The Basics of Roulette

Roulette is a game of chance and luck. Before you start betting, set a budget and select a table that suits your betting style. Each roulette table carries a placard indicating the minimum and maximum stake per bet.

A roulette wheel consists of a solid disk with compartments that are painted alternately red and black, and numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. The wheel also has two green compartments, which are called 0 and 00 on American-style wheels.

Origins

The origins of roulette are unclear. Some historians have claimed that it was invented by the 17th-century French math wizard Blaise Pascal as a byproduct of his work on a perpetual motion machine. Others have suggested that it was derived from older games such as portique, hoca, and bassette. Still, others believe that it originated in China and was brought to France by Dominican monks.

Whatever the true origin, it is clear that gambling on the spin of a wheel has been around for centuries. As more and more Europeans made their way to America, roulette and its ancestors found themselves in the New World as well. Eventually, the Blanc brothers modified the wheel and game to give it its current form. Today, roullete is played around the world.