The first thing you should know before you learn anything about the bets you can make, is when and how you can make those bets. When the new session starts you can put your chips down where you want to bet, and you don't really have to be in a hurry. Just sit back and let the ball fall where it may. Now lets take a look at each of the individual bets you can make. The inside bets are made up of specific numbers or combinations of numbers within the number layout, or along the border of it. On inside bets, the total of all of your bets must add up to at least the table minimum. Split bet - you can place a single bet on two individual numbers if those numbers are beside each other on the table layout. This is different than inside bets, where the total of all of your inside bets must meet the table minimum. Red or Black - you can choose to bet on the outcome either being a red number, or a black number.

Roulette would be a great game were it not for the high house edge - usually 5.26%, sometimes as low as 2.63%, which is still higher than blackjack, craps, or baccarat. Making a bet is easy - you just place your chip(s) on the number(s), color, or sets you want to bet on. For most bets it's fairly obvious - you can't miss the Red diamond for Red bets, and things like Even, 1-18, and 1st 12 are written out in plain English. When the ball falls into a slot, the dealer will announce the number and the color, and place a marker on the layout where the winning number is. Then he'll scoop up all the losing bets towards the dealer area. Don't reach for your winnings until the dealer removes the marker, or the dealer will scold you. Sometimes the dealer will ask you "Inside or Outside? That's because if you're betting only inside and someone else is betting only outside, he can give you both the same color chips and there won't be any confusion. When you buy in, tell the dealer what denomination you want. Minimum bets work differently for inside and outside bets. Here's a handy way to remember the payouts when you're betting on a set of numbers: Take 36 divided by the quantity of numbers you're betting on, and subtract 1. There's an old saying, "The wheel has no memory. " That means it doesn't know what it spun before, and even if it did, the wheel can't select what number comes up out of its own volition. You can certainly switch to another number if you want, but that won't improve or worsen your chances. It's more important to know what the house edge is, than how to calculate it, but here's a quick analysis in case you're interested. European games have an option called en prison which reduces the house edge to 1.35%, but it's generally not available in the U.S., even in casinos that use the European wheel. You don't get paid for the win, though, but it's better than losing it outright.