How Many Numbers on a Roulette Wheel are Red?
Blaise Pascal is credited with inventing the game of roulette in France around 1655. The invention was the result of a failed attempt at making a perpetual motion device. Over the years, the game of roulette has become quite popular. Originally, there were 36 numbers on the board, including 18 red numbers and 18 black ones. This resulted in an even bet with the house. The green numbers "0" and "00" were added later, to give the house an advantage.
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Numbers on the Board
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You can bet as many of the 38 numbers on the board as you'd like, including placing bets all 18 red numbers. The red numbers are 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32, 34 and 36. Placing a bet on more than 19 numbers gives the house a greater chance of winning. Certain casinos have a traditional roulette wheel, which only has one green number "0." Having just one zero lowers the casino's house edge.
Betting Red
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There are many strategies for playing roulette. One of those strategies entails betting "red" or "black." To make this bet, place your chips on the non-numbered red section towards the middle of the felt field. The payout for this bet is one to one; if the ball lands on any red number, you'll double your money. You have a 47 percent chance of winning by betting "red" on a 38-number board and a 48.6 percent chance of winning on a 37-number board.
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Betting Thirds
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The roulette table also allows you to bet a third of the layout. This means you can place a bet on the first 12 numbers, the second 12 numbers or the third 12 numbers. You can also bet in horizontal rows of 12 numbers. Each of these options returns two to one on your bet. There are always six red numbers and six black numbers within any third of the board. You have a 31.5 percent chance of winning by betting thirds on a 38-number board. If you choose to only play the red numbers within those thirds (or one-sixth of the board), your chance of winning would be just under 16 percent.
Wheel Positioning
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On a 38-number roulette wheel, the colors alternate between red and black, except for the area around the two green spaces of "0" and "00." The red numbers 1 and 27 border the "00," while the black numbers 28 and 2 surround the "0." This means that there are places on the wheel that have no red or black numbers for three spaces. On the 37-number roulette wheel, the "0" is between the red 32 and the black 26. This is the only place on the wheel where the red numbers are separated by two spaces.
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References
- Photo Credit roulette image by Warren Millar from Fotolia.com
