Roulette is a game of chance that has offered glamour, mystery and excitement to casino-goers since the 17th century. It is easy to learn and offers a surprising level of depth for serious betters who take the time to understand its rules.
Before you step up to the table, establish the size of your betting unit based on your available bankroll. Then choose a roulette table within your budget and check the maximum and minimum bets. Table maximums are usually lower for inside bets than outside, so you’ll probably want to make the majority of your bets outside.
After you’ve placed your chips on the table, it’s time for the dealer (or croupier) to spin the wheel. The ball will fall into one of the compartments on the rim of the wheel, and if you made a bet on that number or type of bet, you’ve won!
The roulette wheel is a solid wooden disk slightly convex in shape with a rotating wheelhead. Its inner rim contains metal compartments, called separators or frets, and the outer rim is painted alternately red and black with two green pockets (zero and 00) on American wheels.
Each player gets a colored chip to identify him or her at the table, and the dealer will ask what denomination you want to designate for each chip. The dealer will then mark the color of the chip to indicate its value and hand it to you. The dealers will also clear away any losing bets and pay out winning bets as soon as the round is over.
In the past, professional roulette balls were carved from ivory. Today, they are often made from synthetic materials that closely resemble ivory in look and feel. The difference in size, weight and material has a noticeable effect on the way the ball moves around the wheel track and when it comes to rest. A smaller, lighter ceramic ball makes more revolutions on the wheel and jumps more unpredictably before settling in a number than a larger, heavier ivorine ball.
The most common form of roulette played in the USA has a much higher house edge than the European version due to the presence of two green pockets on the wheel (zero and double zero). The highest payout for a straight bet is 35:1 on an American wheel, but even that isn’t enough to offset the house edge. The best option for players looking to improve their odds is to play the French variation, which has a