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.

Outside Bets

The outside bets on a roulette board are simply the bets that reside 'outside' of the main playing area of 38 (yes, sometimes 37) numbers. There are no winning outside bets for 0 or 00 results. This is what gives the casino the majority of its house edge; people love to play the outside bets because they often seem like a 50/50 chance, when in fact they are slightly less than a 50/50 chance.

Red or Black - You can choose to bet on the outcome either being a red number, or a black number. Place this bet right in the area with the words 'red' or 'black' in them, which should be easy to reach from beside the table. Don't fall into the classic mind trick of assuming that if 5 blacks were spun, there is a better than 50% chance the sixth spin will be red. This is not logical and the reason why is described in more detail on the roulette system page. The Red/Black bet is paid even money, meaning if you bet $5, you win $5.

Odd or Even- Similar to the Red/Black bet, this even money bet is based on whether the number will be odd or even. Since 0 does not count as either, there are 36 numbers, an even count between odd and even. Place this bet by putting your chips in the middle of the square marked 'even' or the square marked 'odd', which will usually reside on either side of the black / red betting area.

Low or high - This bet lets you predict whether you think the next number to come up will be part of the range from 1 to 18, or part of the range from 19 to 36. This is an even money bet. To place this bet put your chips in the boxes with the associated number range printed in them.

Columns - At one end of the set of 38 numbers are boxes with the words '2 to 1' written in them. Each box is part of a column of numbers (if you extend a line up the body of the inside of the betting area) If a number from within the column you are betting on comes up you win, and you're paid 2 to 1.

Dozens - a bet very similar to the columns bet, dozens lets you place a bet on either the first dozen numbers (1-12), the second dozen (13-24), or the third dozen (25-36) To place this bet find the rectangular areas located in between the first outside bets (red/black, odd/even, etc) and the inside board spread. These will usually be labeled with the words 1st 12, 2nd 12, and 3rd 12. The bet pays 2 to 1.

Many blackjack players know what "the book" says to do in adverse situations. But they sometimes honor their intuition over the laws of the universe anyway. For instance, they'll stand rather than hit 12 versus two- or three-up. Certain solid citizens flout the rules of Basic Strategy under favorable conditions as well. An illustration is hitting in lieu of doubling 11 versus 10-up, thinking the dealer too strong to put extra money on the line.Hands on which blackjack buffs tend to go their own ways are typically close calls. The chances of one such option "working" better than another in a specific instance don't differ much. The "cost" of breaching Basic Strategy in these cases is also usually low. And it's not even a real loss, but a theoretical forfeiture.Pretend you bet $10 and get 12 versus a two-up. You're the underdog no matter what you do. Hitting, the statistically projected damage is around $2.50. Standing, it's about $2.90. Basic Strategy says hit, to save 40 hypothetical cents. No big deal. If the butterflies in your stomach are less agitated by doing so, you may be better off standing and letting the dealer's hand decide your fate, instead of drawing and sweating an instant bust or reaching 17 through 20 and still being clobbered. Minimizing expected loss, as opposed to personal anxiety level, on a particular round is one take on the question. Another is selecting a strategy, and adhering to it, by considering its bearing on the edge the casino gets over a period of time.With a $10 initial bet the statistical penalty for violating Basic Strategy by standing on 12 versus two-up, standing on 13 versus three-up, and hitting 11 versus 10 up is roughly $0.40, $0.20, and $0.60, respectively. When you make these decisions consistently, their effect on the overall edge in the game goes further and involves how often the hands are expected to occur. Players see 12 versus two- or three-up on the average of 7.5 per 1,000 playable hands each; it's 13.6 out of 1,000 for 11 versus 10-up. The corresponding increases in edge are the sizes of the penalties multiplied by their probabilities of occurrence. The products are 0.030 percent for 12 versus two-up, 0.015 percent for 12 versus three-up, and 0.082 percent for 11 versus 10-up. The drop dead edge a casino gets in a six deck blackjack game with doubling allowed on any two cards, resplitting pairs, and doubling after splitting is about 0.46 percent. The three indicated departures from Basic Strategy add 0.127 percent to this value, bringing it to 0.587 percent. Assume that in a representative session, you make 200 bets averaging $10 each. Were you to follow Basic Strategy to the letter, the casino would expect to earn $9.20 from your action. The theoretical "take" with the three departures would be $11.74, an additional $2.54.On an absolute scale, the 0.127 percent gift you're giving the house, the $2.54 for the 200-round session with $10 average bets, is hardly a bankroll buster, dollar-wise. It also barely alters your ultimate session prospects. For instance, on a $100 buy-in, the likelihood you'll still be in action after 200 rounds with perfect Basic Strategy is 44.9 percent. These three frequently encountered deviations only cut that chance to 44.4 percent.For all practical purposes, in the limited number of rounds a person plays in a casino visit of reasonable duration, common violations of Basic Strategy have minor impact. Still, the edge for optimal play is small and the illustrated changes represent an increase of over 27.5 percent of the advantage the bosses are willing to accept. Add a few more "errors," such as standing on soft 18 when Basic Strategy is either to double or hit, and edge increases by 50 percent. Mix in insurance whenever the dealer shows an ace and you more than double the minimum edge.How far are you willing to go before you decide to teach those butterflies in your belly some arithmetic? Or, at least, to calm them with this couplet by the punter's poet, Sumner A Ingmark? Though benefits lost are incremental, The peril is not coincidental.

Everyone in gambling talks about it but it remains an obscure muddled subject. The topic is further muddled by those who confuse money management with sure-fire betting systems almost all of which lead to a precarious crossroad where more and more money is risked in the misguided hope of recovering that which is already lost. In the long history of gambling, from the earliest recorded history to the modern era, there has yet to surface a single betting system that is a proven winner. Like the medieval quest to turn lead into gold and water to wine, all attempts have failed. These systems have exotic names like Martingale, Grand Martingale, Fibonacci, D'Alembert but don't be fooled. The most logical money management system is simple but effective: bet less when losing and more when you are winning. Casinos understand that if you are losing, the chances increase you might "chase" your losses with even larger bets to get even. The worst time to start throwing larger bets out is when you are losing. You are probably not thinking clearly and would do better to change tables, lower your bet, or stop altogether.If you find that you are winning steadily, try betting a little more. Even betteradvice is to leave when you have won. If your initial buy-in was for $100 andyou have doubled your money, you could do a lot worse than leave. You might thinkyou are giving up potential losses but the odds are with the casino that thelonger you stay and play, the better chance you have of losing it. In the gamblingworld, there is nothing worse than winning some money, then losing it and more.