Roullete is a casino game whose rules and payouts are well known, but which has a surprising depth of strategy for serious players. It is a game of chance, but one in which the player can improve his odds by selecting a particular number or type of bet. It is a popular game in casinos, and is also available at many online sites.
The game consists of spinning a wheel with numbered divisions around it, and a ball which spins and bounces until it comes to rest in one of the numbers. The player may bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, whether the number is odd or even, or whether it is high or low. If the ball lands on the player’s bet, he wins.
The wheel used in roulette consists of a solid wooden disk slightly convex in shape, with metal separators or frets, called “canoes” by croupiers, and with thirty-six compartments painted alternately red and black. There is a separate compartment for the zero, and on American tables a second green one marked 00.
Before the wheel is spun, bets are placed on the table map and the chips are arranged on the betting mat. There are French terms for the numbers, and on European-style tables they are used along with the English names. The bets that are placed on six or fewer numbers are termed “Inside bets” and those on 12 or more numbers are “Outside bets”.
Before the roulette wheel is spun, the croupiers clear away all losing bets and pay winning ones. There are several types of bets, and each has a different house edge. The highest-edge bets are those that cover large groups of numbers, such as a straight up or a split bet. These bets are hard to place successfully, and should only be made with money you can afford to lose. Some players try to beat the game by watching their fellow gamblers, hoping that others will make mistakes they can take advantage of, or by acting contrary to them. However, this is not an efficient way to improve your odds of winning.