The man who enters the roulette-tent on the racecourse, should he be the only bonâ fide player, may well leave all hope behind. Supposing that he commenced playing with the determination of losing a certain sum only, he would save himself trouble by paying down that sum then and there.
True, if several are playing at the same time, he does stand a chance; a poor one, perhaps, but yet he may win considerably—for however sharp the man at the wheel may be, he cannot fleece everybody at once. If anything delights the roulette man, it is to slay his victims one by one; for where there are many playing, some shrewd man is sure to place his sovereign or two exactly opposite the large stakes; and should he vary this amusement by an occasional half-sovereign on zero, when heavy stakes are on the black and red, he becomes an intolerable nuisance. In this game the ball can be made to fall into zero at will, and very often into any other number. Should a heavy stake be placed on red, it is any odds on black turning up, and vice versâ; and should, as is often the case, a large stake be on both red and black, provided there is no stake on zero, then zero will inevitably turn up.
On examining a roulette wheel, it will be found, probably, that the brass partition on one, and often on each side of zero, can be drawn out slightly, thus causing a projection. We say probably, for in case of any untoward event, a perfectly fair duplicate movable bottom, with which most tables are provided, will be substituted for the unfair one with marvellous rapidity.
Supposing that the man at the wheel wishes zero to turn up, by the same movement with which he starts the wheel to the right, he dexterously pulls out the brass partition on the left of zero, causing a projection which, in the rapid rotary motion, escapes notice; he then carefully sends the ball in the opposite direction, which, as it encounters the projection, jumps forcibly, making a peculiar clicking noise. As it lessens its speed the jumping becomes less violent, till, at last, the ball has not impetus sufficient to clear the projection; it therefore calmly “refuses,” or, in other words falls into zero “dead beat.” Of course, the same principle holds good conversely, for by drawing out the other partition, or by turning the wheel to the left, it is a moral impossibility for the ball to rest in zero.
To stand a chance, then, the player should never on any account stake until the ball is fairly in play.
The clever way in which the partitions are restored to their proper places is worthy of notice. After the ball has fallen into the desired place, but before the wheel has ceased to revolve, the roulette man places his hand, apparently with the intention of stopping the wheel, but in reality so as to make each partition, as it passes his finger, strike up against it. Those that have been pulled out are thus driven back again.
There is another way of preparing the table, bungling and apparent; but it is only attempted upon the intoxicated and very inexperienced young men.
In this case, though only one or two of the brass partitions can be pulled out, on the left of the crowns, feathers, yellow, and blue, the partitions were all fixed projecting more or less, so that no sleight of hand was at all necessary in the manipulation of the wheel; for when it is turned to the right, and the ball of course thrown in the opposite direction, the ball must necessarily fall into one of the above-mentioned divisions; but, on the other hand, were the wheel turned to the left, red or black would necessarily turn up.
If the roulette man cannot by this system, as he can by the other, turn up what he likes, he can, at all events, prevent anything turning up that he would lose upon.
Roulette is considered vulgar compared with 30-and-40 (Trente et Quarante), otherwise Red and Black (Rouge-et-Noir).