The Basics of Roulette

Roulette is a casino game that can be exciting and rewarding to play. Its rules are simple enough for novices to grasp, but it also offers a surprising depth of strategy for those who take the time to learn about it.

The word roulte derives from the French for “little wheel.” The game is played on a table marked off in sections that afford players a variety of betting opportunities, with in the center a revolving dishlike device called a roulettewheel into which a small ball is thrown. When the wheel stops, the ball rests in one of 37 or 38 compartments on the wheel, indicating the winning number. Players place bets on either a single number, various groupings of numbers, the color red or black, whether the number is odd or even, or if it is high or low.

Each roulette table carries a placard listing the minimum and maximum bets for that particular table. Each type of bet has different odds of hitting; for example, a straight-up bet on a single number costs 35 chips and pays 392 chips if the bet wins. In general, the higher the bet amount, the greater the chances of winning.

Before a spin, the dealer clears all losing bets from the table and collects the winning ones. He then places a marker on the winning number and announces that betting is closed. The croupier then spins the wheel, and the ball bounces around until it settles into a slot that corresponds to a bet. The winning bet is paid, and the player’s chips are returned to the table.

The roulette wheel consists of a slightly convex solid wooden disk with metal frets or separators that are painted alternately red and black. The compartments between these are numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36; on European-style wheels, an additional green compartment carries the numbers 0 and 00. The cylinder, which contains the wheelhead, is suspended on a revolving spindle that is perfectly balanced. The roulette ball is traditionally made of ivory, although modern balls are often composed of resin or Teflon.