Roulette has offered glamour, mystery and excitement to casino-goers since the 17th century. Its rules are simple enough for a beginner to understand, but it provides a surprising depth of strategy for serious players. If you are interested in making money from roulette, correctly guessing where the ball will fall when the croupier spins the wheel is essential.
A Roulette wheel consists of a circular disk with 36 compartments (or pockets) alternately coloured red and black, and numbered one to 36 in a non-consecutive pattern. On European-style wheels, a separate 37th compartment painted green carries the number 0, while on American wheels two extra green compartments are marked 0 and 00. The croupier spins the wheel and then rolls a ball into one of the pockets, which determines the winning number. The croupier then pays out the winning bets and removes the losing chips from the table. The process then starts anew, with the dealer placing new bets on the table.
You can play Roulette online on the Internet by either logging in to a gaming website or downloading software to your computer. Both methods are equally good and allow you to play the game with your preferred currency and language. You can also play in an instant-play mode where the game will load in your browser and you can bet with virtual chips. However, this option may not work well on mobile devices.
The game of Roulette has its roots in ancient games like hoca and portique, with the modern roulette wheel and betting layout first appearing in the early 18th century. It was popularized in Paris, and then spread rapidly to gambling dens across Europe and the United States. Cheating by both operators and gamblers was rampant, so the wheel was placed on top of the table and a standardized betting layout established to prevent hidden devices.
During the early 19th century, the game spread to America where it grew in popularity in casinos and gambling houses until it was outlawed by state laws. It returned to legality in Nevada in the 1960s, and it is now played by millions of people worldwide.
Before the croupier spins the roulette wheel, players place their bets on what they think the numbers will be by placing chips on the betting mat, which is precisely labelled with the type of bet being placed. Bets on individual numbers are called Inside bets, while those on groups of six or more are called Outside bets.