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Ball Bouncing

In the past, roulette balls or “pills” were made out of ivory. At present, in most cases, they are molded out of acetal, Teflon, nylon, or phenolic. The material, which the ball is made out of, plays a key role, as it usually impacts the ball's liveliness.

To determine what the exact material requires a thorough examination and, to a beginner, it is a pointless endeavor. Beginners should only note that the more lively a roulette ball is (the more it bounces), the harder it gets to project in which pocket it will land. More lively balls are usually avoided by visual trackers. It is exactly the type of balls, which a number of casinos use, in order to curb attempts by players to use number-projecting schemes.

It is useful to note that a more lively ball is required on a truly-biased wheel, as it will pass through a larger number of pockets before it comes to rest. This way it also has a greater chance to land in the biased section of the roulette wheel.

However, there are certain drawbacks for the casino. In case the roulette ball is too lively, it is possible for it to jump out of the wheel head either on the table or even on the floor, a situation that would slow the game down. It would be quite a shameful scenario.

Another drawback for the casino is, that by using a more lively ball, there is a greater possibility for the latter to be caught by a loose or high fret. A bias, which otherwise may not have been playable, could be intensified if the ball was a more lively one.

Ball Switching

Casino practice has witnessed dealers having 2 or 3 additional balls at the table at their disposal. This way they are able to switch balls, whenever they consider as necessary.

In most cases, dealers switch one ball with another when a particular player has made consistently successful bets. As a procedure, this is as if changing dice in a craps game or placing a new deck of cards on the blackjack table. Many casinos use these simple procedures in order to break a player's streak of luck.

There are a variety of roulette ball sizes including 3/8 inch, 7/16 inch, 1/2 inch, 5/8 inch and 3/4 inch, however, most modern casinos use either 5/8 inch or 3/4 inch balls.

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A curious fact is that every projection program, used by players, is usually set for a particular ball size. Thus, if the ball of interest is changed with another one, having a different size, the accuracy of the projection program will be compromised, especially if the dealer substitutes the smallest ball for the largest one and vice versa.

Ball switching was introduced in casino practice not that long ago, when supervisors noticed some players tried to control the drop of the ball, using external electromagnets.

In order for an electromagnet to prove useful, a ball having an iron or a steel slug in the center needed to be switched with a regular casino ball. At the time, a dealer's ability to change roulette balls appeared to be a fairly good way to counter such a scheme. At present, elite casinos use a magnetic stud finder to check their roulette balls on a regular basis.

Ball Aiming

There have been cases when a dealer would deliberately try to aim the roulette ball towards or away from a specific number. However, practice has shown that such an attempt is rarely successful. There have been contradictory opinions among experts about aiming a roulette ball with precision. Some of them claim that it is an impossible task, while others consider it possible.

As the matter remains open for further debate, it will probably be sufficient to say that there are certain clues a player may search for, if he/she suspects ball aiming.

First, the dealer will use less force to launch the ball into the wheel head and it will hardly make 10 revolutions before it settles into a pocket.

Second, the dealer will keep the wheel head spinning at a relatively slow and constant speed.

Third, the dealer must not turn his or her sight away from the wheel head for a few moments until the numbers spin to a predetermined position. Dealers will usually choose the single zero or the double zero as their reference, as both of them are easily distinguished among all the numbers. The dealer will usually wait for the number of his/her choice to pass under his/her hand and then the ball will be released.

In case a player a spots two out of the three clues, he or she may conclude that, indeed, the dealer is probably making an attempt to aim the roulette ball, but the attempt will probably not be a success. One circumstance a player can be sure of is, if the dealer is not keeping his or her eyes on the wheel head at the moment the ball is released, he or she is not trying to aim it. If, however, the dealer is doing a short spin and the wheel head is rotating at a slow pace, this could be interpreted as an attempt to aim the ball.

Ball Speed

At some casinos in the United States, there has been a tendency that gamblers will usually make their bets, as the ball is spinning across the wheel head. These players seem to be in a hurry to make their bets just before the ball settles into a pocket or the dealer puts an end to betting.

It has been a practice at many casinos for dealers to do long spins (20-25 revolutions), as long as betting activity at the roulette table remains high. This way players are allowed more time to place bets, but it is also a favorable situation for visual trackers and computer projection programs.

At times, when betting activity is not that high, dealers will usually do short spins so that the game picks up the pace. A short spin may be between 4 and 5 revolutions and usually obstructs computer projection programs.