Roulete is a game of chance where players place wagers on numbers on both a table and rotating wheel, which the dealer spins. There are various different kinds of bets available and your chances of success in winning depend on correctly guessing where the ball will land when spun – payouts depend on how many chips were wagered!
Roulette wheel is a solid disk with slightly convex corners painted alternately red and black, featuring 36 compartments numbered from 1-36 on European-style wheels, while American tables use green pockets numbered 0. The spindle and wheelhead must be carefully balanced so as to maintain frictionless spinning for fair results.
Before betting begins, a small disc or puck is placed at the center of the table to indicate which bet was won on a previous spin and its amount. Once betting has begun, this indicator is then removed before placing another bet.
Each player receives a different color of casino chip to distinguish them as bettors, and many roulette dealers only accept and return these special chips once won – it is recommended that these special chips not be shared as doing so could result in the loss of bets.
At the start of play, a croupier (the person responsible for dealing the game) clears away all bets before players may begin placing their bets. Once all bets have been made, he/she will spin the roulette wheel and release one ball onto one of the numbered slots on the table; players may continue placing bets while this occurs.
The original roulette ball was composed of ivory; today’s versions use synthetic “ivorine”. The dimensions and weight of a roulette ball has a significant effect on gameplay; heavier balls or those larger or smaller will move more unpredictably until finally coming to rest in pockets. Differences in material used, wheel track size/quality as well as ball size can impact winning chances significantly.
Odd or Even Bet (passe et manque in French) is an even money bet which pays out 1:1 and anticipates one of 18 odd or 18 even numbers being hit on the layout by the ball. Since zeros and ones do not count towards odds or evens, the house holds an edge with this bet.