A roulette wheel consists of a spinning disk with divisions around its edge that revolves around the base of a bowl. A ball is spun around the outside of the bowl until eventually ball and wheel come to rest with the ball in one of the divisions.

 

The divisions around the wheel are numbered from 1 to 36 in a seemingly random pattern and alternate red and black. Additionally, there is a green division numbered 0. On American tables only there is a second extra green division marked 00 and it is largely this that makes the American version of Roulette a worse proposition financially than the European game.

 

Prior to rolling the ball, people place bets on what number will come up by laying down chips on a betting mat, the precise location of the chips indicating the bet being made. Roulette is a game of French origin and on a traditional table, the French terms on the betting area are still used even in English speaking areas.

 

Assuming that the possible bets are all understood, Roulette is essentially a trivially simple game to play. For each turn, once all bets have been placed using coloured chips to distinguish each player, the croupier halts betting, spins the wheel, and rolls the ball in the opposite direction. When the ball comes to a halt in one of the slots, the croupier announces the result, collects all losing bets and pays out the winner's profits.