Spin that wheel – everything you need to know about Roulette equipment

By Mfidie Last updated Feb 11, 2021

Roulette is one of the casino’s more popular games. It has been around for centuries, and players flock to the Roulette tables because it’s a game of chance, which is easy to learn and play, but that also offers risk and reward in equal measure – especially if Lady Luck is on your side.

When playing online, you could be forgiven for failing to realise all that’s involved in making our favourite casino games successful. But live casino can open your eyes to that authentic casino experience – the same thrills and spills you’d find at a brick-and-mortar establishment. And a game like Roulette, involves a lot of equipment.

Roulette wheel

At a first glance, it may look really simple – after all, the first inception of a Roulette wheel was accidently invented by French Physicist, Blaise Pascal. And in reality, the Roulette wheel hasn’t changed that much since. But there’s more to the Roulette wheel than just the alternating red and black pockets – and it’s believed that Roulette wheels can be made of up to 300 parts. Some of the parts you may not have even considered before, include:

Ball track: this is what the ball bounces off when it is thrown into the wheel. There are also ball deflectors, which is the rim, that can be used an obstacle, and move the direction of the ball
Bowl: where the wheel sits, but this can also be broken down into the upper and lower bearings
Cone: this is the large section in the central part of the wheel, which usually directs the ball to the playing section
Turret: the section which helps the wheel rotate. By spinning the top of the turret, the mechanisms within get the wheel spinning

In terms of the numbers on the wheel, these of course differ, dependent on whether you’re playing American Roulette or European Roulette. American Roulette has an additional number, 00, which is a second green pocket. This also increases the house edge. The positions of the numbers vary on each of the specific wheels – and while both wheels contain an equal number of red and black pockets for the numbers 1-36, these may not be the same colour on each of the variations of Roulette.

Roulette table

The tables for both American and European Roulette are very similar, with the only major difference being the additional space for the double zero in American Roulette – this is next to the single zero at the head of the table.

Both tables list the numbers in numerical order, in three columns, with the numbers in the following order:

Column one – 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34
Column two – 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35
Column three – 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36

Away from the specific numbers are the sections for placing outside bets. These are the same, regardless of which table you’re playing at. These include spaces for column bets (as listed above), 1-18 or 19-36, odd or even, red or black, or dozen bets.

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So, the next time you’re spinning the devil’s wheel, why not think about all the elements that bring the game together and ensure that Roulette remains as much-loved and popular as it ever was.