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.

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. Additionally, there is a green division numbered 0. The divisions around the wheel are numbered from 1 to 36 in a seemingly random pattern and alternate red and black.

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. A roulette wheel consists of a spinning disk with divisions around its edge that revolves around the base of a bowl.