American European Roulette
Roulette is an incredibly popular casino game. In fact, it is often touted to be the "King of Casino Games," because of its association with the glamour and extravagance of the early days of the casinos in Monte Carlo, where Europe's elite gambled. Roulette is believed to have originated from France, from a number of other kinds of wheel games, such as the Italian Hoca and Biribi. The game's name takes its origin from the French word which means "little wheel." Roulette, in a nutshell, is a game that involves spinning a wheel with a certain amount of numbered and colored pockets in one direction, and placing a small white ball on the track of this wheel, and having it spin there in the opposite direction. When the momentum brings the ball to a stop, this ball will land in one of the pockets, and that pocket is designated as the winning number.
There are two different kinds of roulette: American roulette, and European roulette. The main difference between the two lies in the roulette wheels used. The European version of this game has thirty-seven numbered and colored pockets; the American version has thirty-eight. Both roulette wheels possess a series of pockets numbered one to thirty-six, set in particular pattern, in alternating red and white color. In the European roulette wheel, there is one pocket numbered zero. This pocket is green in color. The American roulette wheel has two green pockets, numbered zero, and double zero. While roulette may have originated in Europe, the more traditional form of roulette wheel is actually the American one.
Roulette, as it was originally conceptualized, had two green pockets. Some time in 1843 though, two Frenchmen in the town of Homburg, in Germany named Francois and Louis Blanc, decided to create a roulette wheel that only had one zero or green pocket. They did this, so that they could gain an advantage in competition over other casinos. Like all gambling games, roulette is a game of chance. Even gambling games that require some skill, such as poker and blackjack, are ultimately dependent on the unpredictable winds of fortune. Roulette, in particular, is the sort of game that depends more on probabilities and a person's own luck. A person cannot think or strategize their way into winning a game of roulette. They can only hope that the ball falls into the pocket -or within the group of pockets- that they had bet on. If there were fewer pockets in the roulette wheel, people would have a slightly greater chance of winning. This turned out to be a considerable draw, and it caught on throughout Europe. Because the original form of roulette wheel had already entrenched itself in the United States' saloons and casinos though, the thirty-seven pocket wheel did not quite make its mark there.