The word "roulette" comes from the 17th century Old French "roelete" which means, small wheel. No one is quite sure who actually invented the game. Some have credited French mathematician Blaise Pascal while others claim the game is based on older English wheel games or even games from ancient China.

But no matter what its origins, the roulette table has been one of the most popular casino games in history. The visual excitement of watching the bouncing ball, the elegant slow pace of the game and the cry of the croupier at the roulette table "Faites vos jeux" or "place your bets" has captured the minds and hearts of gamesters around the globe.

Online roulette has spread this exciting game even further. Along with the software the online casino provides, you can also download and use "roulette companion" applications like Routrack.

Elements of the Roulette Table

There are basically two main components of a roulette table: the roulette wheel itself and the table and layout.

The Roulette Wheel

Roulette is a wheeled game in which a white ball is spun around a circle of 36 numbered slots or pockets that alternate between red and black plus a "0" and "00" in "American" style roulette. In the rest of the world, "European" roulette, made famous at Monte Carlo" is the primary style.

The wheel is similar except that a European roulette wheel has only a single 0 for the house to win on. The object of either game is to predict where on the wheel the white ball will land.

Many people, even professional gamblers and croupiers (roulette dealers) think that the numbers along the edge of the roulette wheel are just jumbled together in no particular fashion. In actuality the numbers are arranged in an attempt to alternate odd and even numbers, high, low digits along with the red and black colors.

Since there is no way for the wheel to be arranged in a true mathematically balanced way, in the American version the green "0" and "00" slots are placed on opposite sides of each other with exactly 18 numbers between them.

Plus to even out high and low numbers, the sum of each two consecutive numbers of the same color must equal 37 and even numbers must alternate with odd numbers. However European numbers are completely different with numbers set in a:

"0-32-15-19-4-21-2-25-17-34-6-27-13-36-11-30-8-23-10-5-24-16-33-1-20-14-31-9-22-18-29-7-28-12-35-3-26".

The Roulette Table

The roulette table itself is 8 feet long and made of woods like oak with padded armrests with the betting layout and a special area for the wheel and chips.

The Roulette Table Layout

The layout we see used today is believed to have been developed in France in the 1840s. An American style layout is made of a heavy felt that comes in 2-3 colors with a 0 and 00 at one end and has two betting areas: inside and outside.

The inside area is comprised of the individual figures for each numbered slot on the wheel 1-36. The outside area has labeled betting boxes for red or black, odd or even numbers, columns, the low or high numbers (1-18, 19-36) and the 1st 12", "2nd 12" or "3rd 12" (1-12,13-24, 25-36).

The European layout is also made of quality felt but the layout is completely different with where the outside areas are placed. The outside or side bet is split into two and runs along either side of the main layout. Each betting box is labeled by its French name, but may have an English translation underneath.

Understanding how all the elements of a roulette table go together will help you become a smarter and better roulette player in the long run.