How Many Numbers Does Roulette Have

Introduction

European Roulette: (25/37)^15 = 0.2793% – This works out at 1 in 358 chance. American Roulette: (26/38)^15 = 0.3372% – This works out at 1 in 296 chance. Just to give you an idea of what to expect, when playing roulette online,we have seen over 30 spins in a row without a Dozen or Column hitting and when this happens you will lose.

The Gambler's Fallacy is the mistaken belief that if an independent event has not happened in a long time, then it becomes overdue and more likely. It is also equally incorrect that if an outcome has happened a disproportionate number of times lately, compared to statistical expectations, then it becomes overheated and less likely to occur the next time. An example of this fallacious thinking might be that if the number 23 hasn't been drawn in a 6-49 lottery the last 100 games, then it becomes more likely to be drawn during the next drawing.

A roulette wheel in the U.S. Contains 38 equally sized spaces. The wheel is spun and a ball randomly lands in one of these spaces. Two spaces are green and have numbers 0 and 00 on them. The other spaces are numbered from 1 to 36. Half of these remaining spaces are red and half of them are black. A legitimate roulette player will understand exactly the direction that the white and black mix is pointing to at any given time. In the last few years, online casinos have begun to offer table games and promotions as part of their online casino solutions. This has been a blessing for its online casino games companies and gambling retailers.

Many worthless betting strategies and systems are based on belief in the Gambler's Fallacy. I got the idea for writing about this after reading an 888 online roulette article by Frank Scoblete entitled How to Take Advantage of Roulette Hot Spots. In that article, Scoblete recommends taking a count of each outcome for 3,700 spins in single-zero roulette and 3,800 spins in double-zero roulette in the hunt for 'hot numbers.' Never mind that this would take about 100 hours to make this many observations, assuming the industry standard of 38 spins per hour.

Before going further, let me say that I strongly believe modern roulette wheels made by top brands like Cammegh are extremely precise and any bias would be minuscule compared to the house advantage. Thus, testing a modern roulette for bias would be a total waste of time. Now, testing a 30-year-old hand-me-down wheel in a banana republic might be another story. However, you're on your own if you win a lot of money from said casino and try to leave with it.

That said, if you track 3,800 outcomes in single-zero roulette, the average number of times any number will hit is 3800/38=100. I ran a simulation of over 1.3 trillion spins, counting how many times each number was hit, sorting the outcomes to find the most frequent number and how many times it was observed, and keeping a count of how many times the most frequent number in each simulation was seen.

Hottest Number in 3,800 Spins of Double-Zero Roulette

As a former actuary, I hate to use a layman's term like the 'hottest number,' but that is how gamblers talk so will go with that. That said, following are the results of the count of the hottest number in millions of 3800-spin simulations.

Count of the Hottest Number in 3,800 Spins on Double-Zero Wheel

Here is what the table above means in plain simple English.

• The mean, or average, count of the hottest number is 122.02.
• The median count of the most frequent number is 121. This means that over 50% of time the most frequent number appeared 121 times or less, as well as 121 times or more. This is possible because the probability of 121 observations is in both groups.
• The mode, or most count of the hottest number is 120, which happens 8.29% of the time.
• The 90th percentile is the smallest number such that the probability the count of the hottest number is at least 90% .
• The 95th percentile is the smallest number such that the probability the count of the hottest number is at least 95%.
• The 99th percentile is the smallest number such that the probability the count of the hottest number is at least 99%.
• The 99.9th percentile is the smallest number such that the probability the count of the hottest number is at least 99.9%.

Hottest Number in 3,700 Spins of Single-Zero Roulette

The results are very similar with 3,700 spins tracked on a single-zero wheel. Following is a summary of the results.

Count of the Hottest Number in 3,700 Spins on Single-Zero Wheel

The following table shows the full results of the simulation on both wheels. The two commulative columns show the probability that the count of the hottest number is the number on the left column or more. For example, the probability the hottest number in 3,700 spins of single-zero roulette is 130 or more is 0.072044.

Summary of the Count of the Hottest Number in 3,700 Spins of Single-Zero Roulette and 3,800 spins of Double-Zero Roulette

How Many Numbers Does A Roulette Wheel Have

Count of the Hottest Numbers in 300 Spins in Double-Zero Roulette

What if you don't want to spend 100 hours gathering data on a single wheel? Some casinos are kind enough to give you, on a silver platter, the number of times in the last 300 spins the four 'hottest' and 'coolest' numbers occurred. The image at the top of the page shows an example taken on a double-zero wheel at the Venetian.

In 300 spins, the average number of wins on a double-zero wheel for any number is 300/38=7.9. As you can see from the image above, the four hottest numbers were 20, 5, 29, and 2, which occurred 15, 14, 13, and 12 times respectively. Is this unusual? No. In a simulation of over 80 billion spins, the most frequent number, in 300-spin experiments, appeared most frequently at 14 times with a probability of 27.4%. The most likely total of the second, third, and fourth most frequent numbers was 13, 12, and 12 times respectively, with probabilities of 37.9%, 46.5%, and 45.8%. So the results of the 'hottest' numbers in the image above were a little more flat than average.

The following table shows the probabilities of the four hottest numbers in 300 spins of double-zero roulette. For example, the probability the third most frequent number happens 15 times is 0.009210.

Count of the Hottest Four Numbers in 300 Spins on a Double-Zero Wheel

The next table shows the mean, median, and mode for the count of the first, second, third, and fourth hottest numbers in millions of 300-spin simulations of double-zero roulette.

Summary of the Count of the Four Most Frequent Numbers in 300 Spins of Double-Zero Wheel

Count of the Coolest Numbers in 300 Spins in Double-Zero Roulette

The next table shows the probability of each count of the four collest numbers in 300 spins of double-zero roulette.

Count of the Coolest Four Numbers in 300 Spins on a Double-Zero Wheel

The next table shows the mean, median, and mode for the count of the first, second, third, and fourth coolest numbers in the 300-spin simulations of double-zero roulette.

Summary of the count of the Four Least Frequent Numbers on a Double-Zero Wheel

Count of the Hottest Numbers in 300 Spins of Single-Zero Roulette

In 300 spins, the average number of wins on a single-zero wheel for any number is 300/37=8.11. The next table shows the probability of each count of the four coolest numbers in 300 spins of double-zero roulette. For example, the probability the third most frequent number happens 15 times is 0.015727.

Count of the Hottest Four Numbers in 300 Spins on a Single-Zero Wheel

The next table shows the mean, median, and mode for the count of the first, second, third, and fourth hottest numbers in millions of 300-spin simulations of double-zero roulette.

Summary — Count of the Four Hottest Numbers — Double-Zero Wheel

Count of the Coolest Numbers in 300 Spins in Single-Zero Roulette

How Many Numbers Does Roulette Have To Play

The next table shows the probability of each count of the four coolest numbers in 300 spins of double-zero roulette. For example, the probability the third coolest numbers will be observed five times is 0.287435.

Count of the Coolest Four Numbers in 300 Spins on a Double-Zero Wheel

The next table shows the mean, median, and mode for the count of the first, second, third, and fourth coolest numbers in the 300-spin simulations of single-zero roulette.

Summary of the count of the Four Least Frequent Numbers on a Single-Zero Wheel

The least I hope you have learned from this article is it is to be expected that certain numbers will come up more than others. To put it in other words, it is natural that some numbers will be 'hot' and some 'cool.' In fact, such differences from the mean are highly predictable. Unfortunately, for roulette players, we don't know which numbers will be 'hot,' just that some of them almost certainly will be. I would also like to emphasize, contrary to the Gambler's Fallacy, that on a fair roulette wheel that every number is equally likely every spin and it makes no difference what has happened in the past.

Finally, it should not be interpreted that we give an endorsement to the 888 Casino, which we linked to earlier. I am very bothered by this rule in their rule 6.2.B. Before getting to that, let me preface with a quote from rule 6.1, which I'm fine with.

'If we reasonably determine that you are engaging in or have engaged in fraudulent or unlawful activity or conducted any prohibited transaction (including money laundering) under the laws of any jurisdiction that applies to you (examples of which are set out at section 6.2 below), any such act will be considered as a material breach of this User Agreement by you. In such case we may close your account and terminate the User Agreement in accordance with section 14 below and we are under no obligation to refund to you any deposits, winnings or funds in your account.' -- Rule 6.1

Let's go further now:

The following are some examples of 'fraudulent or unlawful activity' -- Rule 6.2

Next, here is one of many examples listed as rule 6.2.B

'Unfair Betting Techniques: Utilising any recognised betting techniques to circumvent the standard house edge in our games, which includes but is not limited to martingale betting strategies, card counting as well as low risk betting in roulette such as betting on red/black in equal amounts.' -- Rule 6.2.B

Let me make it perfectly clear that all betting systems, including the Martingale, not only can't circumvent the house edge, they can't even dent it. It is very mathematically ignorant on the part of the casino to fear any betting system. Why would any player trust this casino when the casino can seize all their money under the reason that the player was using a betting system? Any form of betting could be called a betting system, including flat betting. Casino 888 normally has a pretty good reputation, so I'm surprised they would lower themselves to this kind of rogue rule.

Written by: Michael Shackleford

You've probably seen a roulette table before even if you've never played. They're an iconic image from any casino. While the wheel may look intimidating the game is actually very simple to learn. The object of Roulette is to pick the number where the spinning ball will land on the wheel. You can also bet combinations of numbers or choose the color or whether the number will be odd or even.

The Roulette Wheel

There are two different roulette wheels. The European wheel has 37 slots numbered 0-36. The house edge is 2.63. The American wheel has 38 slots with 0-36 plus a 00. The extra slot increases the house edge to 5.26 percent.

The Layout

The inside betting area contains the individual numbers on the layout. The outside betting area has boxes for the columns, red/black and odd/even and different groups of numbers.

The numbers on the inside are arranged in 12 rows of three numbers forming three vertical columns. The 0 and 00 are at the top of the columns.

Buying Chips

To avoid disputes, each player receives a different color chip at roulette. These chips are good for that table only and you must cash them in for regular casino chips when you are done. You cannot cash in the roulette table chips at the cage.

Each roulette table has a minimum and maximum bet. You can’t combine your inside and outside bets to meet the table minimum. If the minimum bet is five dollars, you have to bet $5 on the inside and/or $5 on the outside. You can’t bet $3 inside and $2 outside.

Inside Bets

There are several inside bets that you can make. You can bet a number straight up or straddle the line between numbers to select a combination of numbers. The payouts are as follows.

• Straight Up bet is a wager on a single number. It pays 35 to 1.
• Split Bet is a wager on two numbers and it pays 17 to 1. You make this bet by placing your chip so it straddles the line between any two numbers.
• Street bets or line bet pays 11 to 1. You make this bet by placing your chip on the vertical line separating the outside and inside betting areas. The chip straddles the first number in the row.
• Corner bet or Quad bet pays 8 to 1. You make this bet by placing a chip so it is touching the four corners of the numbers you are betting.
• Basket bet is a five number bet on zero – double zero and numbers-1-2-3 which pays 6 to 1. On the double zero wheel, it has a house edge of 7.89 percent making it the worst bet in Roulette.
• Double Street bet is a wager on six numbers and pays 5 to 1. You place your chip on the line separating the outside and inside area as you do for the street bet but let it also straddles the row above or below.

Outside Bets

The outside bets are any of the bets made in the boxes surrounding the numbers.

• Red Black Odd and Even are all even-money bets. Place your chips in the boxes on the layout.
• Dozens bet are made on the 12 consecutive numbers. Place your wager in the boxes marked 1-12, 13-24 or 25-36. These bets pay 2 to 1. If the zero or double zero comes up you lose.
• Column bets are also 12 number bets. These are the numbers in one of the three vertical columns. Place your wager in the boxes at the bottom of the layout. These bets pay 2 to 1.

The Dealer

How Many Numbers Does Roulette Have A Day

Dealers are required to keep the wheel moving at all times, even between spins. They spin the ball in the opposite direction the wheel-head is traveling. This causes the ball to jump and spin before landing on a number.

The dealer will note the winning number with a marker. Always wait until the dealer removes the marker before making new bets!

Playing Tips

If the number you want to bet is already covered with chips, don’t worry. It is permissible to stack your chips on top of the other chips. That's why you have your own color chips.

How Many Numbers Does Roulette Have To Be

You are allowed to place bets until the dealer calls out, “No more bets.”

How Many Numbers Does Roulette Have For A

Keep in mind that while roulette systems like the Six-Pack Plus are fun, the house will always have the advantage.