Roulette is a game that can seem complicated when you’re just getting started. The betting table has a grid of numbers and areas, each with different risk levels and payout odds.

All bets fall into two categories: inside and outside. Inside bets have a higher chance of winning but smaller payouts.

Origins

While roulette may seem like a very modern game with a long history of gambling in Las Vegas, the truth is quite different. The first true version of the game emerged in France during the early 18th century. Its name, which derives from the French word meaning “little wheel,” reflects its central feature. Its creator, Blaise Pascal, a 17th-century French mathematician and physicist, did not have any intention of creating a gaming device when he conceived the game in 1655 during his search for a perpetual motion machine. There are many fanciful stories regarding the origin of the game, including the claim that it was invented in China and brought to France by Dominican monks.