Roulette is endlessly glamorized by its role in films. It seems everybody from James Bond to the down-and-out drunk wins big on the wheel. Roulette looks easy enough: the bettor wins when the ball lands on red or black or a cited number. It should be easy as a quarter toss. That is not always the case for everyone who play roulette, hence the saying the house always wins.
There are some gamblers who win at roulette over and over because like card counters they notice patterns. The dealer controls the spin of the wheel and the release of the ball. The wheelspin slows by imperceptible degrees if the dealer brakes. These factors should be easy to negotiate. Still, the bettor often loses his or her shirt. This is because the dealer knows to sit less experienced players further from the wheel where they cannot see the action clearly.
The dealer is aware that by releasing the ball at a plus or minus two-second interval, the ball is sure to fail the payor’s bet. The timed release of the ball is masked by random remarks and the tentative loopiness of the gamblers thanks to alcohol. Roulette is one casino game the player literally has no tactile interaction with. This makes the sequence that leads to where the ball lands a mathematical and not luck-based one. This is also one of the reasons why we like playing roulette online rather than in a casino! Even though of course it does take away a little from the experience.
