Roulette is a gambling game in which a small ball falls into one of several red or black numbered compartments on a revolving wheel. The game emerged in the 18th century in Europe and is a popular choice at casinos and gambling houses.
Bets are placed on the table by laying chips on the roulette mat, with precise placement showing the bet. Inside bets cover individual numbers, while outside bets cover large groups of numbers.
Origins
The origins of roullete are fairly unclear, but the game was most likely invented by a French mathematician and physicist called Blaise Pascal in the 17th century. He was trying to develop a perpetual motion machine and may have accidentally created a roulette wheel with different slots. The game was later adopted by the English and Italians, with slight modifications.
Various websites claim that roullete has its roots in ancient Rome and Greece, but there isn’t enough evidence for this to be true. However, many Roman soldiers played games that were fairly similar to roullete. These games involved spinning shields with symbols and placing bets on where the symbol would land. These games may have inspired the modern roullete. In any case, the roulette cylinder was introduced in its current form in France in the 18th century.
Variations
Roulette is a classic game that has many variations. These games differ in the betting options and payouts, but they all follow the same basic rules. Some of these include Double Action Roulette, which uses a special wheel with two concentric rings and allows players to make split bets. Another variation is French roulette, which has the same house edge as the European version but offers additional rules such as ‘En prison’ and ‘La Partage’. Finally, Lighting Roulette from Evolution Gaming features multiple multipliers of up to 500x your bet. Other variations include IGT’s Triple Bonus Spin Roulette, which offers payouts of 1:12,000 for a straight bonus win.
Bets
There are many different betting options on the roulette wheel. The most risky wager is the Split, which allows you to place your chips on two numbers separated by a line. If you correctly predict both of them, your initial bet will be returned 17 times. Another popular wager is the Street bet, where players place chips on three consecutive numbers in a row. This bet pays 11 to 1 and has similar odds to Red or Black roulette. Outside bets include Voisins du Zero (neighbors of the zero pocket, 17 numbers), jeu zero, and le tiers du cylindre (12 numbers around the wheel). These bets pay 2-1 but have a lower chance of winning than Red or Black.