Roulette

Roulette is a casino and gambling game named after the French word meaning "small wheel". In the game a croupier spins a wheel in one direction, then spins a ball in the opposite direction around a tilted circular surface running around the circumference of the wheel. The ball eventually falls on to the wheel and into one of 37 (in European Roulette) or 38 (in American Roulette) colored and numbered pockets on the wheel.

History
The first form of roulette was devised in 17th century France. The game has been played in its current form since as early as 1796 in Paris. [1] In 1842, fellow Frenchmen François and Louis Blanc added the "0" to the roulette wheel in order to achieve a house advantage. In the early 1800s, roulette was brought into the U.S. where, to further increase house odds, a second zero, "00", was introduced. (In some forms of early American roulette the double-zero was replaced by an American Eagle.) In the 1800s, roulette spread all over both Europe and the U.S., becoming one of the most famous and most popular casino games. Some call roulette the "King of Casino Games", probably because it was associated with the glamour of the casinos in Monte Carlo. (François Blanc actually established the first casinos there.)

A legend tells François Blanc supposedly bargained with the devil to obtain the secrets of roulette. The legend is based on the fact that if you add up all the numbers on the roulette wheel (from 1 to 36), the resulting total is "666", which is the "Number of the Beast."

General Rules
The player bets on the arrangement for a number, group of numbers or color that he/she predicts will win, then “Spin.” The dealer will spin the ball along the wheel's rim. The bank will pay winning wagers and collect losing wagers when the ball comes to a stop in a number. Then, bets are placed again for the next spin. You are allowed to place as many chips on the table at once as you want (up to the maximum limit).

American Roulette
The roulette wheel is divided into 38 sections. These sections are numbered from 1 to 36, (half in red and half in black), with two additional green sections, one marked 0 and the other marked 00.

European Roulette
The roulette wheel is divided into 37 sections. These sections are numbered from 1 to 36, (half in red and half in black), with an additional green section marked 0.

La Partage
When the zero wins, the La partage rule is used to determine what happens with the bets. All even-money bets (i.e. red/black, even/odd, 1-18/19-36) will lose half of their value and all other bets will lose, except for bets on zero itself.

Straight-Up Bets
Payout is 35 to 1 - you may place any chip on any single number.

Split Bets (2 Numbers)
Payout is 17 to 1 - you may place a chip on the line between any two adjacent numbers. You will win if either number comes up.

Street Bets (3 Numbers)
Payout is 11 to 1 - you may place a chip on the horizontal line across the top of the layout on any number of the twelve rows of three numbers. You will receive all 3 numbers in the street. Street bets are also available connecting to one or both zeros. (Example: 0,1,2 or 0,00,2)

Corner Bets (4 Numbers)
Payout is 8 to 1 - you may place a chip between any four number groupings (for example 4, 5, 7, 8) and you will receive all four numbers in that group.

First-Five Bet (5 Numbers)
Payout is 6 to 1 - 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3 is the only possible five number grouping on the Roulette layout. You should place the chip on the upper horizontal line between the 00 and the 3.

Double Street Bets (6 Numbers)
Payout is 5 to 1 - to get all six numbers in the double streets you should place a chip on the outside line between adjacent streets.

Dozen Bets
Payout is 2 to 1 - you should place a chip on the 1st 12 (1 to 12), 2nd 12 (13 to 24) or 3rd 12 (25 to 36)

Column Bets
Payout is 2 to 1 - you may place a chip on a box at the end of one of three columns.

Even money Bets
Payout is 1 to 1 - you should place a chip on Odd or Even, Black or Red, 1-18 or 19-36.