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Why Are there 37 Or 38 Numbers on a Roulette Wheel?

american roulette wheel on a cruise shipAnyone who has ever played roulette will likely be aware of the numbers on the wheel. These determine what the outcome of each round is, because where the ball lands is the winning number. That’s the basics of roulette gameplay alongside you placing a bet on the table. Depending upon the type of roulette game you’re playing, you’ll see 37 or 38 numbers on the spinning wheel.

American Roulette adds an extra double zero alongside the other 37. Of course, it is likely that the origins or reasons behind these numbers isn’t something you’ve thought of. Gamers tend to want to play games, rather than look into their history.

Yet it may be now that you want to learn about why a roulette wheel uses those numbers. Why only the numbers 0 through to 36 (and an extra double zero for American Roulette)? Is there some significance of these being the numbers in use? Why aren’t there more or fewer numbers involved on a wheel? This is what we’re going to look into today. In this guide, we’ll take you through the reasons behind the 37/38 numbers included in roulette.

The Roulette Wheel Number Sequences

group of people playing roulette

When playing roulette, the wheel is, of course, crucial. Yet the numbers involved in such appear in different positions. This depends upon the variation of roulette that you are playing. The discrepancies between each wheel affects your general experience and the odds. Single zero roulette, for example, will differ to double zero roulette.

The American version of the game has the second highest casino advantage of all. The house edge stands at 5.26%. That’s due to the inclusion of the extra green slot featuring the double zero. Thus, there are 38 pockets for the ball to fall into in American Roulette. The number sequence on the wheel for this variant, clockwise, is:

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

When you play European Roulette, which has a lower house edge, you don’t have the double zero. Thus, it features 37 pockets, with the single zero and numbers from 1-36. The house edge when playing European Roulette sits at 2.7%. Clockwise, the numbers on a European Roulette wheel are:

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

One of the more recent additions to the various types of roulette is Triple Zero Roulette. They are still quite rare to find but do exist – more so at U.S. casinos. The house edge increases to a massive 7.69% in these games, thanks to a further green section. This hosts a triple zero on top of the single and double inclusions. The wheel follows the sequence of the European Roulette wheel. Yet it adds the triple zero and double zero after the single zero.

So, why is it that these particular sequences are in use? Wouldn’t it be easier to have them run from 0 up through 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc.? What was the idea behind jumbling them all up on the wheel? Plus, when was this setup decided upon?

A Look Back in History

number 8 roulette wheel lucky numberThe design of the roulette wheel itself has gone through changes since the 17th century. A primitive form of roulette was available at this point. The mechanism for the wheel is a hybrid of a gaming wheel invented in 1720 and the game of Biribi. The Italian government banned that game in 1837. Roulette has been in its current form since around 1796 in Paris. Yet the original wheels used in casinos in Paris had red for the single zero. If it was a double zero game, then the double zero was black. To avoid confusion, green was later selected for all the zeroes on wheels in the 1800s.

Some early forms of American Roulette wheels only had numbers 1 to 28 on them. A single zero, a double zero and an American Eagle also appeared on them. That eagle slot brought an extra casino edge to the game. Soon, that tradition disappeared though, with only numbered slots remaining.

This doesn’t explain why the number sequences are set out as they are, though. It also doesn’t explain why the sequences are different in the European and American versions. Yet the succession of the numbers on the wheels is well thought out. The sequences in place achieve four different things in the game. They are:

  1. Confuse the Player – There isn’t an easy way to make a mental picture of a roulette wheel for any novice player. Even for someone who is a seasoned player, it is difficult to remember. At the same time, this makes it difficult to spot any bias or to place bets on specific sectors. The layout of the table can also add to that general confusion. Of course, the more you play roulette, the more familiar the layout of the wheels will become. Yet the design does provide a certain sort of aid to the casino.
  2. Colours Should Alternate Completely on the Wheel – Two consecutive numbers need to have different colours. That is a definitive condition for all types of wheels. This is why the Triple Zero Roulette wheel has the layout that it does. The colour distribution on the table also needs to be as balanced as possible. Yet this stood out as being much less of a concern.
  3. Low and High Numbers Should Alternate as Much as Possible – The only point on the European Roulette wheel where this condition isn’t met is the 5 next to the 10. On the American version, many sectors exist with adjacent low numbers and high numbers. It is because of this that the American wheel is not considered to be as balanced.
  4. Odd and Even Number Distribution – The odd and even numbers should appear along the wheel in an even way. No more than two even or odds numbers should be next to one another.

If you were to split the European Roulette wheel in half from the zero, then you can see something interesting. On the left are all the black low numbers and high red numbers. The opposite is true on the right-hand side. Besides that, the 9-number section 29-7-28-12-35-3-26-0-32 does not have a number from the second dozen.

Why Do Numbers on a Roulette Wheel Add Up to 666?

number 666

If you know the history of the roulette wheel, you’ll know that Blaise Pascal invented it. The French mathematician lived in the 16th century. He devised the wheel while trying to create a perpetual motion machine. Yet some people have theorised that a darker side to roulette’s origins exists. There has also been a theory about it relating to the devil somehow.

The odds on this being true are quite high as well. Some historians do contend that roulette pre-dates Pascal’s invention by around 200 years. According to some sources, the Chinese had a game featuring a spinning stone wheel. On this were animals instead of numbers. Some theories state that the monk who developed the game went mad when trying to cheat it. He then added a strange “666” inscription at the wheel’s centre. Chinese monks then passed the game on to Dominican monks. They then traded the game with other Europeans.

Other people say that the Romans were responsible for trading the game across Europe. Some accounts reference Legion soldiers gambling by spinning their shields and chariot wheels. Regardless of who or where the game came from, its links to the devil have also been present. This didn’t become so widespread until Francois “Magician of Homburg” Blanc heightened it. He brought roulette into the spotlight, first in Homburg, but then in Monte Carlo.

The Monte Carlo casino experienced a rush in gamblers from Germany once a gambling ban came into effect. In the casino, a rumour started going around. This said that Blanc had made a deal with the devil to learn the secrets of roulette. People said that this was the reason why the wheel numbers added up to 666. Further speculation came about with regard to the numbers on the roulette table. The number six appears in certain mathematics done on horizontal and diagonal numbers.

The evidence, while quite compelling, isn’t very reliable, though. Regardless of where the game originates from, it is more likely that the devil story is nonsense. The numbers adding up to 666 is a simple coincidence – one that somebody has played upon.

Details Behind the Numbers in Use

roulette racetrack showing neigbour bets

There is little information on why 37 or 38 numbers are in use today on roulette wheels. As noted, some earlier versions of the American Roulette wheel had fewer numbers. Yet for the most part, and especially in modern day roulette, 37 or 38 remain the amounts. There is no official reason about why this number of numbers is in use. Of course, the fact that the rules dictate a certain balance needs to be in play is one reason. Adding extra numbers or reducing such may mean that the rules aren’t adhered to.

As highlighted, the colours need to alternate as completely as possible. Further to that, there needs to be a good distribution of odd and even numbers across the wheel. Plus, low and high numbers need to alternate as much as possible, too. With a different number of numbers, one or more of those rules may not be complete. Thus, 37 or 38 exists as the most ideal way to stick to those roulette rules.

There is also a theory that because designer Pascal was a mathematician, the layout came from such. In essence, he had specific geometric or mathematic reasonings for such sequences.

Of course, one of the other most common suggestions is that the layout makes things harder. If the numbers were in order 0-1-2-3-4-5-6 etc. on the wheel, it would make things easier. Players could watch the wheel and ball spin and make more informed guesses on where the ball would land. It’s not quite as easy with a wheel layout that has “scrambled” numbers, so to speak. Of course, this adds to the knowledge of roulette having a specific house edge.

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