Roulette is a casino game involving spinning a ball on a revolving wheel. The wheel has red and black compartments that are numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. It also has two green compartments on American wheels that carry the signs 0 and 00.
Players place bets by placing chips on a special betting mat. Bets can be placed on single numbers, small groups of numbers, colors or odds and evens.
Origin
Although many fanciful stories have been told about the origins of roulette, the truth is that it was derived from the older games hoca and portique. The game consists of a spinning wheel and a ball that comes to rest in one of 38 (or 37 on modern European/Latin American tables) divisions around the edge. Players place bets on which number the ball will land by laying chips on a betting mat. Some believe that the game began in China and was spread to France by Dominican monks on their travels. Other theories claim that it was invented in the 17th century by French mathematician Blaise Pascal. However, encyclopaedias from that time referred to the game as either Italian or Big Roulette and not French.
Bets
There are a variety of bets that can be placed on roullete. These include outside bets, which place chips on a group of numbers or a category of numbers. These bets offer lower payouts but are safer plays for new players. These bets include the Red or Black Bet, which places your chip(s) on a specific number or color of the roulette wheel. The Line Bet, also known as the Six Number Bet or Sixline Bet, places your chip(s) to straddle the line between two numbers on the roulette layout and offers 17-1 odds.
