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. There aren't many specific things that can be considered roulette rules at the table, but here's one you shouldn't forget. After the ball has started spinning, the dealer will wave his hands across the table and say 'no more bets'. Just sit back and let the ball fall where it may. Straight-up bet - this is the classic roulette bet. Choose any one of the 38 numbers and put your chips down on that number for the chance to win back at 35 to 1. Corner bet - lets you bet on four adjoining numbers. Placing your chips at the point where four numbers meet will indicate you want a corner bet. The outside bets on a roulette board are simply the bets that reside 'outside' of the main playing area of 38 numbers. When you place an outside bet your bet must meet the table minimum. There are the different types of outside bets. Dozens - a bet very similar to the columns bet, dozens lets you place a bet on either the first dozen numbers (1-12), the second dozen (13-24), or the third dozen (25-36)

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. You don't have to make just one kind of bet for each spin, you can make several, and you win if the ball lands on any of your numbers. If you're asked Inside or Outside, always answer "Both", even if you only intend to bet one or the other. There's no advantage to limiting yourself to inside or outside. Minimum bets work differently for inside and outside bets. In this way, Roulette is more like slots - one single bet can win a lot. If Black has come up for the last 10 spins in a row, the next spin is not more likely to be Red. Here's another example: Since there are 38 slots on the wheel, we expect any given number to hit 1 out of 38 spins on average. 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. The difference between the true odds and what they actually pay you is 2/38, or 5.26%. The European wheel has a lower house edge (2.63%) because it has only 37 slots instead of 38 (no 00) If you play Roulette, the most important thing is to find a casino that offers the European wheel (which is called "Single 0" Roulette) Atlantic City has a special rule which reduces the house edge to 2.7% on even money bets (Red/Black, Odd/Even, 1-18/19-36): If 0 or 00 comes up on on even money bet, you lose only half your bet. 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. On even money bets when 0 comes up, instead of losing right away, your bet is "imprisoned" and rides again for the next spin. If you win the second spin, your bet is "released from prison" and you get it back.