More on being a cynic:
Upthread I mentioned that I like roulette when I'm in a casino because of the time issue. I said this in response to
@longhorn320 's comment.
There is another reason, first some background:
There are 38 spaces on a roulette wheel and 38 individual numbers you can bet:
- 0 and 00 are green
- 1-36 are half red and half black
All payouts are set such that it would be "fair" (ie, the house would make nothing) if there were 36 rather than 38 spots.
If 38 betters each bet $10 on a single number with no overlap then there will be $380 on the table. After each spin the casino will give $360 to the one winner and pocket $20.
In addition to the individual numbers you can also bet other things such as:
- Black or Red: pays 1:1
- Even or odd: pays 1:1
- First, second, or third 12 (1-12, 13-24, 25-36): pays 2:1
- Etc
The thing I noticed when I first encountered this game was that the casino makes most of their money when the wheel lands on one of the green spots. It doesn't matter for the individual numbers because you can bet green but it matters for the other bets, here is why:
Suppose that
@longhorn320 and I are betting red and black respectively in equal amounts. When red hits they give my money to him. When black hits they give his money to me. They keep both of our money when green hits. It is the same basic concept for the other bets.
Being a cynic I've always suspected that if the casino could make the green spaces an imperceptible millimeter or two wider, they would. Thus, I always bet green and it's usually worked pretty well for me.