Roullete (from French, meaning ‘little wheel’) is a casino game in which players bet on a number or grouping of numbers on a spinning wheel. It emerged in 17th century France from the older games hoca and portique, and is believed to have been influenced by the Italian game Biribi. In the United States, roulette became popular in gambling dens across the new frontier and developed into its modern form. It was later brought to Monte Carlo, where it remains a staple of the European casino scene.
The roulette wheel consists of a solid wooden disk slightly convex in shape with a smooth, polished surface. Around its rim are 36 colored compartments, called canoes by croupiers, numbered non-consecutively from 1 to 36. On European-style wheels, a green compartment carries the sign 0. Two black and one red compartment mark the high (18-36) and low (1-18) bets.
The payout for winning bets depends on the placement of the winning bet in relation to other bets and the sequence of bets placed. For example, a straight-up bet on number 6 costs 40 chips to complete and pays 392 chips. Since the game is a random event, no betting system can guarantee success, although some are better than others. This is why it is a good idea to make your bankroll last longer by placing smaller bets. This also gives you a chance to try out different strategies without worrying that you will run out of money.