Roulette is a casino game where a small ball rolls around a wheel and players place bets on which number, section, or color the ball will land. It’s a fast-paced, fun game with many betting options. It’s easy enough for beginners to learn and play, but has enough strategy to appeal to experienced players too.
The roulette wheel consists of a solid wooden disk slightly convex in shape. Its rim contains metal partitions, called frets or compartments by roulette croupiers, that are numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. On European-style wheels, a 37th compartment, painted green, carries the number 0.
Players make bets on various sections of the wheel, or on groups of numbers. The croupier then spins the wheel and rolls a small ball into one of the grooves. If the ball lands on a winner, the player receives the payout based on the betting odds for that bet. Outside bets are also placed on propositions such as high-low, red-black, or odd-even.
When playing roulette, remember that the house edge is nearly always greater than 1.0 percent. That means that even if you have the best strategies, there’s no way to guarantee a win every time. So, instead of stressing out about winning or losing, just have fun and enjoy the game. You’ll be glad you did. Frank Scoblete is a former teacher and writer who spent the ’60s getting an education, and then the ’70s in editing, publishing, and theatre, and the ’90s and 2000s in casino gambling. He lives in Long Island. He is the author of 35 books, most recently The Ultimate Roulette Strategy Guide. He has appeared on TV and in films.