Before a roulette round begins, the dealer will clear the table of losing chips and pay the winners. Then the dealer will spin the wheel and throw the ball. Once he or she announces “no more bets!” you can place your chips on the numbered area of the layout.
Inside bets involve betting on specific numbers or small groups of numbers with lower odds but higher payouts. Outside bets are cheaper and have a much higher chance of hitting.
Origins
Although it is difficult to pin down the exact origins of roulette, most historians believe that the game originated in the 17th century. French mathematician Blaise Pascal inadvertently invented the game while attempting to create a perpetual motion machine. He combined a gaming wheel with the Italian game Biribi and a game that was similar to it called roly poly.
The modern roulette wheel has 38 (or 37 on European/Latin American tables) distinct sections that offer a number of different betting options. Earlier versions of the game used a revolving disk with one or two zeroes, and players placed chips on the betting table according to their predictions of where the ball would land. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the game may have begun in China.
Variations
There are many variations of roulette games. Some are more suitable for beginners than others. For example, French Roulette retains the European roulette rules but adds two additional rules- En prison and La Partage. This variant also has a friendly house edge of 2.7%. Other games, like Lightning Roulette from Evolution Gaming and Triple Bonus Spin from IGT offer higher payouts if you win. However, these payouts are still lower than what you can get with standard roulette games.
