Concept in Definition ABC

The turn is a very common game of chance in casinos and it has two modes, the French or the American. In the case of Russian roulette we are not talking about a simple normal game of chance, with chips in a table, bets, a series of players and a dealer but we mean something else, a game of life or death.

The name of Russian roulette has an obvious relationship with Russia, as it was in this country, specifically in the XIX century in the period of Tsarism, when the first testimonies about this modality of play.

Game mechanics

The game has the following elements: players who bet money and a drum revolver normally loaded with a bullet. The game is started by inserting a bullet into the barrel of the revolver. The drum is then turned so that no one can tell where the bullet is. Each player shoots his own head. When a player fires the shot and dies, the game ends and while this does not happen the shots continue until finally one player ends his life. Obviously, the winner of the game is the person who has survived and the loser is the dead person.

Looking for an explanation to the inexplicable

Russian roulette is, first of all, a totally illegal game. Be part of a clandestine world in which large amounts of money move. There is a really strange aspect and what could we express with a question: what is the point of this game. In principle, the objective is to make money, but it is not clear that it is the only purpose, since the risk to lose your life is very high. It fits think that the participants have some kind of mental or social problem: they seek death, they have an uncontrolled addiction due to risk or their life is meaningless. It is difficult to give a concrete answer about what motivation you can have a person to play Russian roulette.

The violent component of this game has been reflected in the world of movie theater, especially in films of seedy and marginal environments.

Russian roulette without bullets

In a figurative sense it is said that a person plays Russian roulette when he does a very risky activity. Some sociologists compare the consumption out of control drug like a kind of Russian roulette and the same can be said for any conduct with a high destructive component and inexplicable from a point of view rational (for example, driving at large velocity in the opposite direction to the flow). This is sometimes used expression to express that an action is too daring and, consequently, it is preferable to avoid it. Thus, if someone considers jumping into the water from a cliff, it is very likely that someone will say that it is outrageous and that it is better not to play Russian roulette.

Photo: iStock - Lorado