Roullete (pronounced roh-luh-tay) is a casino game that involves placing bets on a single number or groupings of numbers. Players make these bets by laying chips on a roulette table with the precise placement of the chip indicating the type of bet being made. A ball is then spun around the wheel and when it comes to rest, the dealer announces the winning number, pays out the winners, and clears off the table.
The wheel consists of a solid disk with a slightly convex surface with thirty-six compartments or pockets that alternately appear in red and black. There is also a green division on European wheels that carries the number 0, and on American tables, two more green divisions with the numbers 0 and 00.
Fanciful stories abound about the game’s origin, including that it was invented by 17th-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal, and that it came from the games of Roly Poly and Even Odd, both of which involved betting on spinning objects, and Biribi, an Italian game where players placed tickets in a bag to determine the outcome of a numbered lottery. The first written mention of the game was in a gambling regulations document from New France (now Quebec, Canada) in 1758.
When you’re playing roulette, the most important thing is to be prepared. Know your bets and their odds, and keep your money under control by sticking to a predetermined budget for the game. While it’s tempting to try and improve your odds by watching other players or attempting complicated strategies, you’ll find that any advantage is largely a matter of luck.