Roulette is one of the oldest casino games which is still popular among the gambling community. Many players have a rough idea of the game's concept, which involves the dealer throwing the ball onto the spinning wheel and the players' winnings based on whether the ball lands on their betted number.
Of course, there's much more to the game than just spinning the wheel and betting on the numbers. In this article, we will explore the origins and basic gameplay of Roulette.
The origins of Roulette
The early history of the game of Roulette is shrouded in mystery. General consensus says that the game was created by French physicist Blaise Pascal somewhere in the 17th century when he was trying to create the perpetual motion machine.
An early version of Roulette appeared in Britain in the 1720s but was banned by 1739. The Roulette wheel that we know today reached the casinos in France by the end of the 18th century, but it was also outlawed by King Louis Philippe in 1837.
The early Roulette wheel featured two pockets - a zero and a double zero. The double zero was removed by French brothers Francois and Louis Blanc in 1843, which proved popular among players as the exclusion reduced the house edge by a few points.
The Blanc brothers moved to Germany after gambling was banned in France and they introduced the single zero variants there. Their variants became so popular among players that it was adopted throughout the gambling venues in Europe.
For the early part of the 20th century, gambling venues were not widespread. The only places where players could play Roulette were the gambling meccas like Las Vegas and Monte Carlo. From the 1970s, the popularity of casinos began to increase. Yet the real boom came with the advent of the internet. With more and more people having an internet connection, it led to a new generation of casinos where players could play UK online Roulette games from the comfort of their own home.
Basic rules of Roulette
The Roulette wheel features red and black slots, numbers from 1 to 36, and one or two zero slots. The European variant of the game has a single zero slot, while the American variant offers two.
Before the dealer spins the wheel, players place their bets on the table. Just like the Roulette wheel, the Roulette table is the same for most variants except the American version, which features an additional field for the double zero.
The three main types of bets you can place when playing Roulette are:
Inside bets
On the Roulette table, the numbers 0 and 36 are arranged sequentially in rows and columns. Chips are then placed on the numbers themselves, which are called inside bets.
Outside bets
Besides the number boxes, the Roulette table has sectors for betting on groups of numbers. The sectors are 1 to 18, 19 to 36, red or black, even or odd numbers, and dozens and columns. The act of placing bets on these sectors is called an outside bet.
Announced bets
Most often found in French and European Roulette variants, announced bets are special betting combinations, such as Le Tiers Du Cylindre, Jue Zero, Voisins du Zero, and Orphelins.
