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. If you have a player you likes to put down twenty different bets each time they play, the sessions are going to move a little slower. 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'. 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. Fiver number bet - there is only one five number bet available. There are the different types of outside bets. Odd or Even - similar to the red black bet, this even money bet is based on whether the resulting number will be odd or even. 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)

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. 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. 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. 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'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. If you're asked Inside or Outside, always answer "Both", even if you only intend to bet one or the other. 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. 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. 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. The chances of #27 coming up on a given spin are the same, whether it just come up on the last spin or not - 1 in 38. On an American wheel, there are 38 spots - numbers 1-36, plus 0 and 00. The European wheel has a lower house edge (2.63%) because it has only 37 slots instead of 38 (no 00) 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.