The Psychology of Roulette
Why is roulette so popular?
When you hear the word “roulette”, for many people, the very first image that pops into their head is that devilishly suave James Bond, beating the house while sipping a fancy cocktail, and whether the movie world’s version of the Queen of Table Games is accurate or not, this idea has stuck in popular mythology.
The game today still holds a hypnotic attraction for millions around the world- the symbol of the ball in motion (if not quite the behavour that the searchers of the perpetual motion machine were after)- it also now packs a totally different appeal. Roulette can be played at the touch of a button, in the relaxed comfort of your own home, on the hoof or literally anywhere with an internet connection. What is the appeal exactly? What makes this gfame so popular?
Style over Substance?
Romantic visions of suave gentlemen and women dressed to kill around the grand tables of Monaco or Macau are just the tip of this game’s eternal allure. Not only does roulette have a fine heritage dating back to 1655, thanks to the French physicist Blaise Pascal’s attempts to create a perpetual motion machine which produced the global phenomenon of “the little wheel”, but this game also owes its universal appeal to the human condition and the thrill and adrenaline of risk. After all, who doesn’t want to make a killing table side?
Competition
Roulette relies on all our inner competitor, here you can play in a crowd if you like to make your play more immersive, or tableside at a land-based casino, but fundamentally this is a game of you against the beauty of the ball spinning around the wheel, and its orderly arrangement of black and red pockets. Can you beat the house edge at roulette and come away a winner? Well, we have a whole article dedicated to that very question, but of course the most enduring of all attractions is Lady Luck’s generosity or the fickle hand of fate.
While players around the world would have had their first experience of roulette at a land-based casino, or, love them or loathe them, fixed odds terminals, there are a whole new generation of players whose first spin was online, or even on their mobile phone. Thanks to the incredible advances in technology allowing a more realistic and atmospheric play that mimics, and some would say improves, on casino vibe, look and sound- there is now the added fun that virtual reality has to offer players.
Easy to Play
And roulette has a massive plus over many other table games; it’s easy to play. There are those who believe that online roulette is a more random game than its land-based counterpart, and others who prefer to play on a real wheel. There are the connoisseurs who love to play their own tactical games and buy into the physics and patterns ideas, and then there is the novice to the game who could, within a few minutes of watching a game, understand how to join the drama and electricity of a live game on the green baize. You can just stick it on the red, if you want and see if it drops in. You can’t get much simpler than that.
Character traits and experience aside, roulette is fundamentally a game for those who love to win- and who are willing to make risks to make it happen. Unfortunately part of learning how to make your wins is by losing too, and the psychology of turning the down streaks into breakthrough wins is part of the learning process. For many who love roulette, it is at heart, more than just a game.