In roulette, as with any other casino game, the house has an edge. Fortunately, you can reduce this by playing smart and making informed bets. One question we often receive is whether it makes sense to bet on many or few numbers. The answer is that it depends on the overall betting strategy you adopt and other factors, including how much money you are willing to bet.

First, let’s look at the different types of bets available in roulette and what their payout odds are. There are two broad categories of bets in roulette: outside bets and inside bets. Outside bets are the broader wagers that cover groups of numbers. These include classic bets such as red or black and odd or even. Outside bets typically have a lower payout and a higher chance of winning than inside bets.

Outside bets in roulette are a great place to start, especially for new players. This is because they cover a large section of the wheel and are easy to understand. You can also find online tutorials that will walk you through the process of placing these bets.

When you bet on the outside, you are essentially placing a bet that the ball will land in a certain area of the wheel. This bet pays out 1:1, which means you’ll get your original wager back plus the amount you won.

There are five different outside bets you can make in roulette, and each has a different payout. The video above explains these bets in detail and demonstrates how to make them.

Inside bets in roulette are made on individual or groupings of numbers on the table’s layout. These are riskier bets with a lower chance of hitting, but they also pay out significantly more than the outside bets.

One of the most popular bets in roulette is the column bet, which covers one of the three columns of 12 numbers on a roulette table (the first dozen covers numbers 1-12, the second covers 13-24, and the third covers 25-36). The bet pays out 2:1.

Another even-money bet is the red/black bet, which covers all numbers that have pockets of either color on the roulette wheel. The bet pays out 1:1, and it has a very low house edge. Finally, you can also place a high/low bet, which is also known as passe et manque in French, by wagering that the ball will hit either the first 18 or last 18 numbers on the roulette table (1-18 or 19-36). This bet pays out 1:1, but it has a relatively high house edge of 7.9%.