Roulette has been a popular game since the 17th century, although the game didn’t take on its current form until the 18th century. There are three theories about how the game originated, all of which involve a French monastery. So one thing’s clear, monastic life in 17th century France probably wasn’t quite as monotonous as it was meant to be.

Today, the game of roulette is played in casinos and on computers around the world. There are three widely played versions of the game – French roulette, European roulette and American roulette, all of which involve the spin of a wheel and the throw of a ball. Let’s go over the basics of roulette from the top.

The spin of a wheel

To play roulette, a croupier will spin a numbered wheel in one direction while throwing the ball in the other. As the ball travels around the outside of the wheel on a tilted circular track, it begins to lose momentum. As it loses momentum, the ball falls onto the wheel and eventually comes to rest in one of the numbered pockets, numbered 0 to 36 in French and European roulette, and 00 to 36 in American roulette. Your job as the bettor is to predict where the ball will come to rest.

Placing a bet

Each pocket on the roulette wheel is numbered 0 to 36. Each of these numbers is either odd or even, and is coloured red or black (with green for 0). The pockets are also grouped into number ranges, such as 1-18 and 19-36, or 1-12, 13-24 and 25-36, effectively splitting the roulette table into halves and thirds.

Before the croupier spins the wheel, players are giving time to place their bets. The player makes a bet by placing a coloured chip onto their chosen number or group of numbers on the roulette table. Placing one chip on the roulette table signifies a single bet. It is common, giving the sheer variety of betting options, for players to place multiple bets for every spin of the wheel.

Once the ball has come to rest in one of the numbered pockets, the croupier then places a marker, known as a dolly, onto the roulette table to signify the winning number. When the dolly is on the table no players can place bets, remove bets or change the bets that have been made. At this point, the croupier will sweep away the chips that are not winning bets and remove them from the table. They will then determine the payouts for the chips that remain.

The payout

Roulette allows for a wide variety of bets, each offering different odds. For example, a successful bet on red/black or odd/even will pay even money i.e. if you bet £5 you will win £5 and get to keep your original stake. If you place a successful bet on a single number you will receive 35 times your original stake.
Here are the roulette odds in full:
Single number – 35:1
Two numbers – 17:1
Three numbers – 11:1
Four numbers – 8:1
Six numbers – 5:1
12 numbers – 2:1
Odd/Even - 1:1
Black/Red – 1:1
1-18 or 19/36 – 1:1

Okay, so that’s everything you need to know to be able to place a bet. Now, either stay tuned to our academy article on how to play roulette, or try your luck at roulette by signing up to Foxy Casino today!