Roulette has offered glamour, mystery and excitement to casino-goers for more than 300 years. The game is easy to understand, but it has a surprising depth of strategy for those willing to take the time to study it.

The game is centered on a wheel with 37 or 38 compartments for numbers, plus one or two zeroes. The number slots are divided into groups of red or black, odd or even, high or low. A bet is placed on the number or grouping that a player thinks the ball will land in. The dealer spins the wheel, and a winning number is concluded when the ball stops in the pocket marked as such.

Before the game begins, players must purchase roulette chips from the dealer (also called a croupier). These are special chips that are color-coded for their value. The croupier will ask the player to designate the amount they wish to place on each chip, which should correspond to the minimum bet at the table. The dealer will then give the player the chips, and the game will begin.

The first thing to know about Roullete is that the dealer cannot accept bets once he announces “No More Bets!” This prevents players from placing their bets at precisely the moment when the ball is poised to come to rest, preventing cheating and additional advantages. The dealers should always be clear about this, so there is no confusion about what the rules are and when it is acceptable to place a bet.

There are several types of bets in Roulette, including inside and outside bets. Inside bets involve betting on a definite number or small group of numbers, and have lower odds than outside bets, but higher payouts. Inside bets include straight-up, split, street, corner, and six-line bets. Outside bets include red/black, odd/even, dozens, and columns bets.

In addition to knowing the bet types, you should also be aware of the house edge, which is the percentage that the casino takes from all bets. This can be lowered significantly if the player chooses to use the La Partage rule, which is applied to even money bets only when the dealer uses the European wheel. In this case, the dealer will keep half of all even-money bets and give the other half to the player. This reduces the house edge from 2.70% to just 1.35%. This is not a guaranteed way to win, but it is certainly a good way to cut down on the amount of losing bets you will make.