The game of Roullete or Roulette is played on a circular wheel and table with multiple betting options. Players can bet on individual numbers or various groupings of numbers such as red or black, odd or even, high or low. Aside from the number bets, players can also make a color bet on red or black and a split bet on two adjacent numbers. There are a variety of wagering options and the payouts are very good, making it an attractive option for casual gamblers.
The roulette wheel consists of a solid wood disk that is slightly convex in shape with a metal plate rim around which are set separators, or frets. The pockets on the wheel are painted alternately in red and black and numbered from 1 to 36, with one or two green pockets (depending on the American or European roulette version) on each wheel. The green pockets are the house edge in the game, reducing the potential winnings of a straight bet to 35:1.
There are many theories regarding the origin of roulette, including that it was invented in the 17th century by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal in his quest for a perpetual motion machine. It is however believed that roulette was derived from older games such as hoca and portique, and it achieved its present wheel layout and betting system by about 1790.
The best casino roulette strategy is to play the European version of the game, which has a lower house edge than the American version. If the European version is not available, the next best option is to play the French roulette variation that has an added rule known as “en prison” – if an even-odds bet loses to a zero, the original chips are returned to the player. This dramatically reduces the house edge and makes this a very desirable game to play.