Roulette is a game of chance where players wager on numbers and groups of numbers. Different betting combinations result in different odds for winning and different payouts.
It is a pure game of chance, although some people try to use betting systems. Some tables offer special rules, such as la partage or en prison, that reduce the house edge to about 1.35% on even-money bets.
Origins
Roulette has been around for a long time, but it’s difficult to pin down its exact origin. While there’s some evidence that Roman soldiers played a game similar to modern roulette, there isn’t enough evidence to support claims that it originated in any other time or place. The game we recognise today emerged in 17th century France, where it is believed to have been developed from a combination of English games like Roly Poly and Even Odd, as well as Italian games like Biribi.
While many websites claim that the roulette wheel was invented by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal as part of his quest to develop a perpetual motion machine, there’s no evidence that this is true. The game’s roots are far more likely to be in the old French gambling games hoca and portique.