Roulette is a casino game in which bettors predict which number the ball will land on, although its popularity doesn’t compare to slot machines, video poker, blackjack or craps. Still, Monte Carlo and other European casinos continue to draw large crowds for Roulette because winning odds may be low but payouts can be lucrative should one find themselves successful at beating it!

History of this game spans 300 years. One theory suggests it was invented by 17th-century French physicist Blaise Pascal during his attempts to create a perpetual motion machine, while others suggest Dominican monks or it being derived from earlier games such as hoca and portique contributed significantly.

A typical roulette wheel consists of a solid wooden disk with a slightly convex shape and metal rim, covered by 36 painted compartments numbered 1 through 36 painted alternately red and black for use by roulette croupiers as pockets. On European wheels this last compartment usually displays “0”, while American wheels usually display two green numbers to display “n=2”.

By placing an outside bet at the roulette table, you’re taking on the house and hoping for a streak of victories. The most common type of outside bet is known as Dozens bet which pays 2-1 and covers 12 numbers from zero through twelve; other options include Columns bets and Lines bets.

Roulette’s physics allow for players to gain an edge against the house, and one effective strategy for doing this is by studying its numbers sequence and searching for any symmetries or anomalies in its progression. There are various legal and illegal systems available for doing this as well as numerous websites and forums dedicated to teaching new techniques for roulette gaming.