Roulette

Roulette, which is French for “small wheel”, was invented as a random number generator, by French mathematician Blaise Pascal, in the 17^th century.

In European roulette, there’s a single “0” on the wheel, which means the odds offered by this type of game are better then the ones given by American roulette, which also features a “00”.

There is a whole array of bets one can make in roulette, each of them carrying specific odds. The best return is naturally on a straight bet (player places his chips on one specific number) and it is 35 to 1. The odds against winning however, are 1 to 37, and that’s where the 0,053% house edge comes into play.

When you place a bet on a row, you get 17 to 1 payout, which is not bad either, but the odds against winning this one, are 1 to 18.

Bets can also be placed on odd and/or even numbers, on black and red, on columns and on certain areas of the game table (1^st 12, 2^nd 12, 3^rd 12). No matter what you do though, the -0.053% expected value on a one dollar bet, will haunt you.

Roulette strategy is relatively simple: choose the right kind of wheel (European over American), place the right type of bet (some bets carry a bigger house edge than others) and hope for the best.

In the long run, roulette will have you losing (not much but still, there’s a definite EV- there).

Try to take advantage of variation. Make a few bets, and if you win, cash out and leave. If you play the roulette all the time however, the financial balance will sooner or later be restated, and there's not much you can do about that...