Roulette is a game played with colored chips that have no currency value. Players place their chips on the table until the croupier says, “No more bets.”

All bets fall into two categories: inside bets and outside bets. Each type offers different payout odds and strategies. The table layout can look confusing, but it’s actually quite simple.

Origin

Although it might seem like a modern game, roulette’s origins go back far into history. The first incarnation of this game was conceived by a French mathematician and physicist named Blaise Pascal in 1655. He inadvertently created the game while experimenting with a perpetual motion machine during his stay at Port Royal-des-Champs monastery.

Though his original intention may have been a machine to produce continuous energy, he found that the spinning wheel and ball could be used for recreational gambling. It is thought that roulette derived from the earlier games of hoca and portique, as well as other English games such as roly poly and even-odd. However, it is almost impossible to pin down a specific date for the invention of roulette. This is largely due to the fact that it was not widely known under this name until about 1790.