Roullete is one of the world’s most famous gambling games, renowned for its glamour, mystery and excitement. Despite its seemingly simple rules, the game provides a surprising level of depth and the right strategy can reap high rewards.
Before placing your bets, it’s important to understand how the table is laid out and what each bet type means. A dealer (also known as a croupier) is responsible for overseeing play at the roulette table, taking bets, spinning the wheel and paying out winnings. You’ll usually receive a set of colored chips which represent different denominations and these must be used to place your bets. The dealer will ask you what denomination you’d like to designate for each chip, so it is best to have your preferred amount in mind before purchasing them.
When betting on the table, you have to make sure that you have enough chips to cover all your desired bets. It’s also important to know which bet types offer the highest chance of success, so be sure to revisit our bet types guide before laying your chips.
Once you’ve placed your bets, the dealer will spin a wheel in one direction while rolling a small ball around the rim of the wheel in the opposite direction. The goal is to predict which compartment the ball will land in as it slows down and comes to a stop on a particular number.
The wheel is arranged so that most numbers are paired together in pairs, such as two odd or two even numbers. This helps to balance out the distribution of numbers, meaning that any section of the wheel will contain a number roughly equal in size to any other. This ensures that the probability of hitting any given number remains the same regardless of how many other bets are in play on the table.
There are several variations of roulette, with the most common being European Roulette. This variation has a single-zero pocket and a lower house edge than American Roulette.
The game evolved in the Americas with the introduction of the double-zero wheel and was then adapted to a more sophisticated style in Europe with French casinos adding luxury and leisure to their gambling dens. The European game continued to grow in popularity and today it’s the most popular game worldwide.
Once the ball lands on a number, all bets are settled and the dealer will collect any winnings from players. The casino then pays out winning bets to those players who have placed them on the correct sections of the table. If you win a bet on the number one, for example, you will receive 392 chips. The remaining bets will either lose or remain up for the next spin. This is known as ‘La Partage’ or ‘En Prison’ in France and is a way of protecting players from large losses.