The History of Roulette

Roulette is a game of chance that is based on luck. It’s important to understand the different bet types and their odds before laying down your chips. Inside bets have a higher house edge than outside bets, so it’s important to choose wisely.

Choose a table within your budget and bet according to the Martingale strategy, which involves raising your bet after every loss and doubling it after each win. Another popular strategy is the D’Alembert system.

Origins

Exactly how roulette originated isn’t really known. However, the game probably started in a very primitive form in the seventeenth century as a byproduct of French mathematician Blaise Pascal’s work on creating a perpetual motion machine.

The game has a revolving dishlike device called a roulette wheel into which players place chips. When the ball is spun and comes to rest in one of the 38 (on modern European/Latin American tables) or 37 (on other types of roulette wheels) compartments, the bettors win.

Other anecdotal evidence suggests that the game may have begun in China and was then brought to Europe by Dominican monks who traveled throughout Asia. Gambling on the turn of a wheel has long been a popular activity. The ancient Romans used chariot wheels turned on their side as a gambling mechanism.