Roulette, or Roullete as it is known in France, is one of the world’s most popular casino games. It is based on a spinning wheel with a spherical ball which is spun around the base of the spindle. It is played with standard casino chips and can be won by correctly predicting the outcome of the spin.
Originally invented in 17th century France, the game of roulette combined elements of two earlier French games, Roly Poly and Even Odd, and an Italian game called Biribi. In fact, the name “roulette” comes from a French word meaning “little wheel.”
The Rules of Roulette
When you play Roulette at a casino, you can place bets on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the color red or black, whether the number is odd or even, or if it is high (19-36) or low (1-18). The winning bets are placed at the top of the table where the dealer will remove them when a win occurs.
A Roulette wheel is a round wooden disk slightly convex in shape with metal partitions or frets surrounding it. It has 36 compartments or pockets that are numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36, except for a 37th pocket on the European-style wheels which is painted green.
The bets are made by placing chips on a betting mat, where the exact location of the chips indicates which bet you are making. The betting area is divided into two sections, inside and outside.
Before the ball is rolled, players place their chips on the betting mat and then wait for it to be rolled. The resulting bets are then cleared off the table and the dealer will place a marker on the winning bet or chip.
The House Edge
While it may seem like a game of chance, roulette has a very small house edge – 2.70% on the American version and 1.35% on the European version. This is largely due to the discrepancy between the true odds of hitting a single number and the payouts paid on combination bets (such as red or black).
However, there are skills that can increase your chances of winning when playing roulette.
1. Choosing Your Betting System
A roulette system is a set of strategies that can help you make the best decisions when playing roulette. There are thousands of systems out there, some easy to follow and others complicated but well described.