Written by: Stefano Rossi | The review was last updated: 03 July 2024 | Fact-check by: Kim Birch
Roulette's a classic at the casino, and punters have been trying to crack it for yonks. Walk into any brick-and-mortar casino, and you'll spot the roulette table straight away. It's a crowd-pleaser - dead simple, but packed with excitement. The roulette wheel we know today hasn't changed much since 1796, which is why it's still a hit with gamblers of all ages.
It's not just fun - it's fascinating too. The science behind roulette is pretty interesting, but it can do your head in. Some keen beans reckon they can predict where the ball will land using physics and whatnot, always looking for ways to get one over on the casino. But is it actually possible?
We've got Blaise Pascal to thank for roulette. This French brainbox was trying to build a perpetual motion machine. He didn't quite manage that, but he did come up with a wheel that revolutionised the gambling world.
The spin time of a roulette wheel isn't set in stone. It's up to the dealer and how busy the table is. Usually, you're looking at about 4 minutes, but that can change in real casinos. Scientists have been pretty keen on the roulette wheel too. Figuring out where the ball's going to stop has been a hot topic for the brainy types for ages.
The idea of cracking the code on where the roulette ball will land has got people buzzing. If someone could work out where the ball's going to end up based on how fast the wheel's spinning and which way it's going, they'd be rolling in it. People have tried all sorts - Newtonian mechanics, looking at where the ball touches the wheel, how fast it's moving, you name it. But roulette's a quick game, and it all happens in a flash, so working it out on the spot seems like a long shot.
These days, most decent online casinos with live dealers offer roulette. For the digital versions, they use Random Number Generators to keep things fair. You can also find live gaming options for roulette bets where they stream actual wheels being spun in casino studios right to your screen.
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Psychology plays a big part in roulette games, alongside physics. When punters place their bets, psychological factors kick in. This mix of science and chance is what makes roulette so captivating. While the wheel is completely random and you can't predict where the ball will land, most players still mull over concepts like luck, hot and cold streaks, and past results before choosing where to bet.
This kind of thinking often leads to misconceptions and dodgy strategies, making the game more complex than it needs to be.
At first glance, roulette might seem straightforward. But once that wheel starts spinning, a whole lot of different forces come into play.
Kiwi minds at play: Roulette's mental game
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Kiwi maths predicts where the ball lands on the roulette wheel
Kiwi punters often try to crack the code of roulette, hoping to figure out where that little ball's most likely to land. While some theories are grounded in maths and science, others are just a load of old cobblers.
A couple of these ideas gained a bit of traction:
Roulette wheel spins: How the ball strikes the rim. Can you pick a winner?
There's no shortage of wild tales about punters trying to outsmart the roulette wheel. Back in the late '70s, a uni student named Doyne Farmer and his mates had a crack at beating the system with computers. Doyne rocked up to a casino with a custom-built computer strapped to his chest, programmed to tell him where to place his bets using vibrating magnets. Things went pear-shaped when the gear malfunctioned, giving him electric shocks. He bolted to the loo to try and fix it. Despite the drama, poor Doyne's scheme ultimately flopped, and the whole saga ended up in a book called The Newtonian Casino.
These fellas gave it their all but couldn't crack the code. The wheel was just too complex, and the maths was mind-boggling. Fast forward to today, and we're still scratching our heads about how to get one over on the wheel.
When you boil it down, roulette's pretty straightforward. The wheel spins both ways, with the croupier spinning it one way and the ball the other. The ball does its thing and lands in a pocket. Punters pick a number, a range, or a colour. If they're on the money, they win. Simple as that.
Dodgy DIY computer hidden to suss where the ball lands on the roulette wheel.
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Every roulette wheel's a bit different.
Heaps of factors besides the wheel and ball influence the spin - the casino's atmosphere, the size of the dividers between numbers, the little bumpers that keep the ball in place when it lands, and even gravity all play a part.
These elements make roulette super random, and it might seem impossible to guess where the ball will end up. But if you can figure out the general area where it'll land, you'll have a massive leg up on other punters and the casino - we're talking over 40% advantage.
In the States, casinos typically have about a 5.26% edge over players, which is pretty steep. Here and in Europe, it's way less - only about 2.7%. That's because the European roulette wheel has just one zero, while the American version has two.
Kiwi science: Predicting roulette ball speeds and spin rates
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Here's a fascinating tale of some clever punters trying to outsmart the roulette wheel with some high-tech gadgets.
When Doyne Farmer first set foot in a casino, he wasn't alone. His mates were kitted out with some seriously sneaky gear - computers disguised as shoes. These weren't your average trainers; they had switches under the toes that the wearer could tap to control the hidden tech.
These custom-built computers were programmed to do two main jobs. First, they'd suss out the wheel's quirks, like how fast it spun and how quickly the ball slowed down. Then, during the actual game, the player would tap the shoe switches as the ball passed certain points. The computer would crunch the numbers to predict where the ball would land.
Using weak radio signals, this info was zapped to another computer strapped to a second player. This bloke had electromagnets on his chest that would buzz in a special code to indicate the predicted number. He'd then place bets on that number and the ones next to it, just to be safe.
Sounds flash, right? Well, in practice, it wasn't quite the money-spinner they'd hoped for. Sweaty feet, dodgy wires, and weak signals meant they never hit the 40% advantage they'd seen in the lab.
Farmer's team didn't give up though. It took them two decades, but they eventually came up with an improved system. This time, they sorted out the short-circuit issues and made the gear harder for the casino to spot.
Confident in their new setup, they gave it a whirl at Binion's in Vegas. Their first go was promising - the computer suggested betting on 1, 13, 24, and 36. When the ball landed on 13, they scored a 35-to-1 payout. But their luck didn't last. The casino's electromagnetic noise mucked up their radio signals, and they eventually had to pack it in.
Just goes to show, even with all the tech in the world, sometimes the house still comes out on top.
Kiwi casino tech: Physics principles can't beat online roulette systems
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Back in the day, Farmer and his crew had a crack at beating the roulette wheel in the casino. But the tech wasn't flash, and they hit a few snags with their experiment. They had to build the computer from the ground up, designing and putting together all the bits themselves. Even for the big tech companies, making a computer was no easy feat back then.
These days, those tech hassles are mostly sorted. You can fit all the processing power you need into a tiny unit, and cameras can capture the roulette action to measure things like where the ball's heading and how fast it's going. But there are still some tricky bits about predicting roulette that we haven't cracked yet.
Take communication, gathering info, and slow development - these are still hurdles when you're trying to outsmart the wheel. Plus, it's a mission to hide computer gear in casinos. They're onto people trying to get one over them with tech, so they keep a close eye on anyone using cameras or gadgets. And if you're winning big, you can bet they'll be watching you like a hawk.
So, while it might not be completely impossible to beat physical casinos at roulette, there's no surefire way to do it yet. A bit of clever thinking might crack it, but for now, there's no solid proof of anyone consistently beating the house.
As for online table games, forget about it. You can't predict roulette results there because they use Random Number Generators. Those things are as unpredictable as the weather in Wellington.
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Answering common queries about the mechanics of live roulette
The mechanics of a roulette wheel are grounded in Newton's laws of physics. If you're keen to get your head around how the ball moves on the wheel, it's worth brushing up on these principles. Understanding the physics can give you some interesting insights into the game.
The physics of roulette is pretty straightforward. A large wheel spins one way, while the roulette ball is sent spinning the opposite way. The ball bounces around the wheel's pockets before settling into one. That's the gist of it, really.
Even with all the fancy tech and computers around these days, you still can't predict exactly where the ball's going to land on a roulette wheel. That said, you might be able to figure out a general area where it could end up. Of course, casinos are onto this - they've banned electronic gadgets to keep punters from trying to get an edge. It's all part of keeping things fair on the casino floor.
Nah, that's not on. Most casinos have a strict no-electronics policy. If you're caught with a device, you could land yourself in hot water. Best to leave your gadgets at home when you're heading to the casino.
Turns out there's a whole field of maths called Chaos theory. It looks at how tiny changes can have massive effects in complex systems. Think weather forecasts or brain activity - stuff that's near impossible to predict. Some clever boffins reckon these ideas might even apply to pokies and roulette. Makes you wonder if there's more to those spinning wheels than meets the eye.
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