The game of roulette has a storied history, and as far as games of chance go, it is probably one of, if not the simplest game of chance to learn in the pantheon of gambling games. These days, not only can you play roulette in gambling houses such as private clubs and casinos, but you can also play it in video form and online. Some of the best places to play mobile roulette online are within the casinos of the Fortune Lounge Group. These casinos include Royal Vegas, Vegas Palms, and 7Sultans, to name a few.
More specifically, you can even play the game of roulette on mobile phone apps, and one of the most popular devices in which to purchase a roulette app on is the iPhone. iPhone Roulette apps vary according to type of game and how much it costs, but the variety available just for the iPhone alone is pretty prolific. In this article, we will briefly explore some of the more popular iPhone roulette apps, but before we do that, let’s explore the history of roulette as well as certain points on how the game is played.
A Brief History of the Game of Roulette
Funnily enough, the game of roulette was invented by famous Frenchman Blaise Pascal in the seventeenth century, but not because he was looking for a new way to gamble or a fun new form of entertainment. No, Pascal was actually trying to build a perpetual motion machine that, at that time, was a pretty common obsession for inventors.
Pascal never figured out the perpetual motion machine, but his little spinning wheel did catch the attention of other French folk who saw its potential as a game of chance. The game quickly spread throughout Europe.
Eventually, the predecessor to the modern roulette wheel morphed into a kind of hybrid game, merging with the British wheel games, Roly-Poly, Reiner, E.O. and Ace of Hearts with the Italian games of Hoca and Biribi. As evidenced by the fact that this new version of the Pascal wheel has been played all over the planet since the late 1790’s, the modern game of roulette is over two centuries old.
Today, the game has two main versions. There is the American, or double zero version, and there is the European, or single zero version. But back in 1843 in Germany, there were two Frenchmen named Francois and Louis Blanc who got the modern difference between the two roulette games really kicked off with the single zero version of roulette. This was invented by the brothers Blanc as a competitor to the double zero type of roulette.
Also today, most roulette wheels feature either 37 or 38 slots depending on if the game wheel was a single or double zero game, but in its early stages, there were versions of the wheel with only 28 slots. But they still almost always featured a single or double zero, and in some early American versions, there was also an eagle slot on the wheel.
Today, it is extremely rare to find a roulette table with an eagle slot, and if you do find one that is authentic, it will be extremely valuable, sometimes even selling for $1,000 at auction. But back in the nineteenth century, they were much more common. And it was also during that time that gambling in Germany was outlawed, and that was when the aforementioned Blanc brothers opened up a casino in one of the last legal European gambling holdouts, Monte Carlo. In Monte Carlo, it was the single zero roulette wheel that dominated the casino floors whereas in America, the double zero wheel was still the game of choice.
On a side note, there exists a legend stating that one of the Blanc brothers, Francois, had sold his soul to the devil in order to consistently win at roulette. The reason this rumor spread is because all of the numbers of the modern roulette wheel, the wheel propagated by the Blanc brothers, add up to 666.
Playing Roulette
Roulette may be played with up to eight players at a single wheel, however that number can vary. As was mentioned earlier, the American roulette wheel has two zero slots in it; a single zero and a double zero, and the European wheel only has a single zero slot, totaling 37 slots.
When a player wants to begin playing roulette, they must first place their bets on the betting table, which is a sort of grid containing all of the numbers and colors on the slots of the roulette wheel. Once all of the players’ bets are made, the croupier, or dealer spins the wheel and then rolls a small ball along the outer perimeter of the spinning wheel.
Eventually, gravity will cause the ball to roll closer and closer to the spinning wheel, which in turn will catch the ball in one of its slots, but before that happens, the croupier will call out that no more bets may be placed. The slot in which the ball is trapped signifies the winning bet. As for the house edge, or the advantage that the casino has over the player, for single zero roulette it stands at 2.7% and in double zero roulette it is 5.26%.
A Few Popular iPhone Apps for Roulette
Roulette Mobile – This is a popular free app for your iPhone in which you can play solo or with other players all over the globe. You can also compete with your friends. In this app, you can make up to 20 different kinds of bets, including inside and outside, and then unlock achievements to make full and call bets.
Insight Bet Classic – This is a European style roulette app, and it is expensive at $11.99, but it is worth the money if you believe the reviews written about it by users.
Roulette – Casino Style – This is a popular iPhone roulette app in that it features both American and European tables and over 20 varying kinds of bets. It also has free bonus chips daily as well as hourly chips and also five assorted tables on which to play. It also bears saying that this app is free.