Roullete is the French word for roulette, which is a casino game of chance played on a spinning wheel. Players place bets on numbers, sections or colors of the wheel. When the croupier spins the wheel, a ball settles into a numbered pocket and winners are paid according to their bet odds. While the game is based on luck, players can make informed decisions to maximize their winnings and minimize losses.
The roulette wheel consists of a solid wooden disk slightly convex in shape with metal partitions, called separators or frets, around its edge and rim. Thirty-six of these compartments, painted alternately red and black, are numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. On European wheels, one additional compartment is green and carries the number 0. On American wheels two green compartments on opposite sides of the wheel carry the numbers 0 and 00. The wheel spins in a smooth and frictionless manner.
While fanciful stories abound about the origin of roulette, it was developed in France from earlier games such as hoca and portique, and reached its current form about 1790. The game quickly became popular in casinos and gambling dens across Europe and America.
The house edge in roulette varies with the type of bet, as it depends on whether the number is high or low, odd or even and the color (red or black). However, unlike the much more complex game of craps, the range of house edges on all roulette bets is relatively small. Nevertheless, it is still large enough to make roulette an unprofitable proposition for the vast majority of players.
