Roullete is a gambling game in which bets are placed on the outcome of a spinning wheel. The game was derived from older games such as hoca and portique, and it first appeared in casinos around the turn of the 17th century. A croupier spins a roulette wheel, and players place bets on which red or black numbered compartment the ball will drop into as the wheel comes to rest. Bets may also be made on various groupings of numbers, colors, whether the number is odd or even, or if it is high (19-36) or low (1-18).
A casino’s roulette wheels are constructed of a solid wood disk that is slightly convex in shape with metal separators (called frets), and 37 individual pockets or compartments that are painted alternately red and black. A solitary green compartment on European-style wheels carries the sign of zero, while American roulette wheels feature two additional green compartments that carry the signs of 0 and 00.
Besides being entertaining to watch, roulette offers players a good chance of winning, if they correctly guess the slot in which the ball will land. The best way to do this is by placing bets on groups of numbers rather than single digits. These are known as “outside bets,” and they are less expensive than straight-up bets.
There are many systems of betting on roulette, some simple and some complex, that claim to beat the house edge. But the fact remains that, unless you have an advantage over the competition—such as knowing when a wheel is rigged—there is no strategy that can overcome the built-in house percentage.