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American dealer is rarely called upon to aid the
players at the table in making bets, because the
layout is so small and everyone has access to almost
all betting areas. The game is thus played in silence,
and it seems as if there is little communication
between the dealer and the players, certainly much
less than occurs at other standard American table
games. On the other hand, the European game is played
with what is known as a French roulette wheel. In
England this same wheel may be used, or an American
wheel may be in play, adjusted so that there is
one zero on the wheel.
Instead of one dealer, a whole group of croupiers
staff a table. The layouts are longer and the bets
tend to be more complicated, all in French, including
those made in many English casinos, which employ
French croupiers and use French to give the game
an aura of Continental mystery.
I remember my first visit many years ago to a club
in London, on the Queensway. I strolled in, looked
around the casino, then went over to the roulette
table, and changed some pounds into chips. I made
a few bets, then tried to make a corner bet that
I couldn't reach. I handed the chips to the nearby
croupier and instructed him in English. He looked
at me as though I were speaking Hindustani and he
made no effort to place the bet.
Finally, someone nearby told me the French expression
for the kind of bet I wished to make was called
a carre. Thereafter, I tried to remember my high
school French when betting on numbers, and in no
time at all, from the other players and from my
own simple knowledge of the French language, I was
able to make all the bets I wished to.
Today, players won't have that kind of trouble.
Many of the English casinos have lost their snobbishness
and cater to Americans, so no real knowledge of
French is required.
While American casinos wisely give different colored
chips to each player, so that no two players have
the same kind of chip, the European game is played
with standard casino chips, all of the same color
except for different denominations, and this can
create problems.
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