The Basics of Roulette

Roulette is one of the most popular casino games in both brick-and-mortar and online gambling. The game is simple enough for beginners to learn, but offers a level of depth that can thrill experienced players. While many people may know the rules of roulette, few understand how the game works. In this article, we’ll break down the basics of how to play this classic casino game.

The game’s name comes from the French word for “little wheel,” and it refers to a table with numbers and a revolving dishlike device called a roulette wheel into which a small ball is spun, causing it to come to rest in any of the compartments. The number of the pocket into which the ball falls determines the winning bet. The croupier then pays out the winning bets and removes the losing ones from the table.

While the game has numerous names in other languages, it is still mostly known as roullete, and it is widely played around the world. It is considered one of the most elegant and exciting of all casino games.

Roulette’s history begins in the 17th century, when a French mathematician named Blaise Pascal invented it. He was reportedly trying to design a perpetual motion machine, but the game gained traction quickly and became a fixture in Paris casinos.

It was soon introduced in the United States, where it was played in gambling dens and made its way into Monte Carlo. However, cheating was rampant and the wheels were eventually placed on top of the tables to prevent devices from being hidden in them. The game was also simplified to reduce the number of possible bets and increase the amount of money that could be won.

The House Edge

While there are several ways to win at roulette, the house edge is relatively high compared to other casino games. This is due to the fact that there are a pair of 0s and 00s on the wheel, which don’t count as either odd or even numbers, and therefore give the house an advantage.

To mitigate the house edge, players can make outside bets that cover large groups of numbers. This includes the Dozens Bet (douzaine in French), which wagers that the winning number will be in the first dozen (1-18), the second dozen (19-36), or both. This bet pays out at 2-1. Another option is the Straight Up Bet, which is a single bet on a single number, and it pays out at 1-1. In addition, there are two types of grouped bets, which cover a row of three or more consecutive numbers, or an entire column of numbers. These bets pay out at 11-1. The other bet, the High or Low Bet (passe et manque in French), is an even-money bet, which pays out at 1:1.