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The Devil’s Game

The bets are placed. I feel a bead of sweat traveling first across my forehead, then down my cheek as I stare with bloodshot eyes at the large wooden table, covered in green velveteen. No sound is as distracting as the heartbeat inside my chest, but even that is not enough to shake me. All bets are in, and there is nothing to do but wait. The ball gets rolling, and as it travels around the bowl, I feel the trembling return to my hands once again, reminding me of some primal feeling we as humans must have lost eons ago. Everything is on 11, black. This number has brought me luck before, yet why do I feel such uncertainty? Perhaps the black cat that bit open my shoelace was a foreboding, and the darkness of the starless sky was a caution to bet on red instead. The ivory ball begins to lose its momentum. Oh Lord, why did ye tempt me so, and why did I fail to resist the sweet allure even though I’ve everything to lose, but naught to give? I fiddle with a black and red chip in my hand. It is too late now; all that is left is to await the reveal. Nervous stares around the table accompany the noticeable gulps as the rolling ball comes to a halt. The results are in.

Roulette, also known as The Devil’s Game, is a gambling game in which players bet on where a ball lands on a spinning wheel. While chance and luck play a big part in all forms of gambling, this aspect is taken to the greatest of extremes in Roulette. After all, the average gambler is no Rain Man, who would be able to calculate exactly where the ball will land. You can, however, often make a fair estimate, and there are many options to choose from.

The basics. There is both a roulette wheel and a table of options to bet on. The wheel and the table depict numbers ranging from 0 to 36. In the American version, there is also a 00. The core gameplay is simple: the dealer sends a small white ball spinning in the wheel that eventually lands on one of the numbers depicted. If you predict the number correctly, you win; if not, you lose. It is definitely simple, but that in itself is deceiving.

Before we get to the different types of betting, I will explain the main principles of the game. The higher the chance of winning, the lower the payout is. And the house always wins (in the long run).

Inside bets target specific numbers and have the highest payouts. They are as follows:

  • Straight up betting on 1 number,
  • Split betting on 2 numbers,
  • Street betting on 3 numbers,
  • Corner betting on 4 numbers, and
  • 6-line betting on 6 numbers.

Outside bets target large groups of numbers but have the lowest payouts. They include:

  • Color betting red or black,
  • Even or odd betting,
  • Column betting on 12 numbers in a column,
  • Dozen betting (1-12, 13-24, etc.), and
  • High or low bets (1-18, 19-36).
An American Roulette table. Casino chips are placed either directly on the numbers displayed (inside betting) or on the sides (outside betting). (Picture from Angelo_Giordano)

 

Now, I could get into the crippling debt and deep-seated doubt I have towards others because of gambling – not to mention the unbearable self-loathing I feel whenever I open my bank account – but I would rather talk about how Roulette is depicted in video game media. That’s the official reason anyway, but in reality, I want to discuss Dead or Alive: Xtreme 2 (2006). The plot in the game is essentially as follows: Zack, an eccentric DJ and a fighter from the mainline games, has coaxed the women of Dead or Alive (DOA) to visit “New Zack Island”, a private island resort raised back to the surface from the depths of the sea (there is a backstory for this), under the pretense of a fighting tournament.

The gameplay is based around spending time with your favorite DOA characters doing a variety of activities typical of resorts, such as volleyball, jet skiing, butt battle, and most importantly, gambling. Roulette functions as a means to earn currency for spending on gifts to increase affection with other characters. It is an easy way to dip your toe into the wondrous world of gambling without resorting to putting your firstborn up for sale. There is nothing quite like trying to build up affection with the girls, just for you to end up hating them because they pulled the rug from under you. Must they sabotage me at every turn? Oh well, I shall simply make them slave away at minigames to make my money back.

Playing blackjack in Dead or Alive: Xtreme 2. Putting aside the attractive women surrounding you and the massive amount of personal wealth, the gambling does not differ much from reality. (Picture from IGN)

 

Next, a bit of historical context about the epithet of The Devil’s Game. There is no single explanation for its alias. The epithet could be because the numbers on the roulette wheel add up to the infamous number of the beast: 666. There is also a theory that it is called The Devil’s Game, because you are likely to lose everything. Gambling has traditionally been surrounded by superstition because it helps cope with going against chance. The stakes are high in Roulette, so pray to your god or His adversary when stepping into the ring.

In Roulette you can either win big or lose it all. While it is highly unlikely that the ball will fall exactly on your chosen number, if it does, you are walking out with a sizeable profit. There are also ways to mitigate losses with strategy, but risk will always be a factor. This article does not exist to dissuade you from pursuing that gold at the end of the rainbow, nor am I telling you to bet it all on red. All I am asking is for you to take accountability. It is not God, it is not your loved ones, it is not the House that forces you to gamble. Your mistakes and regrets are your own, and there are only so many chances in life. Don’t waste them.

Russian Roulette is an outlawed game in which participants each take turns rolling the cylinder of a revolver and attempting to shoot themselves in the head. The revolver has six chambers in total, with five of them being empty, and only one having a bullet. Much like in Roulette, you spin the cylinder, hoping that you do not end up getting the short end of the stick. This cycle continues until there is only one participant left. (Picture from MikeGunner)

 

Specific rules regarding betting

Wu, Ashton. (n.d.). Roulette: How to Play, Rules, & Selecting the Right Table. wikiHow. https://www.wikihow.com/Play-Roulette

Information about the epithet

Powell, Michael. (2024). Roulette: the devil’s game and its fascinating history. Medium. https://medium.com/@michael.powell.loginer/roulette-the-devils-game-and-its-fascinating-history-d974e0c409de

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Joel Karjalainen

Lover of Japanese RPGs, and authentic video games. Nostalgic of a time when the developers of video games actually liked the medium. Dislikes nothing more than when developers dismiss their audience. Terrified of space, the deep-ocean, and everything that lives in Australia.