Roulette notes One of the most popular and well-known casino games is roulette which was introduced by Gabriel de Sartine into Paris in the year 1765. Sartine, a police lieutenant, had been searching for a new gambling device that would not be readily subject to the tricks of the con artists that were plentiful in the city. The popularity of roulette was soon established, and when the Monte Carlo Casino opened in 1863 it was the most widely played game and a particular favourite of the wealthy. In Australia, roulette involves a wheel with 37 numbers on it, consisting of: 18 red numbers (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32, 34, 36) 18 black numbers (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 31, 33, 35) 1 green zero The wheel is spun by a dealer (or croupier) in one direction while at the same time they roll a small metal ball in the opposite direction around the upper rim of the wheel. After a few rotations, gravity forces the ball to drop to the bottom of the wheel and it lands on a number (and colour) that is declared the winner.

The roulette table (or it may be a board) has markings on it showing the numbers in three columns of 12, a zero, plus markings for other betting options. Players purchase roulette chips with which they indicate their bets by putting a chip/s on their selected section/s of the table. Different types of bet that may be made include: 1. A straight up (or straight) bet involves choosing one number on its own.

2. A corner bet involves placing a chip in such a way that it covers four numbers e.g. 5, 6, 8, 9.

3. A six-line bet is placed at the end of a row covering two rows of three numbers. An example

would be the numbers 10 through 15, where a chip is placed on the outside of the table at the corner of 12 and 15.

4. A column bet is placed in one of three boxes at the bottom of the table (marked 2 to 1). This bet covers all numbers in the respective column. For example, the first column covers the numbers 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34.

5. A dozen bet is similar to a column bet, except that it covers one of the sets of numbers 1 – 12, 13 – 24 or 25 – 36.

6. A split bet covers two adjacent numbers and involves placing a chip across the line separating them. An example would be the numbers 22 and 23.

7. A street bet covers a row of three numbers. The chip is placed on the outer edge of the box at the end of the row. An example is the numbers 16, 17 and 18 where the chip is placed on the outer edge of the 18 square.

8. There are several even money bets. These are:

(a) red or black (b) odd or even (c) low or high (i.e. the numbers 1 – 18 or 19 – 36)

Players may place their chips on one or more of these bets in any one game. It is possible for several types of bet to be successful on the same spin. For example, if the number 10 were spun, the successful bets would include:

(a) a straight-up bet on 10 (b) any corner bet involving 10 (c) a six-line bet on the numbers 7 through 12 or 10 through 15 (d) a column bet on the first column (which contains 10) (e) a dozen bet 1 – 12 (f) a split bet involving 10 (g) the street bet 10, 11, 12 (h) black (since 10 is a black number) (i) even (since 10 is an even number) (j) low (since 10 lies in the range 1 – 18)

The odds provided by the gambling operator on all types of bets, along with the percentage margin for that bet, are shown in the table below. These odds have been carefully selected so that in all cases this margin is exactly the same at 2.7%, meaning that no particular type of bet is better for the player than any other. In other words, the gambling operator will keep 2.7% of all moneys gambled no matter what strategies the players adopt. If the roulette wheel is unbiased, (that is, it does not favour certain numbers), then it is impossible for the player to reduce this percentage margin.

Odds offered and percentage margins for various roulette bets

Type of bet Numbers chosen Odds offered Percentage margin Straight–up any one number 35 – 1 2.7% Split 2 numbers 17 – 1 2.7% Street 3 numbers 11 – 1 2.7% Corner 4 numbers 8 – 1 2.7% Six–line 6 numbers 5 – 1 2.7% Column 12 numbers 2 – 1 2.7% Dozen 1 – 12 or 13 – 24 or 25 – 36 2 – 1 2.7% Low 1 – 18 1 – 1 2.7% High 19 – 36 1 – 1 2.7% Red the 18 red numbers 1 – 1 2.7% Black the 18 black numbers 1 – 1 2.7% Odd the 18 odd numbers 1 – 1 2.7% Even the 18 even numbers 1 – 1 2.7%