A Doubt and a Prayer

Roulette may seem like one of the most straightforward and classic games that any casino can offer. Although, there are plenty of elements to this game that can be deceiving when it comes to understanding the odds for players and those relevant for the house. Players have even gone so far as to beg the question of whether or not it is possible for Roulette dealers to cheat in any way. Clearing these kinds of concerns in your mind can certainly be helpful the next time that you consider taking on this classic game with the intention of winning some considerable amounts of money.

In European Roulette, players face a house edge of roughly 2.36 percent against. This figure translates into giving you a 1 in 37 chance of winning with every spin. On top of this advantage, some players have voiced the following theories when it comes to the behavior of dealers to sway the odds of the house even more. Some players believe that dealers can “shoot” the ball into certain sections of the wheel, depending on the bets on the table. The average dealer makes thousands of spins each day, certainly not taking this skill out of the realm of possibility. However, this would not be an easy skill to master, especially when no huge personal gain is necessarily on the line for the actual dealer.

Players have also become suspicious of dealers who switch Roulette wheels during play. Players often believe that they can find biases in specific wheels and that casinos switch wheels when this occurs. Today’s Roulette wheels are designed with such advanced techniques that the odds of finding a biased wheel on any casino floor are virtually non-existent. Casinos will, however, switch out wheels to psychologically impact players.

The magnet theory is also proposed often when it comes to doubting the integrity of Roulette wheels. This practice was once widely used by casinos. Today, regulations on gaming have become so stringent that such practices are nearly impossible to carry out undetected. The most prevalent technique used by dealers to throw off players are changes in attitudes that are meant to rush decisions that will result in poor betting.