The roulette wheel, and the whole game of roulette, is an amazing invention attributed to Blaise Pascal. The roulette wheel is a bowl that spins on its own axis. The inner part of the bowl is fashioned to slant towards the numbered compartments, which matches the numbers you see on the table layout. The ball will definitely spin around the wheel and will finally end up inside one of the numbered compartments.
The standard roulette wheel will have a diameter of three feet and will weigh around 100 pounds. After a brief observation of the design of the compartments, you'll immediately see a certain balance in the colors and numbering. The high and low numbers are spread out evenly across the wheel, so are the colors, and the odd and even numbers. The entire design and arrangement is a pure mathematical balance.
You'll find two types of roulette wheels out there. The first one is the European roulette wheel and the other is the American roulette wheel. The American roulette wheel will have more pockets or compartments where a ball may land. It will have an extra pocket that you won't find in the European roulette wheel designated with the number '00'.
The double zero pocket on the American roulette wheel is positioned on the opposite side of the single zero pocket. Another interesting difference between the American roulette wheel and its European counterpart is that the American wheel will have the numbers facing towards the edge while the European one will have the numbers facing toward the center.
The American roulette wheel also has a different arrangement of numbers on its compartments. You'll find that the numbers on this wheel are arranged so that two even numbers interchange with two odd numbers. But there is more to the intricate weaving of mathematical symmetry in an American roulette wheel. You will also notice that every number on a black pocket will have a number in a red pocket on the exact opposite side of the wheel.
To further cook your noodle on the mathematical balance implied in the American roulette wheel, try following the sequence of the numbers on it. You'll notice that the odd and even numbers are arranged in a manner that you will find the next number in the sequence on the opposite end of the wheel. For example, locate the number 11 on the wheel. To find the number 12, simply check the even number on the exact opposite side. Go back to the previous side and you'll find the next number in the sequence and so on.
These interesting facts about the American roulette wheel are but a testament to its inventor's mathematical brilliance. It is a casino symbol that embodies proportionate probabilities.
