Origin of Roulette

Roulette is a game of chance where players place chips on the table. The odds and payouts are different for each type of bet, so it’s important to know your options before playing.

You can place bets on individual numbers, small groups of numbers, or colors. You have until the dealer says “No more bets,” then the wheel spins and the ball drops.

Origin

It’s hard to pin down the exact origin of roulette. A number of similar games are thought to have come before it, including portique, hoca, bassette and roly poly. However, it was only around the mid 1700s that a version of the game closely resembling the one we know today emerged in France. The name ‘roulette’ means little wheel, reflecting the central feature of the game. It wasn’t long before the game made its way to America, where it soon became a popular casino and gambling game. Many fanciful stories have been suggested about the game’s origin, with Blaise Pascal, the French mathematician and philosopher, often named as its inventor. However, this is unlikely.

The French version of the roulette wheel has a single zero, unlike its American counterpart, which has a double zero.