Roulette is a popular casino game that has offered glamour, mystery and excitement to players since the 17th century. While the rules are relatively simple and easy to understand, the right strategy can reap rewards for serious betters.
A wheel with divisions numbered 1 to 36 in a seemingly random pattern and alternate red and black, plus a green division marked 0 on American tables, makes up the roulette wheel. The ball is tossed into the wheel and bounces around it until it comes to rest in one of the divisions.
The game has been credited with its origins to French mathematician Blaise Pascal, as well as being derived from other games such as Roly Poly and Biribi. It was first recorded in 1716 in Bordeaux, France and later became the leading game in the casinos of Europe.
It is important to remember that roulette has a huge house edge. Every bet you make – whether it’s a single number or a combination bet – is subject to the house edge. This means that the odds of winning are not what they seem and are slightly worse than the real odds of hitting a single number.
Fortunately, there are several strategies that can help you avoid the house edge. Some of these include using different chips for each bet.
In addition, betting on groupings of numbers is a good bet that pays more than betting on individual numbers. The payout for a group of six or less numbers is called an “inside bet” and the payout for a group of 12 or more numbers is an “outside bet”.
If you’re looking for a strategy that will give you a chance to win money in the long run, then a basket bet is the way to go. This bet is made by placing chips on the outside dividing line between the zero row and the rows featuring 1, 2 and 3.
In most roulette games, the dealer distributes the bets to each player after each decision. During this time, you should keep an eye out for a small symbol that indicates which number was hit.