to the American wheel is the single-zero or French wheel. It is also more commonly referred to as the European wheel and contains 37 numbers with one zero and the numbers 1 through 36. The European wheel is standard in all European casinos and only offered in a few casinos in the United States, namely, Atlantic City casino in New Jersey. The house advantage with this form of roulette wheel diagram is 2.7% or almost half that of the American wheel. At European roulette tables, a $100-bet on any number or groups of numbers warrants a $2.70 profit for the casino.