When people speak of Roulette, they always refer to the wheel, very little is said about the ball. There is no denying that the wheel is kind of the whole point of roulette, but the ball is just as important. When discussing roulette balls, two questions normally crop up. The first is what is the ball made of and how many balls get used on the roulette table?
About Roulette Balls
Casinos use one ball per Roulette table per day. Roulette balls are made from acetal, phenolic or nylon material. The material is important because it impacts the liveliness of the ball on the table. The more lively a ball, the harder it is to predict the pocket it will land in. The general rule is that one ball should be used in a roulette game but some Casinos allow dealers to have at least 3 additional balls that they can use to switch the ball in play whenever they deem it necessary. Roulette ball sizes range from 3/4-inch and 13/16-inch to 7/8-inch in diameter. Most of the time balls are switched when a player has made consistent successful bets. It is the same reasoning used in craps when the dice is changed or an old card deck is replaced with a new one in a game of blackjack – to break a player’s winning streak.
The Evolution Of Roulette
The European and American Roulette have been popular for centuries, but with technology, the game has evolved. As casinos decided that playing roulette with one ball was not exciting any more they gave rise to the birth of double-ball and Multi-Ball roulette.
#1. Double ball Roulette
Double Ball Roulette is derived from the traditional American roulette game except in this variation two balls are used instead of one. The two balls spin in an opposite direction to the direction the roulette wheel is spun. Players are given a remote-controlled button which triggers an air can that forces compressed air to launch the balls onto the table. It is this compressed air that prevents the two balls from colliding with each other, instead the second ball will trail the first until both find pockets to land in.
In double-ball roulette there is a 1/38 chance of both balls landing in the same pocket. However, the game has a Double ball jackpot bet for people who want to place a bet on this happening. The general betting is the same as in a standard roulette game. A player has two chances to win with inside bets, but you don’t get as much pay. Both balls must win on outside bets, but there is a greater pay-out.
#2. Multi-ball Roulette
Multi ball roulette is based on European roulette except that in this variation 3 or more balls are released onto a spinning wheel. Players can choose the number of balls they want to release. Spins will result in balls landing on different numbers, but two balls cannot land on the same number. Players place bets that are divided between all the balls. This means if you bet $50 it will be divided according to the number of balls in play. When you switch the number of balls, the face value of your chips on the game table changes. For example a $1 chip will get a face value 3 when you switch from one to three balls and a face value of 8 when you choose to play 8 balls. When you switch back the face value will switch back in the other direction. Players can make personal bets. The size of the bet also multiplies by the number of balls chosen. For instance, if you use two balls on a personal bet worth $1 then a $2 bet will be shown on the table.
The online casino space has brought a lot of change in the way roulette is played. There are a lot of variations to the game and a lot of different ways that the game is played. Of course the ball still plays an important role in online roulette – roulette without the ball wouldn’t be roulette after all.