How to survive in Russian roulette?

Playing a game of Russian roulette is now acquired as taking a crazy chance. And though this is already a metaphor it takes its roots from a real game, in which one of the players was guaranteed to face a lethal outcome.Ninecasino.com has brought pretty interesting survival tips.

Though in the past the game was played more often than nowadays, one can still hear cases of disastrous deaths during a Russian Roulette game nowadays. If you have heard and not understood the essence of the game, or you would simply love to get acquainted with it more closely (we sincerely hope only in the theoretical way, and not practical), we suggest you look through this informative yet entertaining article. We are deeply interested in whatever relates to gambling, and you? Before we go any further, check out live games online at nine casino.

The Background of Russian Roulette

The classic Russian Roulette game looks like this: a group of players (sometimes a single person played the game, too) used one revolver with only one round of ammunition. The first player put the round into the cylinder, spun it, and snapped the cylinder into the place. Once done, he would place the revolver to his head and pull the trigger. This is the case when one could say their fate is in their own hands literally. The outcome was obvious – the player was either lucky enough to survive and pass the “honor” to do the same to the next player, or he was a dead man. 

After the first round, if everybody survived, the cylinder of the revolver was loaded with two rounds. And the game proceeded till someone died, or only one person survived depending on the initial wager. This may sound insane today! And believe us, it is insane and abnormal. But back those days, when the concept of a Russian Roulette was a new thing, the game was quite popular, especially when the group of players had drunk a couple of vodka bottles. It’s definitely impossible to imagine someone getting into all this in a sober and sane state.

The concept of the Russian Roulette is more than obvious – it all refers to pressing one’s luck. A revolver has six chambers. Consequently, a Russian Roulette player would have one in six chance of firing off the bullet when he pulls the trigger. If the revolver cylinder was spun after every shoot, the chances remained the same. However, if every next player pulled the trigger without spinning the chamber, their chances of surviving decreased after every shoot.

According to some experts (maybe they played Russian Roulette in their times?), the gravity affected the odds of the game. See yourself – when you let the cylinder stop spinning on its own, the bullet will probably appear at the bottom of the cylinder since it would weigh more than the empty chambers. This significantly boosted the chances of a Russian Roulette player to stay alive.

How the Game Started

There is no evidence as to how or when the game Russian Roulette originated. However, the first notes about it appeared in the short story titled “Russian Roulette” by Georges Surdez published in Collier’s Illustrated Weekly in 1937. The story tells about a group of Russian officers playing a strange game in Romania around 1917. They would load a revolver with one bullet, spin the cylinder, snap the cylinder back into the place, and they shoot into their own head. The story was a hit and didn’t reach large audiences, and it was soon forgotten. It was not until 1978 that the term “Russian Roulette” spread throughout the world. 

The movie titled The Deer Hunter pictured several soldiers captive during the Vietnam War who were forced to play Russian Roulette whilst their captors wagered on which soldier would survive. Even though the scene in this movie with the Russian Roulette was fictional, and there were no reports about captives forced to play Russian Roulette, the movie was a success. The film critics approached the scene as a powerful metaphor indicating the insane and senseless violence often happening at war times.

Russian Roulette Moves into Real Life

To picture a scene of a Russian Roulette in a movie or write about it in a book is one thing, but when it all inspires people to replicate those scenes in real life, things become bad. After The Deer Hunter was released, Russian Roulette became something like a cliché, and people no longer accepted the game as an activity with a built-in chance of suicide. In fact, shortly after the movie was released, many replications of the infamous scene were made in real life. Surely, one could not openly blame the movie, yet it’s a fact that the deaths were the results of a Russian Roulette or an improvising game derived from it.

Russian Roulette attracted not only movie fans or unstable insane people. Many famous figures have claimed they have played the Russian Roulette. For instance, the famous writer Graham Greene stated in his autobiography that he had played the game several times in his youth.

Malcolm X, a known African-American activist, confirmed that he had played Russian Roulette when he was a criminal. He had used the game as a method to prove to his partners he didn’t fear death. Anyway, the famous writer Alex Haley stated Malcolm had played with a unique strategy – he had palmed the bullet before he fired the revolver.

Russian Roulette and Magic

The popularity of Russian Roulette didn’t pass by illusionists, either. Many magicians have incorporated the game into their shows to demonstrate they can survive by spelling or telepathing the revolver. One of the biggest shows of Russian Roulette being played in front of the TV audience was in 2003. The famous British illusionist Darren Brown played the game solo on British Television live. Later it was revealed that the Police were aware of that and knew for sure it would be completely safe.

If the game was planned safe for Darren Brown, other magicians, such as Aimo Leikas, were not so fortunate. This Finnish magician had been demonstrating his skills in playing Russian Roulette for a year when one day everything went not as planned. He had been using 6 bullets some of which were live and some dummy ammunition with no marks on them. The magician assured he used his telepathy skills to choose only the dummy ones. However, his skills let him down this time and the audience witnessed him kill himself.

The Deadliest Game

Russian Roulette can cause a lethal outcome even with the revolver loaded with blanks. A prominent actor Jon-Erik Hexum was being shot in a movie scene playing a game of Russian Roulette. The revolver was filled with blanks, which was supposed to completely remove the danger. However, when Hexum pulled the trigger, the discharge of the blank bullet from such a close distance still managed to cause severe brain trauma. Doctors declared Hexum brain-dead and soon took off of life support only a week later.

The Odds in Russian Roulette

There are some hints that can increase the chances of winning at Russian Roulette, i.e. staying alive. We do not propagate playing it, on the contrary, we are safer gambling siders. And still, some experienced players offer odds or statistics that could help to survive the game.

Let’s suppose, it’s a 2 player game. Who has better odds of surviving? In case the revolver has an even number of bullet spaces, the odds are in one’s favor. Yet, if there is an odd number of bullet spaces, the first player is more likely to get shot. This is quite logical. See, let’s assume the revolver has only 1 bullet space. Obviously, the first player gets shot. If it has 2 spaces, both players have equal chances. And if there are 3 bullet spaces, the first player has 2 chances of getting shot, while the second one has only one chance.

In case you are to play the game (this should be with a safer alternative like the one described below) and you don’t know whether the bullet spaces in the revolver are an odd or even number, you’d better go the second just in case. Even if most revolvers used in Russian Roulette have 6 bullet spaces, if there’s any possibility you are involved in playing the game with a revolver with an even number of bullets, remember that the first player has fewer chances of surviving the game.

According to another strategy, it is statistically safer to go first. If the revolver is well maintained and lubricated, after the first spin, gravitational pull will make the chamber with the bullet fall down to the fourth position from the top. You see, there is only one foolproof way of winning at Russian Roulette – not to play it at all! This is the only reasonable recommendation we can give you.