Roulette is a popular casino game named after the French word meaning little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number, various groupings of numbers, the colors red or black, whether the number is odd or even, or if the numbers are high or low.
The roulette wheel consists of a spinning disk with divisions around its edge that revolves around the base of a bowl. A ball is spun around the outside of the bowl until eventually ball and wheel come to rest with the ball in one of the divisions. 
The divisions around the wheel are numbered from 1 to 36 in a seemingly random pattern and alternate red and black. Additionally, there is a green division numbered 0. In American roulette, there is a second green division marked 00.
Players place their bets on the table layout, which corresponds to the numbers and colors on the wheel. Different types of bets offer different payout odds based on their probability. Straight up bets on single numbers pay 35 to 1, while even money bets like red/black or odd/even pay 1 to 1.
The game begins when the croupier spins the wheel in one direction and rolls the ball in the opposite direction around the circular track. When the ball loses momentum, it falls onto the wheel and into one of the numbered and colored pockets. |
