Roullete is a game of chance in which a small ball is released into a revolving wheel and players bet on which red or black numbered compartment the ball will come to rest in as it slows down and comes to a stop. Bets are placed by laying chips down on a betting mat, the precise placement of the chips indicating which bet is being made. The game of roulette evolved from older gambling games such as hoca and portique and reached its current form by the late 18th century in casinos throughout Europe.
The roulette wheel consists of a solid, slightly convex wooden disk with thirty-six compartments or pockets, alternately painted red and black and numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. There is also a green section labelled 0 on European-style wheels and two extra green sections marked 00 on American-style ones.
There are a variety of bets that can be made on a roulette table, with different bets having different odds and payouts. All bets must be placed before the ball is spun. The simplest bet is to place a single number bet, which entails placing chips directly on the chosen number on the betting table. Alternatively, you can place a split bet by placing chips on the line between two numbers. Finally, a corner bet places chips on the square of four adjacent numbers on the betting table.
The house edge on even money bets in roulette is 1.35%, which is higher than most other casino games. Despite this, the game continues to be popular and many people have devised systems of betting that allegedly can reduce the house edge. A simple search of the internet will return millions of systems that claim to beat the maths of the game and make a profit. However, it is important to note that no betting system can turn a subfair game into one that will guarantee a profit.