Roulette is one of the most popular games in brick-and-mortar casinos and online gambling sites. The game has a long history of offering glamour, mystery, and excitement to casino-goers worldwide. The rules are simple and straightforward, but the game has a surprising depth for serious players who want to use the right strategy.
Known as “little wheel” in English, the game is played on a revolving wheel with numbered compartments. Each player makes bets on which color or number they think the ball will land in as the wheel comes to a stop. Each round of play is governed by a series of rules that dictate when and how players can make bets.
Before the game begins, players must buy chips from the dealer. This can be done by placing a denomination of money on the table and asking the dealer for “colour.” The dealer will then give you coloured roulette chips worth the amount you have designated. This process is repeated between spins. During the spinning of the wheel, the dealer will clear all losing bets off the table and pay out winning bets based on the payout table.
The wheel consists of a solid wooden disk, slightly convex in shape, with a rim surrounding a series of metal separators or frets, also called compartments or pockets by roulette croupiers. Thirty-six of these pockets, painted alternately red and black, are numbered non-consecutively from 1 to 36; the remaining two, on American wheels, are green and carry the symbols 0 and 00. The wheel is spun by a croupier, and the ball is rolled around the rim in opposite directions, landing in one of the pockets when it stops.
In addition to the standard bets listed above, a variety of other options are available in roulette. The High or Low bet (known as Passe et Manque in French) is an even-money bet that pays out 1-1 if the ball lands on either the first 18 numbers (1-18) or the last 18 numbers (19-36). The Split Bet is another even-money bet; it involves placing your chip(s) to straddle the line between two numbers on the layout, and pays out 17-1 if either number wins.
Some online casinos offer variants of the game that incorporate the “en prison” rule, which reduces the house edge to 1.35% by allowing players to keep their bets when the ball lands on zero. This rule is only offered in European roulette, however, and will not help you beat the house edge when betting on red or black.
The best way to win at roulette is by correctly guessing which color or number the ball will land on after it has spun around the wheel. To do so, you must be able to distinguish the different types of bets on the table, and understand how they correspond with the numbered slots on the wheel. Then you can place your bets accordingly. The more you practice, the better your chances of making a smart bet that maximizes your profits.