The Roulette Wheel

The Roulette wheel is the heart of the game. At a diameter of almost 3 feet and coming in at almost one hundred pounds there is no doubting that the Roulette wheel is truely the centre of the game.

The wheel is divided into 37 equal numbered parts for a European Roulette Wheel and 38 for an American Roulette Wheel. These parts or pockets as they are referred to are coloured either Red, Black or Green. The green pockets are used for zero and double zero, the numbers 1 through 36 are evenly distributed between red and black pockets. It may appear at first glance that the number are randomly spaced around the wheel however this is not the case. The numbers have been placed in a set order around the wheel to create a balance between red and black, odds and evens and high or low.

If you take a close look at a Roulette wheel you will quickly notice that carefull planing was used in its layout. Every odd number has the next highest even number located directly across the wheel from it. Red and Black pockets alternate around the wheel as do pairs of even and odd numbers. The zero and double zero do disrupt this pattern slightly.