What is Roulette?
Roulette is a game of chance played at a casino table with a revolving, dishlike device called a roulettewheel into which a small ball is spun and comes to rest in one of the 37 or 38 compartments marked off as red or black or alternately odd or even. Several other sections afford the players a variety of betting opportunities. The wheel, its spindle perfectly balanced, and the ball all operate smoothly and without friction.
Before the wheel is spun people place their bets by laying down chips on the table according to certain rules. Some bets are placed on groups of numbers (inside or outside) while others are specific, such as a single number or the color red or black.
A croupier spins the roulettewheel and announces the winning number. The bettors then remove their chips and the game is over. There are many versions of the game, but the best and most popular is European roulette with a single zero. The American version is also available in most casinos, but with a second green pocket numbered 00 that raises the house edge to 5.26%.
There are other variations of the game as well, most of which depend on the symmetry of the numbers and whether or not there is a doubling-up rule. For example, a basket bet is staked by placing the chips in the corner of the dividing line between the two rows of numbers featuring 1 and 2. This bet has a much worse payout than a straight bet.
Another variation, used mainly in France and other countries with French heritage, is the “la partage” rule, whereby an even-odds bet that loses to a zero only pays half of its total, leaving the other half on the table for the next round. This reduces the house edge to 1.35%, which is still higher than that of the European version. In addition to the standard European roulette, some online casinos offer a variant with an additional en prison rule.