17 Facts about Roulette that Will Surprise Your Friends (and Might Even Win You Money)

Roulette might seem like a simple game, but there’s a lot more to it than you might have originally thought.

Not many things will last hundreds of years, but roulette has. You have to have some interesting anecdotes if you’ve been around for that long, right?

As you will soon find out, there are tons of interesting roulette facts. The casino game is a favorite among many, and there’s a good chance it is because it’s easy to understand, it’s interesting, and it can win you a lot of money.

Feel free to play along on the safest online casinos while you read these facts about roulette!

Starting off my list of things to know about roulette is that the odds aren’t as bad as you might think.

Roulette gets a certain amount of derision from gambling writers because the house edge is relatively high at 5.26%. But there’s more to take into consideration when judging a gambling game than the house edge.

First, ANY game in which the player has a mathematical disadvantage is a game that will eventually drain the player’s entire bankroll.

Even if the house edge is only 0.1%, if you play long enough, eventually, the casino will win all your money—if you play long enough.

From that perspective, it doesn’t matter how high or low the house edge is. The only real comparison to make is with games where you might actually have an advantage.

The difference between a 0.1% house edge and a 0.1% player edge is far more significant than the difference between a 0.1% house and a 0.2% house edge.

Here’s something else to consider about roulette: it’s a much slower game, so if you care about things like your expected hourly loss, roulette might even be a better deal than games with better odds.

Here’s an example of how that matters:

You calculate how much the casino expects to win per hour by multiplying your average bet size by the number of bets you’re placing per hour. That’s how much hourly action you’re bringing to the casino.

You multiply the total action by the house edge to get your expected loss.

Now, let’s say you’re playing 8/5 Jacks or Better, the best video poker game available at many casinos. The house edge for this game is 2.7%, which is about half that of the American roulette wheel. You’d expect to lose half as much money per hour on average, wouldn’t you?

But most video poker players get in 600 hands per hour. At $5 per hand, that’s $3000 per hour. With a house edge of 2.7%, you expect to lose $81 per hour on that game.

There’s a huge difference between an expected loss of $14 versus $81 per hour.

This roulette information can come in handy the next time you decide to play. It’s also important to remember that you won’t lose money every time you play. There’s always a chance you go on a hot streak and win big, so don’t rule that out either.

If you’re ready to put my facts about casino roulette to the test, I recommend using the best casinos for live dealer roulette!

Next up on my list of roulette facts has to do with even money bets.

The even money bets are the wagers that you’ll land on red or black, or on odd or even, or on low (1-18) or high (19-36). Most players think they have a roughly 50% chance of winning such a bet and that these bets are close to break-even because of their even money payouts.

That’s not entirely accurate. A standard roulette game has 38 possible outcomes. 2 of those 38 outcomes are outside the parameters of any of those even money bets.

A roulette wheel has a 0 and 00, and those are both colored green—NOT red or black. These 0 and 00 also don’t count as even OR as odd. So, any even money bet loses when the ball lands on a 0 or 00.

You just take the number of ways you can win and divide that by the total possible number of outcomes.

There are 18 black outcomes out of a possible 38 total outcomes. The probability of winning that bet is, therefore, 18 divided by 38, or 47.37%.

The casino wins that bet 52.63% of the time. The same math applies to the other, even money bets.

Understanding roulette information like this is the first step in understanding why betting systems in a roulette game don’t work.

If you want to be a master roulette player, then consider reading our guide to roulette, which covers how to play as well as different strategies to use.

I should amend this to say that there’s no realistic, practical way of getting an edge. Players have gotten an edge at the game, but it’s not something the average person can learn to do easily.

If you’re looking for a gambling strategy that anyone can learn, consider counting cards in blackjack.

Most players try to get an edge by using some kind of betting system that involves raising and lowering the size of their bets based on the previous results on the wheel.

The problem with these betting systems is that past results have no effect on the probability of future results. That seems counter-intuitive, but that’s how the math of the game works.

Since there are still 18 black outcomes and 38 total possible outcomes, the probability is STILL 47.37%. It hasn’t changed because of the previous results.

It’s counter-intuitive because the probability of getting a black result 6 times in a row is something that can be measured, and it is unlikely.

But you’re not betting on whether or not the ball will land on black 6 times in a row. You’re betting on what’s going to happen on the next spin.

This is actually only true of American roulette, which is the most common version of the game. But I’ll write about other roulette variations in later bullet points.

The house edge is the average loss you’d expect to see on any given bet expressed as a percentage of that bet. It assumes a nearly infinite number of spins.

If you want to better understand how the casino house edge works, then our guide will go into more detail about it.

Here’s how to calculate it for a couple of different roulette bets:

You want to know the house edge for a bet on black. You’ll start by assuming that you’re betting $100 per hand. (That’ll make it easier to convert to a percentage.) Then, you’ll assume a perfect distribution across 38 spins.

This means you’ll lose $100 on 20 spins, and you’ll win $100 on 18 spins.

Your gross loss is $2000, and your gross win is $1800. Add these together, and your net loss is $200 across 38 spins.

To find out your average loss per spin, you divide 200 by 38. The result is $5.26. Since we assumed a $100 bet, that’s 5.26% of each bet that’s lost on average.

The only bet with a different house edge is the 5-number bet. This is a bet that you’ll wind up with a 0, 00, 1, 2, or 3. It pays off at 6 to 1.

So, you’ll win this bet 5 times out of 38, which is a net win of $600 X 5, or $3000. But you’ll lose this bet 33 times for a loss of $3300. Your net loss is $300. Divide that by 38, and your average loss per spin is $7.89.

That’s the worst bet at the table, so you should avoid making it. Also, be sure to avoid slot machine mistakes if that’s another one of your favorite casino games to play.

And if they are, then maybe you should check out the best new online slots you can play online.

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Another one of the things to know about roulette is that there are two different versions: European and American. The two have the same concept but a few minor changes.

A European roulette wheel only has a green 0 instead of having a 0 and a 00. This variation was introduced in the 19th century in Germany. The casino was trying to compete with other properties in the area, so they invented a version of the game that offered better odds.

They were successful in doing this because the house edge is 2.7%, which is 2.56% lower than the American version.

This means your expected loss is lower when you play European roulette, which essentially makes it the better option between the two.

One of the things you didn’t know about roulette is that a lot of people still prefer to play the American version. Find out which one you like more by comparing European vs. American roulette below.

This isn’t a tactic exclusive to online casinos. Land-based casinos also sometimes offer both American and European roulette wheels right next to each other.

Unsophisticated players don’t realize there’s a difference. If they do, they often underestimate how much of a difference there is.

This isn’t exactly a shady practice. After all, casinos are in the business of selling customers the hope of beating the odds and walking away a winner. Learning the math behind casino games and gambling isn’t hard. It’s just not something that most people do before trying out the games.

Make no mistake. It’s the players’ responsibility to understand the difference between games and to choose the one with the better odds.

Now that you’ve read this post, you’ll never again play an American roulette game when a European game is available, will you?

Now that you’ve come across these fun facts about roulette, there’s a good chance you’ll be playing the European version more often than not.

The American version is still worthy of your time, but for those of you who prefer to play it a little safer, consider playing European roulette.

Interestingly enough, European roulette is not offered on all online casinos, only a few. This might be because they don’t want more people to know that your odds of winning are higher.

Either way, you are probably wanting to know where to play European roulette online. One of the best sites for roulette is Ignition Casino. They have a phenomenal welcome bonus, tons of great roulette games, and more!

A lot of people think that roulette is an easy game to cheat because they’ve seen movies and television shows which imply that the croupier (the dealer) has some kind of control over the outcome of the game.

The most famous example of this is in Casablanca. Rick wants to help out a young couple who are being victimized by the local authorities. He tells the young man to bet on 22.

He gives the croupier a signal and the game results in a 22. Rick tells the young man to keep his money on 22. He wins again.

In reality, I can’t think of a way that you could rig a game in such a way as to make a ball land in a specific pocket. There are too many variables. You MIGHT be able to rig a game in such a way that certain ranges of numbers are more likely.

But being able to land the ball in a specific pocket 4 times in a row would be impossible for anyone who didn’t possess telekinesis as their superpower.

Another thing to know about roulette has to do with The Martingale System. If you’re not familiar with it, let me explain.

You place an even money bet at the roulette table. Let’s use $10 as a starting point.

If you win, you’re up $10. But if you lose, you place another bet, this time for twice the amount–$20.

If you win, you’ve won back the $10 you lost on the first spin. And you have a $10 profit. But if you lose, you double your bet again, this time to $40.

If you win, you get back the $30 you lost on the first two bets, and you have a $10 profit. This progression continues until you’re up by one unit, then you start over.

This seems foolproof at first glance, but here are 2 things most people don’t take into consideration:

Here’s why those 2 things matter: Eventually, you’ll need to place a bet so large that you either won’t have enough money to cover it or it will be higher than the betting limits at the table.

Doubling your bet over and over again adds up far faster than you think.

Here’s the other problem with this system. Even when it works, your net winnings are small. Your eventual big loss is going to eat up all those small wins and then some.

The Martingale can be fun in the short term, but over the long run, it does not affect the casino’s edge. They’re still going to win all your money if you play long enough.

Ever heard of hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia? No, that isn’t just a bunch of letters slammed into one word.

That massive word means the fear of 666. If you have hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia, I would stay away from playing roulette.

Why’s that? Well, one of the things you didn’t know about roulette is that all the numbers add up to 666. That’s why one of the popular nicknames for roulette is “The Devil’s Wheel.”

After all, they say that money is the root of all evil, but would there be any evil if we didn’t have any money problems?

In the end, this is just an interesting piece of roulette trivia that you can mention to your friends.

If you’re very superstitious person, then maybe you need to practice some gambling rituals to develop better luck when playing at the casino.

I like this. It gives roulette a certain panache that other casino games lack.

After all, the dealer at the blackjack table is just called “the dealer.” The same phrase is used for the dealer at Caribbean Stud and other casino card games.

Craps dealers don’t really deal with anything, but they run the game. They have cool names, too, but nothing as cool as “croupier.” They have names like “boxman” and “stickman,” but honestly, how elegant do either of those job titles sound?

There’s also a 1998 crime film named Croupier, which just so happens to be one of the best casino movies.

Clive Owen portrays the eponymous character. It’s a neo-noir and a gambling movie, so if you’re into either of those genres, it’s worth checking out.

Newcomers to the casino might not realize this, but the chips at the roulette table are different from the chips elsewhere in the casino. This is done so that the croupier can tell who gets the winnings on each bet.

Imagine if everyone at the roulette table were just using the standard chips. How would you possibly be able to tell who gets the payouts when someone wins?

Get a table going with 4 or more players, each of whom are making 4 or more bets each, and you can see how it would be confusing to pay people off unless each player had her own color-coded chips.

You buy these chips at the roulette table, not at the cashier’s cage.

This, of course, doesn’t apply to online roulette, of which you can play at a great site like DuckyLuck Casino.

Did you know that DuckLuck offers a welcome bonus of 500% up to $7,500? Well, you can read all about that bonus and more in this DuckyLuck review, before playing at the online casino.

This probably isn’t surprising, as the game was invented in France. But a casino in France is a strange experience for an American gambler for multiple reasons.

For one thing, the players are dressed up a little nicer than you’d see in Vegas or Reno.

You also won’t see nearly as many slot machines in a French casino. Yes, they do play slots there. But roulette is the most popular game in most French casinos.

Unlike a lot of casinos in America, they probably have tons of European roulette wheels to choose from.

Most people credit Blaise Pascal with inventing roulette. He was actually trying to devise a perpetual motion machine.  (He failed, of course.)

More sophisticated gambling historians look for a game more recognizable as the modern game of roulette. They find it in historical records dating to 1796, in a novel that describes the game being played in a casino.

The rules for modern roulette are actually a mishmash of several other games, most of which are no longer played. You’ve probably never heard of them, either. They include:

Some of these games are also wheel-based games like roulette, but some of them are also board games.

And even though early versions of the game were recognizably roulette, some of the rules varied in earlier times.

For example, in the United States during the Old West, a roulette wheel not only had a 0 and a 00, but it also had an American eagle symbol.

Also, in early versions of roulette, the 0s, and the eagle symbols were an automatic win for the house. You couldn’t bet on them, so when the ball landed in one of those pockets, the croupier just collected all the bets off the table.

If I owned a casino, I’d enjoy that aspect of the game.

California’s gambling laws are rather strange, and one of the stipulations there is that gambling is legal, but the only device that can be used to generate results is a deck of cards.

As a result, clever casinos there offer “California roulette,” which is played with cards rather than a spinning wheel and a ball.

This adaptation of roulette rules and bets being adapted to a card game is also common among casinos in the state of Oklahoma, where they also have craps games where the outcomes are determined by a deck of cards.

The odds and payouts for these games are the same. The only difference is the methodology used to generate the results.

Some casino roulette facts have made it on the list of crazy casino bets. These wagers have been remembered throughout history as the most daring, and one lucky roulette player pulled off a miracle.

Ashley Revell sold everything he owned and raised $135,000. Then he bet it all on a single spin of the roulette wheel at the Plaza in Las Vegas. And he won.

This is a great example of a strategy called “maximum boldness.”

Here’s the theory behind this:

If you’re playing a game where the house has an edge, your best bet is to place as few bets as possible and make them as large as possible. This increases your chances of doubling your money.

Here’s how that would work: If you bet on black at the roulette table, you have a 47.37% chance of doubling your money.

But if you place 2 bets on black at the roulette table, you have to win twice in order to double your money. The probability of winning 2 bets in a row is 22.44%.

The more bets you place in a game where the odds are against you, the more likely it is that your results will resemble the expectation.

On the other hand, if you have an edge, your goal is to place small bets and grind out a small win over time. This is called a “minimum boldness” strategy, and this is the way card counters in blackjack, and professional poker players manage their bankrolls.

Everyone’s familiar with certain roulette facts because it’s been featured in a large number of TV shows and movies. Some of these include:

I think it’s likely that as long as there are casinos, roulette is going to be a thing. It’s just too popular and iconic a casino game not to continue to be played in gambling halls.

Every activity has expected sets of behaviors associated with it. Roulette is no exception. Here are some examples of good manners at the roulette table:

• Buy and cash chips between spins. (You don’t want to interrupt the game.)
• Don’t eat at the roulette table. (It just makes a mess.)
• Don’t throw your chips down. (They could move other players’ bets.)

These are examples of good manners, but there are also serious behavioral issues that are actually considered rules by the casino. Here are some examples:

If you don’t want to make a fool out of yourself the next time you play, be sure to know these unwritten roulette rules.

11 Unwritten Rules of Roulette

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Hopefully, you found these roulette facts as interesting as I did. You can also use a lot of them to your advantage.

If you visit big win casinos and apply your new knowledge, you could take home a staggering amount of cash.

As we’ve discussed, though, roulette is not a game that you can cheat at. It comes down to pure luck, so I wouldn’t try any gimmick strategies you might have stumbled across online.

That said, I would avoid the 5-number bet because it has a higher house edge than the others.

I would also prefer to play European roulette over the American version because of the lower house edge. You can play European roulette online at some great casinos, such as Bovada and Wild Casino!

Footnotes:

• Very Well Mind provided hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia meaning.