Image:SW-629.jpg as used in Russian roulette.]] Russian roulette ( is a potentially lethal game of chance in which participants place a single Cartridge (firearms) in a revolver spin the cylinder, place the muzzle against their head and pull the trigger. "Russia " refers to the supposed country of origin, and roulette to the element of risk-taking and the spinning of the revolvers cylinder being reminiscent of spinning a roulette wheel.

Variations

Two players either take turns spinning and firing the revolver so that each successive turn has an equal 1/6 probability of failure, or, the players simply take turns without spinning the cylinders until one is shot. If playing with more than two players, without re-spinning, the initial probability of each player for being killed is 1/6th, but the probability of being killed changes every time the trigger is pulled. The second player has a 1/5th (20%) probability of being killed, and the probability of the third player 1/4th (25%). Until the sixth player when the chance of being killed is 1/1 (100%) assuming the cartridge works (however, since the probability of the 6th player getting to pull the trigger is equal to the probability of the first five not being killed, the initial probability of him being killed is (5/6) * (4/5) * (3/4) * (2/3) * (1/2) 1/6, the same as the first players chance). In the former case, where they re-spin the chamber, the game could continue, indefinitely and gamblers could presumably only wager on which players will survive and how many turns the game will last.

Demographics

A retrospective study in Kentucky USA showed that about 80% of the victims of Russian roulette were white, all of them male, the average age was 25 years and alcohol drinking played a much bigger role than in other cases of suicide by shooting.lt;/ref>

Notable Russian roulette incidents

Numerous incidents have been reported regarding Russian roulette. * British author Graham Greene claimed that in his youth he often played Russian roulette as a means to provide "excitement and get away from the boredom". But he later decided that "it was no more exciting than taking aspirin for a headache".[http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/audiointerviews/profilepages/greeneg1.shtml A Writer at Work, 15 August 1969, Radio 4] BBC website. * In his The Autobiography of Malcolm X Malcolm X says that during his burglary career he once played Russian roulette, pulling the trigger three times in a row to convince his partners in crime that he was not afraid to die. In the epilogue to the book, Alex Haley states that Malcolm X revealed to him that he palming the round. * On December 24, 1954, the American blues musician Johnny Ace killed himself in Texas after a gun he pointed at his own head discharged. Many sources, including the [[Washington Post]]"Really Old School", Washington Post December 25, 1998. attribute this to Russian roulette, though witnesses to the shooting have claimed it was actually an accident after Ace had been playing with his weapon. * John Hinckley, Jr. the man who attempted to Reagan assassination attempt President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was known to play Russian roulette, alone, on two occasions. Hinckley also took a picture of himself in 1980 pointing a gun at his head.http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hinckley/hinkleygun2.jpg * Public Broadcasting Service claims that William Shockley co-inventor of the transistor and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics had attempted suicide by playing a solo game of Russian roulette.http://www.pbs.org/transistor/album1/shockley/shockley2.html Transistorized!], Public Broadcasting Service, 1999. * On October 5, 2003, psychological illusionist Derren Brown Derren Brown#Russian roulette on British television Channel 4 The stunt was broadcast live with a slight delay allowing the program to cut to a black screen if anything had gone wrong. Also, the final firing of the gun was not shown, as the gun had gone out of camera shot. A statement by the police said that they had been informed of the arrangements in advance, and were satisfied that "at no time was anyone at risk.", confirming it as a hoax.lt;/ref>

See also

* Russian roulette in popular culture * Quantum suicide and immortality * Russian Roulette (game show) * Russian Roulette (song)

References

External links

* http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/deerhunt.htm The Deer Hunter death roll] * http://www.sptimes.com/News/061301/SouthPinellas/Teen_wounded_playing_.shtml Teen Wounded Playing Russian Roulette] * http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/09/nyregion/09roulette.html Man, 18, Dies in Russian Roulette] * http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/3591798.stm "Russian Roulette" Olympics Death] Category:Russian games Category:Russian inventions Category:Roulette and wheel games Category:Suicide methods Category:Torture ar:روليت روسي bg:Руска рулетка ca:Ruleta russa cs:Ruská ruleta da:Russisk roulette de:Russisches Roulette et:Vene rulett es:Ruleta rusa eo:Rusa ruleto eu:Errusiar erruleta fa:رولت روسی fr:Roulette russe ko:러시안 룰렛 it:Roulette russa he:רולטה רוסית arz:روليت روسى ms:Rolet Rusia nl:Russische roulette ja:ロシアンルーレット no:Russisk rulett nn:Russisk rulett pl:Rosyjska ruletka pt:Roleta russa ro:Ruleta rusească ru:Русская рулетка sq:Rolleti Rus simple:Russian roulette fi:Venäläinen ruletti sv:Rysk roulette tr:Rus ruleti uk:Російська рулетка zh:俄羅斯輪盤