A game of chance, roullete involves placing bets on numbered slots. The game has a number of variations, but the most popular ones are European and American roulette.
A roulette wheel has 37 or 38 numbered pockets. Each bet type has a different house edge and payout. Choosing the right bets is important for your winning chances.
Origins
While the word roullete may sound fairly modern, it is actually an old French word meaning “little wheel.” The game of roulette as we know it is generally believed to have been invented in 1655 by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal, who was working on a machine that would produce a perpetual motion machine. The game itself is played on a table with one or more numbers and several other sections for bets, centered around a revolving roulette wheel into which a ball is spun until it comes to rest in one of the compartments on the rim. Other games with similar structures, such as portique, hoca and bassette, are also considered ancestors of roulette.
It is likely that the ancestor of the modern American Roulette wheel was first introduced to France in the 18th century by French Dominican monks.
Variations
Roulette is available in many different variations. These variations differ in their house edge, payouts, and betting rules. Choosing the right variant depends on your skill level and experience. For beginners, it’s recommended to stick with variants that follow the European format and offer a friendly house edge. Some of these variations feature additional bets, while others have special betting rules that can boost your winning potential.
A popular variation is the French Roulette, which adds two rules – ‘En prison’ and ‘La Partage’ to the standard European Roulette. These rules make the game more fair for players and reduce the house edge to 2.7%. Other popular variations include Lighting Roulette from Evolution Gaming, which offers multipliers up to 500x, and Triple Bonus Spin Roulette from IGT that gives you a 1:12,000 payout for a straight bonus win.