Roulette is a fast-paced casino game that offers glamour, mystery and excitement to its players. Mostly a game of luck, it is popular in casinos and online gambling sites. Its simplicity makes it easy to play and yet offers a surprising level of depth for serious bettors.
The game is played on a circular table with a number of slots in which numbers can be placed. Bets are made by laying chips on the table map, indicating the number or grouping of numbers on which the bet is being placed. Usually the table carries a placard describing the minimum and maximum bets allowed (e.g. $5 minimum inside bet, $1,000 maximum outside bet). Before the wheel is spun, a player gives the dealer his or her money and asks for “colour”. The dealer then hands over coloured roulette chips corresponding to the value of the money given. The player places these on the table map, and the game begins.
There are various theories about the origin of roulette, including that it was invented by 17th century French mathematician Blaise Pascal as part of his quest to create a perpetual motion machine. In any event, the game reached its present form around 1790 and quickly became a major fixture in casinos and gambling dens throughout Europe.
The roulette wheel consists of a solid disc slightly convex in shape with a series of metal partitions, or “frets”, around its edge. Thirty-six of these compartments, painted alternately red and black, are numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. On European-style wheels, a 37th compartment, which is green and carries the number 0, is also present. American-style tables, however, feature an additional extra green compartment numbered 00, making the game a worse proposition financially than its European counterpart.
The ball, which is spun in the opposite direction to the wheel, lands in one of the slots containing a number. A bet is won if the bet’s number corresponds to the number on which the ball has landed. Bets can be placed on single numbers, groups of three or more numbers, colours or odd and even numbers. The ball is normally made of ivory, but today’s professional balls are largely Teflon and resin, although they still resemble the appearance of ivory. The material, weight and dimensions of the ball have a significant effect on the game, as the smaller, lighter balls jump more unpredictably on the wheel track than do the larger, heavier ivory balls.