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. Each roulette table moves in sessions, each session is associated with a spin of the wheel and that spin's result. Each player plays with their own color chips. Most roulette sessions move at a fairly slow pace, to accommodate the number of people betting, and the variety on which they can bet. 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'. On inside bets, the total of all of your bets must add up to at least the table minimum. 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. Split bet - you can place a single bet on two individual numbers if those numbers are beside each other on the table layout. The outside bets on a roulette board are simply the bets that reside 'outside' of the main playing area of 38 numbers.

Roulette is the game where you guess where the little marble is going to drop on the spinning wheel. 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. 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) Here are the different bets you can make. In most games players can continue making bets even while the ball is still spinning. Each player's chips are a different color. 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. Sometimes the dealer will ask you "Inside or Outside? That way, you're not locked in and you always have the ability to change your mind. Roulette games have minimum bets, which will be posted on a placard at the table. Remember that you can bet inside or outside if you like; there's no requirement to bet both on a given spin. In this way, Roulette is more like slots - one single bet can win a lot. It's important to understand that the outcome of the roulette wheel is truly random. 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. On even money bets when 0 comes up, instead of losing right away, your bet is "imprisoned" and rides again for the next spin.