Roullete (pronounced: “row-let-te”) is a casino game with a long history. It is a spin on the famous roulette wheel. The game is played by placing bets on either a single number, various groupings of numbers, the colors red or black, whether the number is odd or even, or whether the ball is high (19-36) or low (1-18).
Traditionally, roulette was a game of chance whose rules were simple enough to allow for many variations and betting strategies. This led to a number of attempts by professional gamblers to gain an advantage over the house, most of which were unsuccessful, although a few methods were able to improve a player’s odds of winning.
Roulette’s popularity is due in part to the glamour, mystery, and excitement it has offered since its emergence in the 17th century. The game offers a surprising level of depth for serious betters and the right strategy can reap significant rewards.
The Roulette wheel consists of a solid, slightly convex wooden disk with a smooth center. A series of metal partitions (known as separators or frets by roulette croupiers) form thirty-six compartments (called canoes by them) alternately painted red and black, with the exception of two green compartments on American wheels that carry the signs 0 and 00. The spinning ball comes to rest in one of these compartments, which indicate the winning number.
A player places a bet by placing chips on the table map, or layout, in the area designated for that bet. Each bet has a different payout based on its probability of being a winner, and the amount of money placed on that bet is then totaled. Then, the dealer removes losing bets from the table and pays winners. Any winning bets are still the property of the players, but the winnings are not withdrawn until a request to the contrary is made.
Some players like to watch the other players while playing roulette, hoping that they can pick up on a secret signal that will tell them which bets are likely to win. However, there is no evidence that this practice improves a player’s odds of winning more than coincidentally.