Roulette is a casino game in which players place bets on the slot on the wheel that their ball will land in. The game is based entirely on luck and is popular at both online and land-based casinos around the world. The game has a variety of betting options, allowing players to wager on single numbers, various groupings of numbers, whether the number is odd or even, and more.
Roulette originated in Europe, likely originating from the older games hoca and portique. It was supposedly invented by 17th-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal and later adopted by gambling houses and other casinos. It spread from France to other parts of Europe and the United States. In the United States, roulette became popular in casinos and gambling dens after 1836. To protect against cheating, the roulette wheel was placed on top of the table, and a simpler betting layout was adopted.
The roulette wheel consists of a solid disk slightly convex in shape with a rim surrounding thirty-six pockets (known as canoes by roulette croupiers) painted alternately red and black and numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. A 37th pocket, painted green and carrying the sign 0 on European-style wheels, and two green compartments on American wheels are reserved for zeroes.
The game begins when the dealer clears the table from the previous round and pays winning bets. The dealer then spins the wheel, throws the ball, and announces “no more bets!” When the wheel stops spinning, the ball will eventually fall into one of the numbered slots on the table. Each numbered slot has a different probability of winning, so it is important to understand the rules and procedures of each type of bet before playing.