A game of chance in which a small ball comes to rest in one of 38 compartments on a revolving wheel. The compartments are painted red and black, except for the two green ones numbered 0 and 00. Inside bets have a lower chance of winning but offer higher payouts.
Origin
The origin of roulette is not exactly known. However, there are a few theories surrounding the game’s creation. One theory suggests that the game began in China. It was later spread to Europe by monks traveling throughout the country. The game would then be adopted by the French aristocracy in the 1700s. It was here that the modern roulette wheel and numbered slots would be created. The game also gained popularity amongst gamblers at the time.
It was only a matter of time before this popular game found its way to America. Other tales suggest that the game came from the Italian board game biribi. This tale makes more sense, as biribi has a similar layout to that of modern roulette. The modern roulette wheel was developed in the early 1800s.
Variations
There are many variations of Roulette games that differ from each other in several ways. For instance, the European Roulette variation uses a single-zero wheel and offers a friendly house edge. However, there are also other variants of this game that add extra betting options or rules. For example, Lighting Roulette from Evolution Gaming features a bonus game that multiplies winning bets by up to 500x. While Triple Bonus Spin Roulette from IGT offers a payout of 1:12,000 for a straight bonus win.
Bets
There are a few different betting options when playing roulette. Firstly there is the Red or Black bet which pays out at the same odds as 1 to 1. This is an outside bet and players place their chips on either the black or red sections of the roulette table. Another inside bet is the Split, which involves placing a chip on the line separating two numbers. This wager will pay out at 17 to 1 if the player makes a correct prediction, but the risk is higher as the ball can land on both of the numbers. There is also the Street bet which pays out 11 to 1 if the player puts their chips on three numbers in the same row.
