The roulette wheel is where the action happens. This spherical-shaped instrument that is peppered with numbers and pockets fully captures attention of the players as they await for the outcome. Just as how unpredictable the small ball bounces off from one fret to another, so is the fate of your bet. Considering how important the roulette wheel is on a casino roulette game or an online roulette casino game, it would be unimaginable if a player doesn’t have a better understanding on the physical and the mechanical aspects of this casino instrument.
Quick history: the kind of roulette wheel we know as of today has its roots traced back in the 17th century when Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, thinker, and inventor, attempted to create a perpetual motion machine. It went through a lot of transformation through the years and ever since, it has become one of the staple games in almost any casino, both land-based and online.
Today, there are two general types of roulette wheel: the European and the American roulette. There’s virtually no big difference between the two except for the fact that the American version has two zero slots (single zero and double zero), while the European wheel only has a single zero. We explained here why you’re better off playing on a single zero roulette (European) than on a double zero roulette (American).
Casually looking at a roulette wheel, one could instantly have an impression that the numbers are arranged randomly. This could be true but those with keen eyes may notice that there is a discernible pattern arrangement of number pairs of high and low numbers as well as odd and even numbers.
European vs. American Roulette Wheel
As mentioned above, the European roulette wheel variant has a single zero and is often the choice among players for the low average casino advantage of 2.7%. Online casino roulette enthusiasts prefer this type for the same reason.
Aside from the single zero are the 36 numbers that come along with it. The sequence of the numbers would be like this: 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25, 17, 34, 6, 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, 33, 1, 20, 14, 31, 9, 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26.
The American wheel, meanwhile, is kind of infamous among players for its extra double zero on top of the 36 numbers and the single zero. This setup gives the house an edge of 5.6% against the players.
Numbers are ordered in the wheel in this fashion: 0, 28, 9, 26, 30, 11, 7, 20, 32, 17, 5, 22, 34, 15, 3, 24, 36, 13, 1, 00, 27, 10, 25, 29, 12, 8, 19, 31, 18, 6, 21, 33, 16, 4, 23, 35, 14, 2
Taking a closer look…
For both wheels, the black numbers are 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 31, 33 and 35. The red numbers, meanwhile, are, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32, 34 and 36.
When you add all the black numbers, it would total to 334. With the red numbers, you’ll get 332.
There are 8 even red numbers and 8 odd black. On the other hand, there’s 10 even black and 10 odd red.
For the math geeks, they could find 5 black prime numbers (11, 13, 17, 29, 31) and another 5 on the red (1, 3, 5, 7, 23).
Each of the roulette wheel numbers don’t have any arithmetic value. However the sequence to which they are arranged, respective to the variant, is well thought of. Its purpose is to give an impression of balance and randomness at the same time.
Knowing vs. not Knowing
For the beginners, they may fail to fully grasp the entire picture of the wheel, thus forcing them to pull numbers to bet out of thin air. Expert roulette players, however, have a better understanding on the relationship of the numbers and sectors of the roulette wheel. This gives them some idea on which side of the wheel the ball will probably land in the next spin.
The bottomline here is that, familiarizing the kind of roulette wheel you intend to play with will give you an advantage over not knowing it. If you wish to know the other elements of the game, like the odds and payouts, or betting systems and strategies, we welcome you to browse in our site. Enjoy and good luck.
