Roullete, or roulette, is a casino game in which players place bets on a number, various groupings of numbers, the color red or black, whether a number is odd or even, and if a number is high (19-36) or low (1-18). The winning bet is paid out depending on the number and its location on the table layout.
While roulette has one of the smallest followings among casino games in America, it is still one of the most popular casino games in Europe, drawing crowds to its tables in Monte Carlo and other European resort cities. The game has a reputation for glamour, mystery, and excitement.
Despite fanciful stories about its origin—from the 17th-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal to Dominican monks—roulette is essentially a simple game. The roulette wheel consists of a solid wooden disk slightly convex in shape, with a metal rim around which are thirty-six compartments painted alternately red and black, and numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. The wheel also has two green compartments labeled 0 and 00 on American-style wheels.
Before betting, a player should set his or her budget and choose a table within that range. Each roulette table carries a placard showing the minimum and maximum bets allowed. It’s also a good idea to start by wagering on “outside bets” (groups of numbers instead of individual digits), which are cheaper and have a higher likelihood of hitting.