The Basics of Roulette
Roulette is one of the most popular gambling games in both online and land based casinos. It is a simple game where players place their bets on a special roulette table and predict which slot the ball will fall into when the wheel stops spinning. The odds for winning are based on the number of numbers the player bets on and the different betting combinations which all offer different odds and payouts for winning bets. Among the many betting options, the most important ones are inside bets, outside bets and announced bets.
Roulette has a very long and interesting history and it is one of the oldest casino games. There are a lot of fanciful stories about how it was invented but it is certain that the game evolved from the older hoca and portique games in the 17th century in France. The roulette wheel was introduced in Europe after that and its present design features a solid wooden disk slightly convex in shape with a grooved rim. Thirty-six of the compartments are painted alternately red and black, while a 37th compartment, painted green, carries the sign 0. On European wheels, there are also two en prison compartments, painted red, which have a worse house edge than the single zero.
When playing roulette, players place their bets by laying down chips on the table. The precise placement of the chips indicates the specific bet that is being made. In general, bets that are placed on a smaller group of numbers are called inside bets while those that cover a larger area of the roulette table are known as outside bets. In addition, there are several types of announced bets that are often offered in European Roulette variants and have their own unique names.
The rules of roulette can vary slightly between different variations but the basic strategy remains the same. The main goal is to make a bet that covers a large area of the table in order to increase your chances of winning and decrease the house edge. In addition to the standard bets, some casinos offer a special racetrack betting section that allows you to place an announced bet like the neighbor bet which covers a number and two adjacent numbers on the left or right of it.