Roullete is a name used for a small wheel, especially one mounted on a handle and used for making lines of marks, dots, or perforations: for example, a roulette for perforating sheets of postage stamps. The word may also refer to a gambling game wherein a ball is spun around a revolving wheel, and bets are placed on which numbered compartment the ball will come to rest in. Roulette emerged in the 18th century and enjoyed a great reputation in the casinos of Europe, but it was banned after 1933 in France because of rampant cheating by both players and operators.
The roulette wheel consists of a solid disc slightly convex in shape with a series of compartments (called frets by croupiers) ranging from 1 to 36, plus a single red and black division called a zero and an extra green one on American tables. The numbered compartments are painted alternately red and black, with the exception of the green ones which are marked 0 and 00.
Prior to spinning the wheel, the player places chips on a betting mat, with the precise placement of each chip indicating the bet being made. The chips can be placed on individual numbers, various groups of numbers, whether a number is odd or even, the colors of the numbers (red and black), or high (19-36) and low (1-18).
After placing a bet, the dealer spins the wheel and the ball. The ball then rolls around the wheel, bouncing in and out of the pockets until it comes to rest in one of them. If a player has placed a bet on the number it lands in, the winner is paid out.
If a player wins a bet, they must immediately cash out their winnings. This ensures that the winnings will remain their property and does not get lost or stolen by other players at the table. It also prevents the player from using their winnings to place additional bets, thus extending the session and possibly increasing their losses.
It is common for players to try to predict the outcome of a spin by watching other players, hoping that they can pick up on hidden information or simply doing the opposite of what their opponents are doing. However, this is not a very effective strategy and it is not recommended for serious gamblers. Instead, players should always play within their predetermined budgets and only bet with money they can afford to lose.