Roullete (or Roulette, for short) is a casino game of chance that involves a spinning wheel and a ball. Players can place bets on individual numbers, different groupings of numbers, whether a number is red or black, whether it is odd or even, and more. The croupier then spins the wheel and a ball that has landed in one of the pockets marked with a particular number marks a winner. The winning player can collect his or her payout from the table. Despite its seemingly simple nature, roulette is a complex game with many strategies.
The game’s origins are murky and fanciful. One story claims that it was invented in the 17th century by Blaise Pascal, a French physicist and philosopher, as part of his efforts to create a perpetual motion machine. More likely, though, it was based on older games such as Biribi and hoca. It didn’t gain its modern form until the 18th century, when it became a popular game in Europe and America.
A typical roulette wheel consists of a static bowl and a rotating wheelhead that supports the ball track. The outer edge of the wheel has a pattern of colored numbers that alternate between red and black and between odd and even numbers. The numbers are arranged in groups of 12, with one to three rows of colors or digits on each side. There are also two green compartments on American-style wheels, carrying the symbols 0 and 00.
Before play begins, the croupier clears the table of losing bets and pays winners before beginning a new round. Players then place their bets on the table, which correlate with the number slots on the roulette wheel that the ball can land in. There are various types of “inside” bets that can be placed, but the most common is a single-number bet called a straight up or a split bet (known as a cheval in French).
In this bet, you place your chip(s) to straddle the line between two adjacent numbers on the layout. This type of bet can be a good choice if you’re hoping for a quick win but aren’t sure which number to choose. The payout for this bet is 1:1. Other outside bets include a six-number bet or a line bet (known as a sixain in French). This bet is similar to the Street bet, except you’re betting on two consecutive rows rather than individual numbers.