The Basics of Roulette

Roulette is a casino game where players place wagers on what number the ball will land in by placing chips on a betting mat. Bets are placed on either individual numbers or groups of numbers.

We recommend that novice players start with the European roulette game, which has a single zero pocket and scales the house edge down to a coveted 2.7%.

Origin

The game of roulette has a long history. There are a variety of theories about its origin, but the most common is that it was invented in 17th-century France by physicist Blaise Pascal as part of his attempts to create a wheel that would demonstrate perpetual motion. Other theories suggest that it is derived from English games such as Roly Poly and Even/Odd or Italian games such as Biribi.

The modern game of roullete uses a roulette wheel that has 38 (on European/Latin American tables) or 37 (American tables) numbers around the edge. The ball is rolled into one of the divisions and bets are placed on which number will appear by placing chips on a betting mat. The game may also have roots in ancient Rome or Greece, but there isn’t enough evidence to prove it.

Bets

There are a variety of betting opportunities on roullete. These include voisins du zero (neighbors of the zero, covering 17 numbers), jeu zero (zero game, for the seven numbers closest to it), and le tiers du cylindre (12 numbers on the opposite side of the wheel from the zero). The latter is one of the most risky wagers and offers higher payouts than other outside bets. Players can also make a street bet, which covers three numbers.