Roulette has offered glamour, mystery and excitement to casino-goers since the 17th Century. It’s a simple game to understand, but it offers a surprising depth of strategy for serious betters. It is played by laying down chips on a betting mat, the precise placement of which indicates a bet being made. Bets on six or fewer numbers are known as “Inside bets” while those on 12 or more are called “Outside bets”.
A croupier spins the wheel and a ball is dropped into one of the compartments. If the ball lands in a number on a player’s bet, the player wins.
The wheel is a solid wooden disk slightly convex in shape, with metal partitions around its edge and on the rim. Thirty-six of the partitions, painted alternately red and black, are numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. On European-style wheels a 37th compartment, painted green, carries the sign 0. On American wheels two extra green divisions carry the signs 0 and 00. A well-made roulette wheel, its axis perfectly balanced, spins smoothly.
Whenever the ball lands in a number on the betting table, that number is called. Players place bets based on the number, its colour (red or black), whether it’s odd or even or in one of two value ranges. Then, the croupier places a marker on that number and pays out winning bets. The loser bets are cleared off the table before the croupier spins the wheel again.
Roulette was invented in France in the early 18th Century from older games hoca and portique. It was popular in the casinos and gambling dens across Europe. During this time, there was rampant cheating by both operators and players, so the game evolved to become more restrictive in terms of what could be hidden on or beneath the table and wheel.
Today, Roulette is played in casinos all over the world. It’s also available online. Many online casinos offer roulette in addition to other traditional casino games. While these games are not the same as those you can find in a brick and mortar casino, they do provide the chance to learn the basics of this popular game.
The house edge on roulette is not as high as the odds of some other casino games, but it is still there. Regardless of how you choose to play, the best way to lower it is by learning the rules and avoiding bets that will cost you more than they should. You’ll still have a marginal advantage over the house if you can be lucky enough to hit a short streak of good luck.