Roullete (or Roulette) is a game in which players bet on the outcome of a spin of a numbered wheel. The player places his or her chips on a betting mat, the precise placement of which indicates the bet. The bets can be made on a single number, various groupings of numbers, red or black, odd or even, and one of two ranges of values (high or low). When the wheel is spun, the ball comes to rest in one of the 37 or 38 compartments, indicating the winning number and its characteristics.
A croupier spins the wheel and a small metal ball is thrown into the compartments where it will come to rest. A winning number is indicated by the presence of a coloured dot on the circle encircling the numbered compartments. The wheel consists of thirty-six compartments, painted alternately red and black and numbered consecutively from 1 to 36, with one or two green pockets. On European wheels, the extra green division is labelled 0; on American wheels there are two green pockets marked 00.
Before placing a bet, the player must establish the size of his or her unit, which should be determined by the player’s bankroll. It is recommended that the first bet be a minimum of five units, and thereafter the bet can increase or decrease as the session progresses.
The house edge in Roulette is derived from the fact that the odds of hitting a particular number are much lower than the payout on that bet. As a result, the game is prone to considerable cheating. This is why many roulette players use complex systems to beat the house.
Those who play online should stick to the European version of the game, since it offers a lower house edge than the American version. It is also better to choose a European casino that has the “la partage” rule, which means that any even-odds bet that loses to a zero wins half of its stake back.