How Much Do You Need? Part III, Roulette

CINDY: Roulette could be the oldest of the casino games and basically comes in third of all the table games, behind blackjack and craps. It has a large and attentive following.

ABBY: It was created by scientist and philosopher Blaise Pascal, a man who attempted to create a perpetual motion machine. He failed in that but he succeeded in creating a perpetual casino game that is played over most the world, at least in the houses of Lady Luck.

CINDY: There are three roulette games in the world today, unless someone has invented another one this week.

ABBY: You have the one-zero wheel, called the French / European wheel, that has one green number. You have the two-zero wheel, called the American wheel, that has two green numbers. You have the new boy on the block, the triple-zero wheel, that has three green numbers.

CINDY: The single-zero wheel has 37 pockets, numbered 1-36 plus the single zero. The two-zero wheel has 38 pockets, 1-36 and two zeroes. And the triple-zero wheel has 39 number 1-36 and three zeroes.

ABBY: All the games pay a winning number at 35-to-1. This creates the difference in the house edges at the various games. The single-zero wheel has a house edge of 2.70 percent; the double zero comes in with an edge of 5.26 percent; while the triple-zero wheel comes in (hold your breath!) with a house edge of 7.69 percent.

CINDY: There are a number of bets other than putting your hard-earned money on a single number. You can bet multiple numbers by putting the money on more than one number or you can pick certain proposition bets such as the dozens, the columns, and the even-money bets. The even-money bets are not 50-50 propositions; they pay even money.

ABBY: Our opinion is again a conservative one. We think you can hit long losing streaks betting the inside numbers straight up unless you have enough money to do groupings of numbers. We favor making the bets that can be handled with a single bet that return different amounts.

CINDY: For example, the columns will pay 2-to-1 when hit, as will the dozens. The even money bets will return even money. You bet $10 and you can win $10.

ABBY: We favor the even-money bets first. You have 18 ways to win on the double-zero wheel and 17 ways to win on the single-zero wheel. Forget the triple-zero wheel, the house edge is way too high on that wheel.

CINDY: Now, why are the even-money bets the best in our opinion? You will rarely suffer a long losing streak as you will with the inside number bets. We think these should be avoided. Even money tends to be back-and-forth; back and forth and so on.

ABBY: There is also a tradition in some casinos to offer a perk for those betting the even-money bets. It is called surrender in the double-zero game and “en-prison” in the single-zero game.

CINDY: Surrender is simple to remember. On the double-zero wheel if one of the green zeroes appears, you only lose half your bet.

ABBY: On the single-zero game if the zero appears your bet is locked up, not to be removed, until the next spin.

CINDY: These perks cut the house edges down to 2.63 percent on the double-zero wheel and 1.35 percent on the single-zero wheel. You may have to ask the casino where you intend to play if they offer such a perk.

ABBY: Roulette is an enjoyable game.

CINDY: And you can thank Blaise Pascal for it!

This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net.