What Is Roulette?

Roulette is a game of chance that requires only a ball, a wheel and a table. Players place bets on the numbered slots of the table according to their predictions of where the ball will land after each spin.

There are several types of bets, each with a different probability of winning. The best paying bets are outside bets, which cover large groups of numbers.

Origin

Many theories surround the origin of roulette. Some claim that it was invented by 17th century French mathematician Blaise Pascal as he was working on a perpetual motion machine. Others believe it was derived from older games like portique, hoca and bassette. Regardless of the truth, it is certain that roulette became popular in Europe and migrated to America. When it did, it was modified slightly to make it more attractive to American gamblers and casino owners. This resulted in the elimination of the double zero on the wheel, resulting in a single-zero version of the game that is still played today.

It is also possible that the word “roulette” comes from the Latin word rotella, meaning little wheel. This is supported by the fact that a number of similar games were called roulette at one time, including roly poly and even-odd.