What is Roullete?

Roullete is a casino game in which a small ball is spun on a revolving wheel and players place bets on what number, grouping of numbers or color the ball will fall into as it comes to rest. If the player’s bet wins they are paid out according to the odds of their chosen bet.

Roulette has a high house edge and is very volatile, but it is one of the most popular casino games in the world. It has a variety of betting options and, unlike craps, players are not restricted to placing bets on the number they think will win – instead players can choose from a range of Outside bets which pay off at slightly lower odds.

The game is played on a table which has a specific layout, the precise locations of each bet clearly indicated on a betting mat. Bets are placed by laying chips down on the mat, with the specific arrangement of the chips indicating the bet being made. The game originated in France and is generally played on a traditional French style table. However, American roulette tables use English terms and a different betting mat.

The roulette wheel consists of a solid wooden disk, slightly convex in shape with thirty-six compartments around its edge. The compartments are painted alternately red and black and numbered from 1 to 36. There is also an extra green compartment on European wheels which is numbered 0. On American roulette tables there is a second extra green division numbered 00, which adds to the house edge and makes the game a worse proposition for players. It is widely credited with being invented by the 17th-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal, although it is likely to have evolved from older games such as hoca and portique.