What Does the Roulette Board Comprise of?

Roulette is the oldest surviving casino game. And over time, its popularity has only grown more and more. The game is essentially played on a Roulette table or Roulette board. The word ‘Roulette’ means a small wheel in French. The origin of the game is unknown. However, there are various legends linking it to be originated in France or China.

A popular legend about the origin of the game is that it was invented back in 1655 by well-known French Scientist and Mathematician, Blaise Pascal. It is said that Pascal came up with this amazing game by mistake while working on a machine. Other legends strongly relate the game to have Chinese roots.

The Classic Roulette Board

In most of the casinos, there’s either a European version or an American version of Roulette. Some casinos might surprise you with both of the versions available. Pretty much both these two immensely popular variants of the game use the classic Roulette board that was first noticed back in the 18th century.

The first model observed in 1765 in the city of fashion, Paris laid the foundation of Roulette board in casinos. It had 37 pockets like the famous European version of Roulette. The slight modern version of the wheel was invented in 1843 by two Frenchmen Francois and Lois Blanc. Francois also founded the first casino in Monte Carlo which became the hub of elite gamblers worldwide. The Roulette wheel with a single zero was introduced at that time.

European Roulette

The European Roulette board has 37 pockets. Pocket 1 to 36 have numbers from 1 to 36 written on them. The one remaining pocket is called the ‘zero pocket’. From pocket containing numbers from 1 to 10 and 19 to 28 have all the odd numbers in red pockets and even numbers in black pockets. The numbers from 11 to 28 and 29 to 36 have all the odd numbers in black pockets and even numbers in red pockets. The one pocket with a zero is green in colour.

American Roulette

The American Roulette board version, also known as modern Roulette, has one extra pocket. Therefore, there are a total of 38 pockets on the American Roulette table. The one extra pocket has two zeroes (00) written on it. The 36 pockets with numbers on them are similarly coloured red and black as in a European Roulette wheel. The two pockets with a 0 and 00 are green in colour.

Why is the American Version of Roulette More Popular?

In most of the casinos except for those in Monte Carlo, a Roulette variant with 38 pockets in popular. This is because of the fact that this version is more balanced than the classic Roulette with 37 pockets. It is perfectly balanced and more fun to play as per the players. The betting seems to be more or less quiet the same in both variants. The rules are almost identical too. However, the American version has better payouts than its European counterpart accounting for its immense popularity.