Roulette is a game of chance that has provided glamour, mystery, and excitement to casino-goers since the 17th century. Although it may seem simple to the uninitiated, this casino classic has a surprising amount of depth that can be exploited with proper understanding. Whether you are an experienced gambler or a novice, this article will help you make the best bets to maximize your chances of winning.
A revolving disk with 37 or 38 compartments (in American roulette, a second extra green division marked 00) that divides the wheel into several sections offering the players a variety of betting opportunities. At the center of the roulette table is a dishlike device called a roulettewheel into which a small ball is spun to come to rest in one of the compartments. Each compartment is either red or black and alternates with the adjacent ones, and the numbers are arranged in groups of odd and even numbers and on both sides of the zero.
The history of Roulette begins more than 300 years ago, when Blaise Pascal invented the physics-based rotor device that would become the basis for the modern roulette wheel. The game quickly gained popularity in France, and by the end of the 17th century, it was widely played all over Europe.
Before the ball is spun, people place bets on what number they think will appear by laying down chips on a betting mat, the precise location of the chip indicating the amount that is being staked. Bets on individual numbers or on certain groupings of numbers are known as “Inside bets” and those on a dozen or more are known as “Outside bets.”
After the bets are placed, the dealer spins the wheel. Once the ball settles in a slot, the winning bets are paid and the losing bets collected. The house edge in roulette is enormous because the odds of hitting a single number on a straight-up bet are 37 to 1 but the payouts are only 35 to 1. This discrepancy is how the casino makes its money. For this reason, most people only play for fun and never try to beat the house. But the fact remains that scientific understanding can be used to beat the house, as demonstrated by the Eudaemons, a team of Oxford University physics postgraduates who used theoretical insight and a rudimentary computer concealed in a shoe to win at roulette in Nevada in the 1970s.