The Basics of Roulette
Roulette is one of the world’s most popular casino games. It’s easy enough for beginners to learn and offers lots of betting options for those who are more experienced. It’s also a staple at any casino with table games and can be found in online casinos as well.
The game of Roulette, or Roullete as it’s known in France, was first patented in the 17th century by French mathematician Blaise Pascal. Its popularity grew rapidly throughout Europe and eventually made its way to the United States. Because of rampant cheating by both operators and players, the roulette wheel was eventually placed on top of the table to prevent devices from being hidden, and the layout of the betting area was simplified.
A modern European Roulette wheel consists of thirty-six compartments, painted alternately black and red and numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. A second, green, compartment carries the sign 0 and two more green compartments on American wheels carry the signs 00 and 0.
Once a player has placed all of their chips on the table, the dealer announces ‘No More Bets!’ This locks the table and prevents players from attempting to place bets on spins that have not yet happened. This is a crucial safety measure that prevents players from trying to take advantage of the house edge, which is the difference between the payout and the actual return on a bet.
The house edge is determined by the type of bet a player makes. Inside bets, which are placed on the numbered part of the wheel, have a higher house edge than outside bets, which are placed on the colored sections of the wheel. Regardless of which bet type is chosen, the average expected return is the same: a player will on average have 36 37 displaystyle n=1 % of their initial bet returned to them.