Roulette offers the player a multitude of possible wagers, more than any other casino table game. All in all, there are over 150 possible combinations to bet. And a player may make as many bets in whatever combinations desired as long as the bets fit within the minumum and maximum limit of the casino.

Let's now examine the bets one by one. (The French names for the bets are listed in parenthesis.)

Single Number Bet. (En Plein) - A single number bet can be made on any number on the layout including the 0 and 00. To make this wager, place your chip within the lines of the number chosen, being careful not to touch the lines. Otherwise you may have another bet altogether. The winning payoff is 35 to 1.

Split Bet (A Cheval) - Place the chip on the line adjoining two numbers. If either number comes up, the payoff is 17 to 1.

6-Number Bet (Sixaine) - Also called a black bet. The chip should be put on the outside line of the layout while intersecting the line separating the sets of numbers chosen. The payoff is 5 to 1.

Outside Bet - The outside bets are outside the 36 numbers on the layout. They include the columns, doezens and even money bets - red-black, high-low and odd-even.

Columns Bet (Colonne) - A chip placed at the head of a column, on the far side from the zero or zeros, covers all 12 numbers in the column and has a winning payoff of 2 to 1. The 0 and 00 are not included in this bet and would make this bet a loser if they come up.

Dozens Bet (Douzaine) - This is another way to bet 12 numbers, either numbers 1 to 12, 13 to 24 or 25 to 36. On the American layout they're called the first, second and third dozen respectively, and on the French lay- out, they're known as PI2, MI2 and D12. The winning payoff as in the column bet is 2 to 1.

Even-Money Bets - There is one final type of bet, the even money bets: Red-Black (Rouge-Noir), High-Low (Passe-Manque) and Odd-Even (Impair-Pair). Spots for these bets are found outside the numbers, thus these are still classified as outside wagers. These wagers are clearly marked in large boxes.

In Atlantic City and European style roulette, these bets are the best at the roulette table, for they offer the player additional features which are greatly advantageous to the player. In Europe, the features are called en prison and Partage, and in Atlantic City, surrender.

First we'll go over the bets, and after, we'll examine how the en prison, partage and surrender rules work and how they affect the player.

Red-Black (Rouge-Noir) - There are 18 black and eighteen red numbers. A player may bet either the red or the black and is paid off at 1 to 1 on a winning spin.

High-Low (Passe-Manque) - Numbers 1-18 may be bet (low) or 19-36 (high). Bets are paid off at 1 to 1.

Odd-Even (Impair-Pair) - A player may bet on the 18 even numbers, even, or odd, the 18 odd numbers. Winning bets are paid at 1 to 1.

En Prison and Partage - En prison -It is on these even number bets (above) where the American and European games really differ. In American roulette, the house automatically wins on these bets when the 0 or 00 is spun (except in Atlantic City).However, in Europe, if the 0 is spun, the en prison rule comes into effect. The player has two choices now. He or she can either surrender half the bet, called partage, or elect to allow the bet to be "imprisoned" one more spin. If the spin is won, the bet stays intact and is "released" for the player to do what he or she will. If the spin is lost, so is the bet. This rule is greatly advantageous to the player, and brings the odds down on these bets to 1.35% in favor of the casino as opposed to the 2.70% on the rest of fue bets in the single zero game.

Surrender - In an attempt to get more gamblers to play roulette, the game in Atlantic City helps make up for the 00 of the American wheel by offering surrender, which is really partage by another name. When a 0 or 00 is spun, players with bets on any of the even. money propositions lose only half the bet, "surrendering it," and keep the other half. This brings the house edge down to 2.63% on these bets. Combination or Inside Bets - These bets are made within the numbers on the layout, and hence, are termed inside bets.