I am sure you know the fable of the tortoise and the hare. They were in a race and the hare ran rings around the tortoise who slowly moved towards the finish line which was far, far away; while the hare danced, ran really, really fast, visited friends, partied, and I assume drank gallons of rabbit juice.
And the tortoise slowly, ever so slowly, kept inching towards the finish line which was a little closer now.
After a long while, the hare had to finally take a nap and when he was happily snoring the tortoise slowly finished the race and beat the depleted hare. And there’s a lesson to be learned there.
And thus ends the tale, at least my version of the tale. The tortoise won because he took his time and headed slowly for the finish line, while the hare went nuts, spending his energy fruitlessly.
Roulette and Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal, a noted scientist, and philosopher of the 1600s, wanted to build the world’s first perpetual motion machine. He worked hard on that day after day. He failed as so many others before him and since him have failed.
But he did invent something that lasted from his time right up to our time and probably after our time. The roulette wheel. Maybe that wheel will continue to spin as long as humankind plays the very simple game Pascal created.
I am sure that if Pascal is in heaven, a place he truly believed in, he is looking down at Earth and is very, very pleased with himself. Heck, he’s won some people much money. Those people are, of course, the owners of the roulette wheels and today the casinos and churches that offer the game to gamblers.
The Two Types of Roulette Players
There are actually more than two groups of roulette players. You have shades and shadows of them up and down the line. But to write about that would take, oh I don’t know, perhaps a massive number of books. So, I am going to divide the groups in two but I want you to realize that the shades and shadows count. Indeed, you can add those to mine to get a fuller count.
Group One: Contains the hares, wild players looking to make a good score. They play recklessly, always hoping for the big hit, the big win. They use their energy and ultimately collapse from exhaustion. Recall the movie The Hangover where a group of friends head to Las Vegas where they go literally berserk and wake up not knowing what happened the night before.
Too many players do something such as that in the pursuit of fun. Why oblivion is fun I have no idea but there it is.
That is close to the hare syndrome. “Let me play like a maniac and I will beat this game or die trying.”
How do the hares play? They make large singular bets directly on the numbers. Yes, they are looking for that 35-to-1 payout on a hit. But the casino has a pretty good chance to wipe these players out. Watch how that is.
There are three roulette games in today’s casinos. The best game is the single-zero one (called the European/French game) which has one green zero that can be wagered upon. Here’s the rub.
There are 36 numbers, 1-36, with that single green zero (0). The payout for a win should be 36-to-1 but for the casino to make money it reduces the payout to 35-to-1. That gives the casino an advantage of 2.7%; relatively low in the gambling scheme of things.
Then there is the American game, called the double-zero game, which added a 0 and a 00 to the mix. There are now 38 pockets in this game but the payout for a hit is still 35-to-1, when in true terms the payout should be 37-to-1. The house edge on this game goes up to 5.26%. That is a serious house edge indeed. It still has the numbers 1-36.
Now the casinos have started to bring in a third roulette game – one I call the “YUCK” game that has 39 pockets with the numbers 1-36 with three added zeroes (0, 00, 000). And guess what? The payout for a win is still 35-to-1!
The house edge on this monstrosity is 7.69%. What do these edges mean in terms of money?
The single-zero European/French game will cost a player an expected $2.70 for every $100 wagered. This is not too bad. There are plenty of other games that have much, much larger edges.
You can find many of those larger edges at craps. Or at games with multiple bets, the games we call the “new” games. Almost all side bets tend to be bad.
The double-zero American game has a 5.26 percent house edge and that translates into an expected loss of $5.26 per $100 wagered. This is a so-so game, midstream I’d say.
And now for the “YUCK” game. You have to thank the churches and non-profit organizations for this game. The casino bosses were looking to increase the take on roulette players and boy did they. You still have the numbers 1-36 and those three types of zeroes, (0, 00, 000).
That house edge is now 7.69%, an expected loss of $7.69 per $100 wagered. This house edge is edging towards the ridiculous in this game. The casinos will advertise it as a game where you can get more in comps. Certainly. Why? Because you are expected to lose more money!
How the Hares Play Roulette
Playing one number means you have a one in 37 chance of winning in the single-zero game, a one in 38 chance on the double-zero game and a one in 39 chance of hitting that single number in the triple-zero game. These are not great odds and the house edges on all but the single-zero games simply grow larger and worser (is worser a word?).
The hares really don’t consider the games they play. In fact, they let it all hang out. Okay, maybe some of them choose the better games if they are offered them. Otherwise, so what? “I am here to run around and play, play, play! That’s my gambling philosophy.”
And many of them probably drink their fill. “Drink up. I’m treating!” says the hare as the cocktail server comes by with the free drinks. Okay, our hare will probably tip the server. He (or she) will also continue to consume large quantities of booze. Hey, he (or she) is here for a good time, like the characters in The Hangover had.
Now he or she bets one bet hoping to cash in. Now he or she has a one chance in 37 or 38 or (heaven forbid) 39 to make a winning bet. What does that mean? It could mean long losing streaks and more booze.
If the bet wins? Just more similar bets. In a pinch our hare might bet two or three inside numbers (maybe more!) – which merely means the expected loss is two or three times more. He or she isn’t going home with more money – at least that is the prospect. He or she is going home with less; much less.
Can our hare ever win? Maybe on very, very rare occasions; perhaps on those rare times when he or she didn’t get totally smashed.
The hare might go from casino to casino sampling the many wares of Lady Luck’s palaces. “The drinks are free so who cares that the roulette game has three different zeroes? [Hiccup!] I will be getting more comps, right?”
So, our hero hare now heads home. He or she might not even remember how much he or she played or lost or drank.
And he or she has over time lost many, many races with chance. He or she is, after all, the hare of our story. The horrible, humble hare.
How the Tortoise Plays Roulette
Now we come to the tortoise. How does our tortoise play roulette? Slowly and carefully. Does our hero have an edge based on how he or she plays the game?
No. Definitely not. Sorry. All players have to face the house edge when they play. What our hero has is the ability to keep the roaring emotions under control. Even more, he or she is aware of how to avoid long losing streaks. How is that so?
Simple. Make bets that will stop really long losing streaks from occurring and there are such bets. You see there are roulette bets that can allow the player to stop long losing streaks to be a thing of the past (mostly things of the past that is, depending of your definition of “long”).
First, our hero, our tortoise, will have a certain amount of money set aside with which to play. Should that be lost, then the session is over. The trip might not be over, just that particular session. But quit our tortoise must do. He or she hasn’t lost the race. This is just a pause in the action.
What bets does the tortoise make? Ahh, here’s the rub! (A very good rub for the tortoise!)
If you look around the outside of the layout, you will notice bets that are called proposition bets such as the columns, the dozens, and the even-money bets. There are even other bets that allow the tortoise to select groups of numbers to play with only one chip!
The best of these bets are called the even-money bets. The bets pay even money. They are not (sad to say) 50-50 bets in terms of the odds. Still the tortoise will generally go back and forth, back and forth, between wins and losses.
On the single-zero game, the tortoise will face 18 wins and 19 losses. On the double-zero game the tortoise will have 18 wins and 20 losses. It’s 18 and 18 with the two green pockets being losers.
On the “YUCK” game the tortoise will have 18 wins and 21 losses. It’s 18 and 18 with the three green zeroes as losers. (You can see why this roulette wheel is a poor game.)
Now, what are the actual even-money bets? They are red/black, odd/even, and high/low. Look at the scoreboard and you can plainly see that there are 18 reds and 18 blacks, 18 odds and 18 evens, and 18 highs and 18 lows – with the green pockets being losers at all three games.
So, a single chip can cover quite a lot of numbers. You won’t win every spin of the wheels, but you will win a lot of them and you won’t go into many extended losing streaks as you can with inside betting.
You can take your time too. The hare players will be raging during their betting choices; many of them covering the layout with their wagers. You have plenty of time to get your bets down.
Advice for Tortoises
- If you play the single-zero European/French game good for you. As long as you don’t have to play for much higher stakes, you should be in good shape. If you have to play higher stakes, then sit out a spin or two.
- On the double-zero American game, just relax and take your time.
- On the “YUCK” game – come on, try a different casino. We don’t want to encourage casinos to offer bad games.
- Some good news. On the single-zero and double-zero games some casinos offer options that can cut the edges in half on the even-money bets.
- On the American double zero wheel, if the green numbers show, you do not lose your bet. You get it back. This called surrender.
- On the single-zero game if the green zero shows the casino will lock up your bet for the next spin of the wheel. This is called en prison. Generally, in Europe en prison is the rule.
- The house edges go down to 2.63% on the double-zero game and to 1.35% on the European/French game. That low house edge is a terrific bet!
All the best in and out of the casinos!
