DIAGRAM OF ROULETTE.
This cylinder is made to revolve, by the hand, at the same time that a small ball is thrown in the opposite direction upon the fixed parts of the machine, where, after several circuits, it falls into one of the numbered compartments, which are alternately black and red.
At each end of the table, numbers corresponding with the thirty-seven upon the cylinder, are stamped on the cloth in three columns, with the words manque (“dead” or missed), pair (even), and rouge (red), on one side of the columns; and passe (stake), impair (odd), and noir (black), on the other side. While, in the line below the columns and the divisions mentioned (namely, manque, pair, impair, &c., &c.) are nine spaces, marked below the columns, first C, second C, third C; and to the right and left three spaces marked first D, second D, third D.
Mode of Playing.—The smallest stake allowed by the foreign tables is one florin. If the player bet upon any odd number, and the ball drops into the compartment so numbered, he receives thirty-six times the amount of his stake; but since there are always thirty-eight chances against him, he may lose a very large sum before winning at all.
To simplify matters, and to encourage the player, he is at liberty to divide his stakes among several numbers, lay his wagers upon any of the columns containing twelve numbers each, or upon the first, second, or third series of twelve numbers (in these cases he is paid double if he win); or play upon red or black, odd or even—the former including the numbers from 1 to 18, and the latter from 19 to 36.
The three D’s printed on the cloth stand for Douzaine, and signify the first, second, or third dozen on the red or black side; and the three C’s similarly stand for the column of figures under which they are placed.
The game, however complicated it may appear at first glance, is really quite simple, as a little attention to the explanation will attest, and affords great variety in the betting.
As the bank must win in the long run, and its percentage is but small, the “regular” places can afford to dispense with deceptions. In private gaming-houses, however, as many tricks as ingenuity can invent are employed to fleece the unwary.