Watch that ball close as it hypnotizes you hugging the groove of the roulette wheel. Place your best bets on the roulette table layout. You have so many chances to win! Well, as that little ball plunks and plops to its final resting slot, have you chosen correctly? Did it hit your lucky number this time? Odds are that the one number you favor is not favored by a random and unloving metal ball. So the best way to have success playing a game of roulette is to really wisely hedge your bets.

There are two major types of bets that you can place on the roulette table. These are either the inside or outside bets. The outside bets have a smaller payout because you have better odds at hitting them. When looking at the layout you can easily identify which bets they are as they are clearly understood. They are red or black; odd or even; 1-18 or 19-36; dozens (1-18 or 13-24, or 25-36); and the column (a vertical line of 12 numbers).

Another advantage to remember when playing the outside bet in a roulette game that is using the "la partage" or "en prison" rules, you have an opportunity to have some or all of your money returned when the wheel hits zero. This decreases the house edge yet again, and now you are playing even smarter!

Inside bets are much harder to hit and have the payout to prove it! If you make a "straight up" bet, then you have put your bet on a single lucky number. You can "split" your bet by putting your bet on the line between two numbers. A "street" is on three numbers in a horizontal line in the layout. A "square" or "corner" is a bet placed at the intersection between four numbers. The "basket" bet is for 00 tables and means you place a bet on the 0, 1, 2; or 0, 00, 2; or 00, 2, 3. If you are playing the single 0 wheel, then you can instead place a "trio" bet on the 0, 1, 2; or 0, 2, 3. The "six line" is a bet on two "streets". Lastly, is the "top line" on the 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3, and you guessed it -- that is only allowable in a 00 game.

Something interesting that may or may not make a change in your strategy is the number placement on the roulette wheel. In the American roulette, the numbers are placed in pairs across from each other. In the European version, the numbers are randomly placed on the wheel. There are so many exciting combinations to try out when betting on the roulette layout. Free game rooms are an excellent way to learn these things and try out the bets you like best.