The game of roullete involves a small ball rolling around a wheel. It is a gamble and has high house edge, but it can also have large payouts. It is important to understand the odds of different bets before placing your chips.
A roulette wheel consists of 37 compartments numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36, with alternate red and black colours. There is also a green compartment numbered 0.
Origins
It’s not easy to say where the game of roulette originated. Fanciful stories include that it was invented in its modern form in the 17th century by French mathematician Blaise Pascal as part of his quest for a perpetual motion machine. However, this theory isn’t likely true because primitive versions of the game already existed. Other theories point to the Italian board game biribi as a precursor. Regardless of the exact origins, roulette was incorporated into gambling houses in France and other parts of Europe around 1716.
As Europeans made their way to America, they brought along their favorite casino games, including roulette. The word “roulette” derives from the Latin rotella, which means little wheel. This makes sense as the game was a feature of traveling carnivals in the 1500’s and 1600’s.