Roulette is said by some to have been started or invented way back in 1655 by the French scientist Blaise Pascal, during his monastic retreat, and first played in a makeshift casino in Paris. Other historians claim however that a French monk invented it in order to help break some of the monotony of daily monastery life. Still others say it originated in an old Chinese game whose object was to arrange 37 statuettes of animals in a "magic square" of 666 (but they fail to describe the method of play) They add that the game was later played in Tibet, and eventually by French Dominican monks. One of these monks is said to have transposed the statuettes into numbers from 0 to 36, and arranged them haphazardly along the rim of a revolving wheel. Since the early French roulette wheels of the 1800s had both the 0 and 00, this theory does not sound plausible. The history of roulette thus remains a bit shrouded in mystery. Claims and counter-claims over the years have not helped to solve many of the riddles and missing links surrounding the game, and undoubtedly, the true origin of the game will remain a mystery forever. The modern version of the Roulette wheel did not appear until around 1842 when Frenchmen Francois and Louis Blanc are said to have invented the single "0" roulette game. Eventually, the game was brought to America. However, the single "0" modification was rejected in the United States and roulette history was altered forever with American roulette wheels being made standard with the two zeros "00". Although both the double zero and single zero wheels originated in France, the double zero became known as the "American Wheel," because it was accepted with open arms and survived in the states. The popularity of the single zero wheel had supplanted the double zero wheels in Europe and consequently was dubbed the "French Wheel." Roulette is the oldest casino game still in existence today.

The red/black system is a form of Martingale (double up on successive bets) system and is one of the better known roulette systems around. Your bets for this system are on either red or black, with your pay out 1 to 1 (i.e. double your money for a win) It is worth bearing in mind that your chances of winning each bet are just under 50/50 (remember the 0 and 00 that gives the casino its advantage)You begin by choosing a colour and placing your bet on either red or black. Be sure to make your first bet a small one. If you win, keep your winnings and place your starting bet again. If you lose, double your stake and place a bet on the same colour again. If this bet wins, your net result after two bets is the same as if you had one you initial bet. Keep your winnings and begin with your starting stake again. If your second bet loses, double your stake again, and continue doing this until your colour does come up, at which point your net win from the string of bets will be the same as if you won your starting bet.Now you know why it is important to start with a small bet. It doesn’t take too many losing bets in a row for your bet amount to climb to quite a big number. But keep your nerve, the key is being prepared to continue to double up until you have a win. Also be very aware of the table bet limit - if you reach this before you have a win then you stand to lose a considerable amount.

• Low pair and low pair: Split unless holding a king or better, then play two pair in the back.
• Low pair and medium pair: Split unless holding a king or better, then play two pair in the back.
• Low pair and high pair: Split unless holding an ace, then play two pair in the back.
• Medium pair and medium pair: Split unless holding an ace, then play two pair in the back.
• Medium pair and high pair: Always split.
• High pair and high pair: Always split.
• Pair of aces and any other pair: Always split.

• Three pair: Always play highest pair in front.
• Three of a kind: Always play three of a kind in back unless they are aces, then play a pair of aces in back and one ace in front.
• Three of a kind twice: Always play highest pair in front.
• Straights, flushes, straight flushes, and royal flush:
  • With no pair: When choosing whether to play a straight, flush, or straight flush play the category which will allow the highest two cards in front.
  • With 6th or 7th card: Play the lower straight or flush in the back to place the highest cards in front.
  • With one pair: Play pair in the front only if a straight, flush, or straight can be played in the back.
  • With two pair: Use two pair rule.
  • With three pair: Use three pair rule.
  • With three of a kind: Play pair in front.
  • With full house: Use full house rule.
• Full house: Always split unless the pair is twos and you have an ace and a king to play in the front.
• Full house with three of a kind and two pairs: Play the highest pair in front.
• Full house with three of a kind twice: Always play the highest pair in front.
• Play according to the rank of the four of a kind:
  • 2 through 6: Always keep together.
  • 7 through 10: Split unless a king or better can be played in front.
  • Jack through king: Split unless an ace can be played in front.
  • Aces: Always split.
• Four of a kind and a pair: Play pair in front.
• Four of a kind and three of a kind: Play pair in front from the three of a kind.
• Five aces: Split aces and play three aces in back and two aces in front unless you have a pair of kings, then play five aces in back and kings in front.

The Martingdale is usually the first choice of a novice gambler. It sounds perfect, wait until a table result is statistically due, then launch a wagering series. If you lose, double your bet. Lose again, keep doubling. Given time, the odds will be so heavily in your favour, that you'll have to win. Hold on. Not so fast. Do you recall the table I told you about when an even money proposition didn't show up for seventeen spins? Do you know how much it would cost to finance a series of eighteen bets that double each time? Assuming that you start at the $5 level, your eighteenth bet (which would net a $5 profit would cost you $655,360. Financing those bets would cost you over a million dollars. But it's a moot point, because you would never get a waiver against the house maximum in the midst of all that. And that point would be reached about half way through the series.