Roulette is a casino game where players place bets on a number they think will come up. They do this by placing chips on a special betting mat. Roulette chips have different colors to distinguish players and are used differently from regular casino chips.

A successful bet results in a payout that is up to 35 times the amount of the wager. Players can make inside or outside bets.

Origins

Roulette has been around for a long time and the exact origins of the game are unclear. Many theories about its genesis exist, but most of them centre on the 17th century French mathematician Blaise Pascal. According to popular belief, he inadvertently created the roulette wheel as part of his mission to produce a perpetual motion machine. It is also commonly believed that the game originated in China and was brought to France by Dominican monks, where it underwent some modifications. Regardless of its precise origins, it was in the 18th century that roulette gained its modern form and became a favourite game in Paris’ gilded gambling parlours.

Variations

While the basic rules of roulette are essentially the same, players can find different variations to suit their tastes. For example, some versions of the game offer a smaller number of pockets in the wheel (with the exception of the zero pocket), and this can affect payouts. For instance, winning straight bets will receive a payout of 11:1, while split and street bets will pay out at the rate of 5:1. Then there are the red/black and even/odd variations, which also have different payout rates.