You trade in your checks (which most people think of as regular casino chips, but they're actually called checks) for roulette chips when a new session starts, and the dealer assigns you a number and denomination. All of your chips of the same color are worth the same amount. 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. 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. Now lets take a look at each of the individual bets you can make. 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. Street bet - this is a bet not unlike a split. It allows you to bet on three different numbers with the same bet. The outside bets on a roulette board are simply the bets that reside 'outside' of the main playing area of 38 numbers. Columns - at one end of the set of 38 numbers are boxes with the words '2 to 1' written in them.

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. We've added blue circled letters to the diagram to point out how to make the not-so-obvious bets (the sets of 2-6 numbers) The house edge is the same whether you make one bet per spin or several. That way if two players bet on the same number (or set of numbers), then the dealer knows who to pay, and arguments can't arise over who bet what. That way, you're not locked in and you always have the ability to change your mind. There's no advantage to limiting yourself to inside or outside. Roulette games have minimum bets, which will be posted on a placard at the table. Minimum bets work differently for inside and outside bets. For outside bets, any bet you make has to be the table minimum. It most other games a bet usually wins only even money, but Roulette gives you the chance to win 35 times your bet (a winning bet placed on a single number) All the bets on the layout carry the same house edge, with the exception of 5-number Line Bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3), which carries a whopping 7.29% edge! " 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. if you win, the casino doesn't pay you 37 to 1, they pay you less - 35 to 1. The European wheel has a lower house edge (2.63%) because it has only 37 slots instead of 38 (no 00) If you win the second spin, your bet is "released from prison" and you get it back.