From the French meaning "small wheel," the history of roulette dates back to the late 18th century. The most popular game of chance in Europe today, roulette made its way to the U.S. in the early 1800s. Played with a spinning wheel and a small ivory ball, the game's simplicity attracts millions to the roulette table every year.

Basics

When the croupier, or dealer, removes the marker from the previous winning number, players may begin making their bets. The croupier then rolls the ball around the inside edge of the wheel in the opposite direction that the wheel is spinning. Players may continue placing their bets on the table until the croupier calls "no more bets" shortly before the ball falls. Finally, the pocket into which the ball comes to rest indicates the winning number and color for that game and all winning bets are payed off.

The Wheel

In American roulette the wheel has 38 numbered pockets in which the ball can land. The numbers 1 to 36 are represented as either red or black with the 0 (single zero) and 00 (double zero) colored green. The colors on the wheel alternate between red and black and the numbers are arranged so that each pair of consecutive numbers lay opposite each other (1 is opposite 2, 3 is opposite 4, etc.). It also happens that red numbers are opposite black numbers and vice versa of course.

The Table

The heart of the roulette table consists of three columns and twelve rows of numbered boxes, from 1 to 36, with one additional row for 0 and 00. The remaining boxes represent bets on one group of numbers or another. Specifically, one box represents all the black numbers and another represents the red numbers, and the same for even numbers, odd numbers, numbers 1 to 18, numbers 19 to 36, and so on.

Betting

There are nine different types of bets the player can make, six "inside" bets and three "outside" bets. The inside bets consist of bets on groups of one to six numbers. Straight up: a bet on one number only, pays 35 to 1 (meaning a $1 bet wins $35 plus the original dollar, also called 36 for 1). Split: two numbers, pays 17 to 1. Street (or line bet): three numbers, pays 11 to 1. Corner: four numbers, pays 8 to 1. Basket: five numbers (0-00-1-2-3), pays 6 to 1 (and is the worst bet on the table). Double street: six numbers, pays 5 to 1. The outside bets consist of bets on groups of 12 or 18 numbers. Column: twelve numbers (one of the three long columns), pays 2 to 1. Dozen: twelve numbers (1-12, 13-24, 25-36), pays 2 to 1. Even money: red, black, even, odd, low (1-18) and high (19-36), pays 1 to 1.

European Roulette

The main difference between American and European roulette is the wheel. While the American wheel has both the single and double zero, the European wheel has no double zero. Consequently, the house edge for European roulette (2.70%) is about half that of its American counterpart (5.26%). The European game also features the "en prison" rule, which affects even money bets when the ball lands on zero. Depending on the casino, the player will either receive half their bet back or the bet will become imprisoned. If the imprisoned bet wins on the next spin, the player gets their bet back without any winnings. If the imprisoned bet loses, the bet is obviously lost.

Betting Systems

There is no betting system that can beat the game of roulette in the long run (or any negative expection game for that matter). Despite the claims of countless "winning" roulette systems available on the internet today, the house edge always wins out. This is a fact.