They sound like something you might heard talked about at a poker table or at the horse race track. Inside and outside bets – “inside” meaning you know something about the horses, and “outside” meaning a long-shot at filling a straight, right? Wrong. The inside and outside bets being referred to here have nothing to do with anything but roulette, and mastering them can improve your odds of making money.

In the case of inside and outside bets in roulette, the names stand for where those betting options are placed on the betting layout. The outside bets are the two-to-one and even-money bets arrayed around the outside of the table. Inside bets are those with much higher odds arranged on the inside of the betting table layout.

Different Treatment

Each of these bets is treated differently. Even though the low-odds bets involve less risk, it might cost you more to play them. This is because of the table minimum wager, which is computed differently for inside and outside bets.

For instance, if the minimum table wager is $10, then each and every outside bet must total $10. If a player wants to bet individual numbers or combinations of numbers on the inside of the batting layout, then only the total of the bets must add up to the $10 table minimum. The inside bettor can bet on 10 individual numbers for $1 each, or on two numbers at $5 each whereas the outside bettor has to lay down $10 on each bet, such as “red” or “black” or “odd” or “even.”

Table Etiquette

This betting scheme also affects the way chips are laid on the table. Players making outside bets can use regular house chips because there is more room. Because the space on the inside of the table is crowded, players have to use individually colored “wheel chips” that are stacked on top of each other, so the croupier can tell one bet from another.

For instance, if a player wanted to place a split bet (payout: 17 to one) on the 19-22 line, the chips would have to be stacked on top of any other chips that might already have been wagered on that two-number combination since there is only room on the layout for one stack of chips at that spot.

Maximum Bets

The maximum bets are different for inside and outside bets also. Generally, the maximum outside bet is 10 times that of the inside bets, so if the table maximum is $100 for inside bets, then the maximum outside bet would be $1,000. This is because of the higher payout of the inside bets. Should the wheel fall into a pattern and hit the same number several times in a playing sequence, the house would stand to lose a hefty sum.