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The roulette table has a layout printed onto a felt cover. There are generally only two types of layouts:
American Layout
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The American layout reflects the 38 possible numbers on the American wheel. The main difference between this layout and the European layout is that at the top of the numbers there are a 0 and a 00. This layout also has a unique betting option where one can play the 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3 however this only pays out 6:1 making it the only bet on the table where the house edge is greater than 5.263%.
European Layout
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The European (aka French) layout reflects the 37 possible numbers on the European wheel. The main difference besides the lack of the 00 is that European tables will generally allow announced bets. In a casino you would tell the croupier the bet you would like and s/he would take your chips and place them on a special marker area to indicate your bet. This marker area can vary widely among table makers.
The house edge is 2.70% on all bets, except in Europe on even money bets (even/odd, red/black, 1-18/19-36). There, if you place an even money bet and the ball lands on zero, you will not forfeit the bet. Instead, in some casinos you will get half your bet back, while in others your bet will be "imprisoned", meaning your bet will be unchanged but it will have to play the next spin. Either way, the house edge for even money bets is 1.35%, the lowest house edge in any kind of roulette.
This method of betting is especially used if you want to bet on segments of the roulette wheel (see Mechanical Systems). These are the Announce Bets and the chip increments needed:
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