Roulette is a gambling game in which a ball rolls around a wheel and people bet on what number it will land on. Players can place bets until the croupier announces “no more bets”.
The Roulette wheel has thirty-six compartments painted alternately red and black and numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. A green compartment carries the number zero on European wheels, and two green compartments containing the numbers 0 and 00 on American wheels.
Origin
The origins of roulette are not exactly clear. There are several theories, from 17th-century mathematician Blaise Pascal’s search for a perpetual motion machine to the Dominican monks who brought it to Europe. It is believed that the game originated in France, and it combined elements of a variety of other games including Roly Poly, Even-Odd, and Biribi, an Italian game that involved betting on a number that would appear on a shield that was spun around.
It is also possible that roulette evolved from a gambling game played by Roman soldiers, who gambled on the outcome of events such as spinning a shield with symbols on it and putting a marker down next to an arrow. It may have even been inspired by the ancient Chinese board game Hoca, in which 37 animals were arranged in a magic square.
Variations
There are many variations of roulette games. While they differ in the number of pockets, house edge, and betting rules, they all have the same aim – to provide players with a pleasant experience. However, choosing the right variation depends on a player’s skills and experience level. For beginners, the best choice is a European version of the game with a single-zero wheel and friendly house edge. Other popular variations include Double Action Roulette and French roulette that has a similar layout but uses different bets.