Oda Tins · Books to read · 8 min

Roulette Books: List of Books to Read

Di roulette books and papers wey dis site stand on, twenty-two of dem, from one 1657 treatise on expectation reach one 2025 textbook, with one sentence on why each one matter.

Short answer

Di mathematics (Huygens, Bernoulli, Halmos, Feller, Thorp, Epstein, Ethier, and di new textbooks of Bollman, Taylor and Hunacek), di history (Lablée, Barnhart, Schwartz, Kavanagh, Marcus, Goldman), di physics (Bass, Small & Tse) and di one novel wey better pass all of dem (Dostoevsky). Everytin for dis site stand on dis shelf.

di oldest
Huygens, 1657
di newest
Hunacek, 2025
di best single book
Ethier, 2010
di best novel
The Gambler, 1866

Mathematics

workyearwhy you go read am
Huygens, De Ratiociniis in Ludo Aleae1657di first treatment of expectation wey dem print; na where EV come from
Bernoulli, Ars Conjectandi1713di law of large numbers, wey systems no understand
Halmos, “Invariants of certain stochastic transformations”1939di first general proof sey no betting system dey change di expected result
Feller, An Introduction to Probability Theory, vol. 11968gambler ruin, random walks, streaks; di standard reference
Thorp, “Optimal gambling systems for favorable games”1969when betting systems fit help (only for game wey favour you) and di conditions wey dey behind di no-system result
Thorp, The Mathematics of Gambling1984di roulette computer as di person wey invent am tell am, with di arithmetic of how much to bet when you get edge
Epstein, The Theory of Gambling and Statistical Logic2013 (2nd ed.)dem analyse every casino game; roulette for im context
Ethier, The Doctrine of Chances2010di most complete mathematical treatment of roulette wey dey for print
Bollman, Mathematics of the Big Four Casino Table Games2021side bets, wheels wey no common and card roulette, dem price dem one by one, with exercises
Taylor, Games, Gambling, and Probability2021 (2nd ed.)streaks, Kelly betting and gambler ruin, dem work am like course
Bollman, Basic Gambling Mathematics2024 (2nd ed.)casino promotions and rebates, and how fast results board dey pay for imsef for di casino
Hunacek, Quantitative Literacy Through Games and Gambling2025first course wey easy; check im claim sey every bet get di same expected value: di five-number bet no follow dat rule

History

workyearwhy you go read am
Lablée, La Roulette, ou le Jour1801di first full description of di game, inside novel
Barnhart, Beating the Wheel1992di history of bias play: Jagger, di pipo wey come before di Pelayos, methods
Schwartz, Roll the Bones2006di general history of gambling; di place of roulette inside am
Kavanagh, Dice, Cards, Wheels2005French gambling culture; di Palais-Royal and di spas
Marcus, American Roulette2003past-posting as di person wey sabi do am pass describe am from inside
Goldman, Great Gambling Scams2007Leigh for Nice, Marcus and di Ritz, dem tell am again; e sweet to read, and e wrong for some facts (check Wayo for Roulette)

Di physics and advantage play

workyearwhy you go read am
Bass, The Eudaemonic Pie1985di story of di computer inside shoe; di best popular book on roulette physics
Small & Tse, “Predicting the outcome of roulette”2012di physics of prediction, dem measure am; wetin you need to get edge
Pearson, “On the criterion…”1900di chi-square test, dem show am with roulette spins

Physics of Di Roulette Wheel

Di novel

Dostoevsky, The Gambler (1866). Dem write am inside 26 days to meet di deadline of publisher contract, by writer wey roulette don put for deep debt; di gambler fallacy, di system, di compulsion and di spa casino from inside. E short pass any roulette book wey dey up, and e true pass most of dem.

Bad Homburg and Di Spa CasinosRoulettenburg of Dostoevsky

Di best roulette books for each purpose

For di arithmetic, Ethier and then Feller. For di stories, Barnhart and Bass. For why pipo still dey play, Dostoevsky. For di proof wey end every argument about system, Halmos, and for di same result for simple words, di 1984 book of Thorp. For exercises, Taylor or Bollman. Di Sources box for each article for dis site dey cite from dis shelf.

Questions wey pipo dey ask

Good roulette strategy books dey?

No one wey dey sell system. Di 1984 book of Thorp get short chapter on why dem dey fail; Epstein and Ethier dey cover di shape of each one.

Where I fit read Pearson or Huygens?

Both of dem don comot copyright and dem dey online. Pearson heavy to read; Huygens short and e easy to read for translation pass wetin you go expect.

Small laugh

Everytin for dis site na footnote to dis shelf.

Everytin for dis site na footnote to dis shelf.

Sources

  1. Ethier, S. N. The Doctrine of Chances: Probabilistic Aspects of Gambling. Springer, 2010. Chapter 13, roulette.
  2. Feller, W. An Introduction to Probability Theory and Its Applications, Vol. 1. Wiley, 3rd ed., 1968. Gambler ruin, chapter XIV.
  3. Halmos, P. R. “Invariants of certain stochastic transformations: the mathematical theory of gambling systems.” Duke Mathematical Journal 5(2), 1939.
  4. Thorp, E. O. “Optimal gambling systems for favorable games.” Review of the International Statistical Institute 37(3), 1969.
  5. Thorp, E. O. The Mathematics of Gambling. Gambling Times / Lyle Stuart, 1984.
  6. Bass, T. A. The Eudaemonic Pie. Houghton Mifflin, 1985.
  7. Barnhart, R. T. Beating the Wheel. Lyle Stuart, 1992.
  8. Bollman, M. Mathematics of the Big Four Casino Table Games: Blackjack, Baccarat, Craps, & Roulette. CRC Press, 2021. Chapter 2, roulette.
  9. Bollman, M. Basic Gambling Mathematics: The Numbers Behind the Neon, 2nd ed. CRC Press, 2024.
  10. Taylor, D. G. Games, Gambling, and Probability: An Introduction to Mathematics, 2nd ed. CRC Press, 2021.
  11. Hunacek, M. Quantitative Literacy Through Games and Gambling. Chapman & Hall/CRC, 2025.
  12. Marcus, R. American Roulette: How I Turned the Odds Upside Down. St. Martin’s Press, 2003.
  13. Goldman, N. Great Gambling Scams. John Blake, 2007.
we check am 2026-09-28model: European wheel, single zerohow we work am ↗where we get am ↗