Roulette HistoryOf course, a lot of the poker maniacs out there play other online games as well. The online casinos have experienced a huge increase in popularity over the past five years and not least the very old game of roulette. The history of the game is really fascinating.
There are conflicting theories on how exactly roulette was developed. Some historians believe that wheel-based games of chance have been around for thousands of years. According to some accounts, the Chinese introduced Europeans to a betting game that used a wheel. The game was said to have been transported by traders conducting trans-continental business.
Pascal
Many people credit Blaise Pascal for developing roulette. Pascal was a French mathematician who lived in the 1600s. He was an expert in geometry, and he’s also credited with creating probability theory. Pascal was certainly a man of many talents, but it’s unlikely that he single-handedly invented roulette.Roulette is French for “small wheel”, so the modern roulette wheel certainly has a strong history in France. By the late 18th century, a modern-looking roulette wheel was widely used in France. This wheel featured both a zero and a double zero. It did not have any green spaces (every space was colored black and red).
The Blanc Brothers
In 1842, Louis Blanc and his brother Francois unveiled a new wheel. This new wheel removed the double zero spot, thus decreasing the house’s advantage. Blanc’s new, player-friendly wheel soon became a smash hit. France outlawed gambling shortly after the new wheel’s introduction. The Blanc brothers took their wheel and opened up a casino in Germany. After Germany outlawed gambling, the Blanc brothers set up shop in Monte Carlo.
USA
When French colonists traveled to America, they brought roulette with them. The game became popular in New Orleans, but the American version was different than the European roulette wheel developed by the Blanc brothers. The American wheel had a single zero, but it also included the old-school double zero spot.
In the American version of the game, dealers grabbed the bets on the table using their hands. In the European version of the game, croupiers would use long sticks (or rakes) to move bets around the table. In the States, the double zero wheel isn’t the most popular game in the casino. In Europe, the single zero wheel has always been an extremely big draw in casinos.
No one can pinpoint roulette’s inception with any degree of accuracy. There are just too many influences to choose from. One thing that is certain is that the standard European roulette wheel offers players a better advantage than the American roulette wheel. That one extra space can make a huge difference. If you have the choice, always go with the Euro version. It just makes more sense to play the game under more favorable conditions.
Now that you’re educated in the interesting history of roulette, why not try playing at an online casino yourself. |
