The roulette table is rectangular in shape and quite striking too, with its red, black and green colors. It brightens up the casino floor! Its layout is meaningful, and is designed to make betting easy. Players are meant to gather around one end and side of the table, while the dealer – and only the dealer – stands on the other. The table stretches from the roulette wheel on one end to the box for column bets on the other.
The inside of the table has individual squares for each number, from 1-36 inclusive, some numbers in red and some numbers in black. The numbers are arranged sequentially and horizontally (i.e., 1, 2, 3 goes along the top row) and then down (i.e., 4, 5, 6 goes the next row, and so on, all the way down to the bottom row, 34, 35, 36). Players can bet on single numbers or they can put numbers together on which to bet.
The outside of the table is laid out as follows. On the long side end of the rectangle you have options for betting on the first twelve numbers, the second twelve numbers, or the third twelve numbers. You also have the option for betting on numbers 1-18, 19-36, red, black, even or odd. On the narrow end of the rectangle you have the option of betting on entire columns. A column reflects the way the numbers come out vertically (i.e., the first column consists of the numbers 1, 4, 7 . . . all the way down to 34, going down by increments of 3). Column bets, by the way, pay 2:1.
Given the set-up of the table, you can now understand what it means to refer to "inside bets" and "outside bets." Inside bets are made on the numbers themselves (which are on the "inside" of the table). Outside bets are made on the TYPE of numbers (i.e., red, black, even, odd, first twelve or last twelve, etc), and these characteristics are described on the "outside" part of the table.
The standard American roulette table is the same as the standard European table, but there is apparently a new form of roulette called French roulette, and with French roulette the bets are shuffled around the board in a different way. Apparently, the French roulette table layout enables players to gather around the entire table – not just one end and side – making the experience more like craps, with its rowdier ambiance.