Roulette Equipment: The Roulette Table

When people think of roulette, it's a sure bet that one of the foremost things that pop into their mind is the roulette table. That's because without the roulette table, there would be no game of roulette.

Roulette isn't like blackjack or any other card games where the game can be played at almost any flat and dry surface. Roulette needs its table.

The roulette table is elongated and mostly irregular in shape. The whole table is draped with a cloth like material, usually felt. Located at one side is a wheel and at the other end are boxes which contains the numbers 1 to 36.

These numbers are placed in an arrangement of 12 rows and three columns, with each number enclosed in either a black or red rectangle or oval.

Placed directly above 1, 2 and 3 are the figures 0 and 00. These two numbers are also enclosed in a box and have backgrounds which are colored green. The dealer is positioned at an indention in the roulette table that is located midway between the two ends of the table. Inside bets are placed inside the rectangular grids that contains the box for every number.

Outside bets on the other hand, are placed at rectangular boxes outside the boxes with numbers. These could include as many as 18 numbers at a given time. Most of the boxes where outside bets are placed are located on the side across the dealer.

However there are also also boxes for outside bets which are placed near the end of the roulette table at the side farthest from the wheel. These boxes are used for wagers for each 12 number column.

The wheel is another distinctive feature of the roulette table. It has 38 sockets, all of which are numbered and have similar background colors that match the numbers on the table arrangement mentioned earlier.

The numbers 1 to 36 are placed around the wheel, although they are not arranged in numerical order. The sockets in the wheel with the numbers 1 through 36 are colored red and black, and these are arranged in an alternating order.

One or two sockets - depending on the wheel used - have a green background color. In a French wheel, only the 0 is included, while in an American wheel, the number 00 is also added.

Another integral piece in a game of roulette is the ball. This is a small, compact ball which back then was constructed from ivory. Today however, due to practical reasons, the ball is is mostly made up of plastic materials.