When you’re playing roulette, it’s important to set a budget and understand the odds. It’s also a good idea to start by betting on outside bets, which have a lower house edge and higher payouts.
The wheel has thirty-six red and black compartments, plus a green zero (or double zero on American roulette). The croupier spins a ball that will land in one of these spaces.
Origin
While it is impossible to pinpoint the exact origin of roulette, a general consensus suggests that the game evolved in France in the 17th century. Supposed ancestors of the game include the English games portique, hoca and roly poly and the Italian biribi.
It is believed that Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician and physicist, invented the game by accident in 1655. He was in the midst of his experiment to create a perpetual motion machine when he designed a wheel with numbered slots.
Those earliest versions of roulette were quite similar to the ones used today, featuring numbered slots 0 through 36 on a revolving wheel. This version was extremely popular with French aristocrats in the late 1700’s. The game would later find its way to America.
Variations
Roulette has a number of variations that can increase players’ winning potential. For instance, lighting roulette is a game that relies on multipliers to deliver payouts that can reach up to 500x your bet. There are also games such as triple bonus spin roulette that offers high payouts of up to 1:12,000 for a straight win. These variations add to the enjoyment of playing roulette because they are not just concerned with odds, expected value and house edge.
