The Basics of Roullete
Roullete (from French for “wheel”) is a game of chance played on a table with a revolving wheel and several betting options. Bets are placed by laying chips on the numbered section of a roulette table, with precise placement of each chip indicating the bet. Typically, players choose to bet on individual numbers or groups of numbers, either odd or even, or whether the number is high or low. Occasionally, bets are made on color combinations, such as red and black. A wager on a single number is called an inside bet, while those on six or more numbers are known as outside bets.
The roulette wheel is a solid, slightly convex wooden disk with 38 pockets numbered non-consecutively from 1 to 36 (in European-style roulette) and two green compartments marked 0 and 00 in American roulette. The pockets are painted alternately in red and black, except for the two green pockets on American wheels, which carry the symbols 0 and 00. The symmetries of the wheel are the foundation of the game’s mathematics; for example, there are no high red numbers and no low black numbers on opposite sides of the zero.
Before a spin of the wheel, the dealer clears the table and places chips in the corresponding bet type. The game is based on probability, so a successful bet relies heavily on correctly guessing the number or type of number that will come up when the ball lands in one of the numbered slots. It’s also important to understand the different bet types and their odds of winning before laying down any bets, with those on individual numbers having a lower house edge than other wagers.
Before a roulette spin, the dealer must announce “no more bets!” This is to prevent cheating or other unfair advantages. When a player is done placing their bets, the dealer spins the roulette wheel in one direction and then rolls a small ball around a tilted circular track running around the outer edge of the wheel. The ball will eventually come to rest in one of the numbered slots on the table, with the winning number being the one that the ball landed in.