Roullete, also known as Roulette, is a casino game that involves spinning a small ball in the opposite direction of a revolving wheel until it comes to rest in one of a series of red or black numbered compartments. Bets may be placed on single numbers, various groupings of numbers, the colors red and black, or whether the number is odd or even. The game originated in Europe in the 18th century and is a popular choice for gambling dens, casinos, and racetracks throughout the world.
The roulette wheel is a solid disk slightly convex in shape and contains thirty-six compartments painted alternately red and black and numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. There is a single green division on European wheels marked 0 and a double green on American wheels marked 00. The spindle is perfectly balanced and the wheel rotates smoothly with almost no resistance.
Before a ball is rolled, players place bets on which slot the ball will land by laying down chips on a betting mat with precise positioning indicating the amount of the bet. The chips are then collected by the croupier once the winning bets have been paid out. If a player wins a straight bet, they will receive 392 chips (or 37 chips in the case of a zero). All other winning bets are collected by the croupier, who will then add them to the table bank.
Roulette is a game of chance and luck, but some people develop a strategy that they believe will increase their chances of winning. A quick internet search will reveal thousands of (possibly millions) systems for playing roulette, some easy to understand and others complicated and supposedly foolproof.
A key factor to consider when choosing a roulette system is the material the balls are made from. In the past, professional roulette balls were made from ivory but nowadays they are usually made from synthetic materials like resin or Teflon that resemble ivory in appearance and feel. The weight and size of the balls have a significant effect on how quickly the ball travels around the wheel and, in turn, how often it will jump unpredictably before coming to rest.