Roulette
If you bet on 0 or 00 on an American roulette wheel, the odds against you winning at 37/1, thanks to the addition of the extra number. This means that the expected value of betting $1 on either 0 or 00 on an American roulette wheel is -$0.053, which is significantly worse than on a European roulette wheel. The odds of winning can also be expressed in the same way. On a standard American roulette wheel, you have 37 ways to lose a single number bet and only one way to win. This means the odds of winning are 37 to 1. Since the odds of winning are lower than the payoff for the bet, the casino makes a profit in the long run. The odds of seeing that are 1 in 11 million, or thereabouts by the way. Another huge streak (this time on black) was seen by the players at the Casino in Monte Carlo who saw 26 blacks in a row on the table on 18 August 1913. The odds of this happening? A mere 1 in 145,000. The roulette wheel is marked with numbers 1 through 36 and numbers 0 and 00. Numbers are alternately colored red and black, while the 0 and 00 are green. Odds on roulette range from 35-to-1 to even money and are determined by the types of bets wagered on by the player. To play, insert cash or a voucher into bill acceptor. The actual odds for house advantage in roulette are calculated as follows: Single Zero Roulette. Double Zero Roulette. (35 - 36)/37 x 100 = -2.70%. (35 - 37)/38 x 100 = -5.26%.
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John ScarneSee All ContributorsPresident, John Scarne Games, Inc., North Bergen, New Jersey. Authority on gambling. Author of Scarne's Complete Guide to Gambling; Scarne on Dice; and others.
Roulette, (from French: “small wheel”), gambling game in which players bet on which red or black numbered compartment of a revolving wheel a small ball (spun in the opposite direction) will come to rest within. Bets are placed on a table marked to correspond with the compartments of the wheel. It is played in casinos worldwide. Roulette is a banking game, and all bets are placed against the bank—that is, the house, or the proprietor of the game. As a big-time betting game, it has had its popularity superseded in the United States and the Caribbean islands by others, notably craps, blackjack, and poker.
Fanciful stories about the origin of roulette include its invention by the 17th-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal, by a French monk, and by the Chinese, from whom it was supposedly transmitted to France by Dominican monks. In reality, roulette was derived in France in the early 18th century from the older games hoca and portique, and it is first mentioned under its current name in 1716 in Bordeaux. Following several modifications, roulette achieved its present layout and wheel structure about 1790, after which it rapidly gained status as the leading game in the casinos and gambling houses of Europe. During the years 1836 to 1933, roulette was banned in France.
Equipment
The roulette table is composed of two sections, the wheel itself and the betting layout, better known as the roulette layout. There are two styles of roulette tables. One has a single betting layout with the roulette wheel at one end, and the other has two layouts with the wheel in the centre. The wheel spins horizontally.
Heading the layout design, which is printed on green baize, is a space containing the figure 0 (European style) or the figures 0 and 00 (American style, although such wheels were used also in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries). The main portion of the design is composed of 36 consecutively numbered rectangular spaces, alternately coloured red and black and arranged in three columns of 12 spaces each, beginning with 1 at the top and concluding with 36 at the bottom. Directly below the numbers are three blank spaces (on some layouts these are marked “2 to 1” and are located on the players’ side of the table). On either side of these or along one side of the columns are rectangular spaces marked “1st 12,” “2nd 12,” and “3rd 12” on American-style layouts. On European-style layouts these terms are “12p” (première), “12m” (milieu), and “12d” (dernière douzaine). Six more spaces are marked “red” (rouge), “black” (noir), “even” (pair), “odd” (impair), “1–18” (low, or manque), and “19–36” (high, or passe).
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The roulette wheel consists of a solid wooden disk slightly convex in shape. Around its rim are metal partitions known as separators or frets, and the compartments or pockets between these are called canoes by roulette croupiers. Thirty-six of these compartments, painted alternately red and black, are numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. On European-style wheels a 37th compartment, painted green, carries the sign 0, and on American wheels two green compartments on opposite sides of the wheel carry the signs 0 and 00. The wheel, its spindle perfectly balanced, spins smoothly in an almost frictionless manner. Game stop in las vegas.
The standard roulette table employs up to 10 sets of wheel checks (usually called chips). Each set is differently coloured; each traditionally consists of 300 chips; and there is one set for each player. The chips usually have a single basic value, although some casinos also sell chips of lesser value. The colour of the chips indicates the player, not the value of the chips. If a player wishes to buy chips of slightly higher value, the croupier places a marker indicating that value on top of the table’s stack of chips of the colour corresponding to the chips purchased. Most casinos also have high-value chips that can be wagered at any gaming table. Unlike roulette chips, these have their numbered values printed on them.
Bets
It is possible to place the following bets in roulette: (1) straight, or single-number (en plein), in which the chips are placed squarely on one number of the layout, including 0 (and also 00 on American layouts), so that the chips do not touch any of the lines enclosing the number; a winning single-number bet pays 35 to 1 (for each unit bet, a winning player receives his original bet and 35 matching units); (2) split, or 2-number (à cheval), in which the chips are placed on any line separating any two numbers; if either wins, payoff odds are 17 to 1; (3) street, or 3-number (transversale pleine), in which the chips are placed on the outside line of the layout, betting the three numbers opposite the chips; payoff odds on any of the three numbers are 11 to 1; (4) square, quarter, corner, or 4-number (en carré), in which the chips are placed on the intersection of the lines between any four numbers; payoff odds are 8 to 1; (5) line, or 6-number (sixaine or transversale six), in which the chips are placed on the intersection of the sideline and a line between two “streets”; payoff odds are 5 to 1; (6) column (colonne), or 12-number, in which the chips are placed on one of the three blank spaces (some layouts have three squares, marked “1st,” “2nd,” and “3rd”) at the bottom of the layout, thus betting the 12 numbers above the space; payoff odds are 2 to 1; (7) dozens (douzaine), or 12-number, in which the chips are placed on one of the spaces of the layout marked “12,” betting the numbers 1–12, 13–24, or 25–36; payoff odds are 2 to 1; (8) low-number or high-number, in which the chips are placed on the layout space marked “1–18” (manque) or on the space marked “19–36” (passe); payoff is even money; (9) black or red, in which the chips are placed on a space of the layout marked “black” (noir) or on a space marked “red” (rouge; some layouts have a large black or red diamond-shaped design instead of the words); payoff is even money; (10) odd-number or even-number, in which the chips are placed on the space of the layout marked “odd” (impair) or on the space marked “even” (pair); payoff is even money.
On layouts with a single zero (European style), the 0 may be included in a 2-number bet with any adjoining number, in a 3-number bet with 1 and 2 or with 2 and 3, and in a 4-number bet with 1, 2, and 3 at the regular odds for these bets. With the American-style 0 and 00, a 5-number line bet also is possible, the player placing his chips on the corner intersection of the line separating the 1, 2, 3 from the 0 and 00, with payoff odds of 6 to 1.
The play
The game begins when one of the croupiers (dealers) in attendance calls for the players to make their bets, which they do by placing chips on the spaces of the layout on any number, group, or classification they hope will win.
The croupier usually starts the wheel spinning in a counterclockwise direction and then spins a small ivory or plastic ball onto the bowl’s back track in the opposite direction. Players may continue to place bets while the wheel and ball are in motion until the ball slows down and is about to drop off the back track, at which time one of the croupiers announces that no more bets may be made.
When the ball falls and comes to rest between any two metal partitions of the wheel, it marks the winning number (or a 0 or 00), the winning colour, and any other permitted bet that pertains to a winning number or symbol. The dealer immediately announces the winning number and its colour and places a special marker on the corresponding number on the layout. He first collects all losing bets, not disturbing the chips that are resting on winning spaces, and then pays off any winning bets.
Quick Facts
KNOW YOUR ROULETTE ODDS
Roulette odds provide you with the information you need to know how likely you are to win any bet. There are many different bets available on a roulette table, and each one has its own odds. These range from even money bets that pay off nearly half the time, to single number bets that are hard to hit, but which will earn you a lot of money when they do.
Before diving deeper into roulette odds, however, it’s important that you understand the basics of how to play roulette. Before every spin, you will have the opportunity to place as many bets as you like all around the roulette table. Each of these bets covers one or more of the numbered pockets on the roulette wheel, and comes with its own specific odds of winning.
When the croupier spins the ball around the wheel, it will eventually fall into one of these pockets. The number and color of that pocket will determine which bets win on that spin. At this point, the croupier will mark the winning number, losing bets are taken off the table, and roulette payouts are made for the remaining winning bets before the next spin.
AMERICAN VS. EUROPEAN ROULETTE PROBABILITIES
While the American and European games may seem similar at first glance, the two games actually use different roulette wheels. The American wheel has both a zero (0) and a double zero (00) on it, while the European wheel only has the single zero.
This actually makes a major difference to players. European roulette odds are much better for players, because there is one less pocket on the wheel for the ball to fall into. Since both versions offer the same roulette payouts, this means that the odds and house edge are smaller in European roulette.
Some European roulette games offer additional rules that further help the player cut into the house edge. When a casino offers la partage, that means that you will only lose half of an even money bet (meaning bets like odd/even or red/black) if the ball lands on zero.
En prison is a variation of the la partage rule. Rather than getting half of your bet back, the money will instead be put “in prison”. after which you can win it all back If the next spin results in a win for that bet. In either case, these options offer the best odds in roulette, as they cut the house edge roughly in half.
EUROPEAN | AMERICAN | |
NO | DOUBLE ZERO | YES |
37 | NUMBER OF SECTORS | 38 |
2.7% | HOUSE EDGE | 5.26% |
97.3% | AVERAGE PAYOUT FOR 100 € | 94.74% |
ROULETTE ODDS AND PAYOUTS EXPLAINED
While there are a wide array of roulette bet types to choose from, these options can mainly be divided into two types: inside bets and outside bets. These categories get their names based on where these bets occur on the roulette table layout. Inside bets are placed on the numbers at the center of the table, while outside bets have special betting areas on the outer portion of the board.
Inside Bets
Inside bets tend to have a lower probability of winning, but they offer the biggest roulette payouts. For this reason, they are often the best way to start playing for those who are new to the game, as they give you a chance to earn a big payout on any given spin without having to risk much money on each bet.
Straight: A bet on a single number. If the ball lands on that number, the bet pays 35-1.
Split: A bet on two adjacent numbers on the roulette table. If either of those numbers hits, the bet pays 17-1.
Street: A bet on a row of three numbers on the roulette layout. If any of those numbers wins, your bet pays out at 11-1 odds.
Corner: A bet on a “square” of four numbers on the roulette betting layout. If any of these numbers wins, the bet pays 8-1.
Six Line: A bet on two consecutive rows, covering six numbers in total. If the ball lands on any of those numbers, you’ll win at 5-1 odds.
First Four: This bet is only available on European roulette tables, and covers the zero along with 1, 2, and 3. If any of those four numbers wins, the bet pays 8-1.
Trio: Like a street bet, this bet covers three numbers, but it includes one of the zeros. For instance, a player can make a trio bet covering 0, 1, and 2. If any of those numbers wins, the bet pays 11-1.
Top Line: This bet is only available on American roulette tables and covers five numbers in total: the zero, double zero, 1, 2, and 3. If the ball lands on any of those numbers, your bet pays out at 6-1 odds.
Outside Bets
Outside bets cover large sections of the wheel, giving you a better chance of winning your bet. However, they also come with smaller payouts, and may require higher minimum wagers than inside bets.
Columns: A column bet covers one of the three columns on the roulette table layout, each of which contains 12 numbers. If any of those 12 numbers wins, your bet pays 2-1 odds.
Dozens: These bets cover sets of 12 consecutive numbers: 1-12, 13-24, or 25-36. How to favorite youtube videos. If a number in the range you bet on wins, the bet pays 2-1.
Odd/Even: These bets cover all of the odd or even numbers on the table (note that zeros do not count as either odd or even). If a matching number wins, then your bet pays out even money.
Red/Black: These bets cover all pockets – 18 each – of that color. If the ball lands on that color, you win at even money odds.
High/Low: These bets cover the range of 1-18 and 19-36. Should the ball land on a number in the range you’ve chosen, the bet pays even money.
Called & Announced Bets
Called and announced bets are roulette bet types that may not be familiar even to many experienced players. These are more frequently seen in European casinos, and they allow players to make bets by announcing them to the croupier. Called bets can be made on credit, while announced bets require a player to actually have the money on the table in order to make them.Typically, such bets are only offered to known players, usually high rollers. In modern roulette, announced bets are far more common than called bets, as most casinos cannot or will not allow their players to wager on credit.
While any bet can be an announced bet, this option is typically only used for complex wagers, most of which are known as the French bets. These bets cover specific portions of the roulette wheel, which takes several chips to accomplish and can be unwieldy to manage on the standard roulette betting layout. Instead, the croupier can manage those bets for players, sometimes by using the “racetrack” layout seen on some European roulette tables.
Common announced bets include:Voisins du Zero: This bet covers 17 numbers using nine chips. Your payout will be determined by the type of bet covering the winning number: 16 chips on the corner bet, 22 on the trio, or 17 chips if one of the splits wins.
Jeu Zero: The “zero game” covers just seven numbers using four chips. If a split wins, the bet will pay out 17 chips. If the number 26 hits, you win 35 chips.
Tiers du Cylindre: This bet covers 12 numbers that lie far away from the zero. It takes six split bets to cover these numbers, and you get a payout of 17 chips if any of them wins.
Orphelins: Made with five chips, this bet has varying payouts. The straight bet on 1 pays 35-1, while the split bets would pay 17-1.
Finals: A final bet covers every number that ends in a specific digit. These are all straight bets paying out at 35-1 odds.
Full Completes: A full complete is a true maximum bet on a single number. These bets involve heavy risks to the player, with the exact payouts depending on what number is hit, various table maximums, and which number is being maxed out.
You can find out more details on each of these on our called bets and announced bets page.
THE BEST ROULETTE BETS FOR YOUR BANKROLL
Our team of experts has years of experience playing roulette, meaning we know all the pro tips and tricks that can help you get the best roulette odds possible. One of the most important things we can share is how to make the best bets possible each time you step up to the roulette table. Here are our favorite bets in roulette:
La Partage: When it comes to roulette odds, it doesn’t get better than playing at European roulette tables that offer la partage rules on even money bets. When these rules are in effect, you’ll get half your money back if the ball lands on zero, meaning the house edge is reduced to just 1.35%.
En Prison: This variant of la partage is nearly as good for players. Depending on the exact rules being used, en prison – which gives players the chance to rescue their even money bets after a zero – can also drop the house edge to 1.35% for players.
Straight Bets: We recommend straight bets to new players because of their potential for massive payouts, as they pay 35-1 – which is the highest roulette odds on the table. If you want to manage your risk, you can also make multiple straight bets on each spin.
Even Money Bets: If you’re more risk-averse, even money bets like red/black and odd/even will give you the most security possible, as you’ll win nearly half the time. This is perfect if you’re trying to nurse a small bankroll over a long session with friends at the casino. Unless your luck is extremely bad, you’ll be unlikely to lose much money even over hundreds of spins.
THE WORST ODDS TO WATCH OUT FOR
While we’re happy to give you tips on how to find the best odds in roulette, the best thing we can do for our players is steer them away from bets that aren’t worth their time. By avoiding the worst of the worst options, you’ll improve your roulette odds and have more fun playing knowing you aren’t getting ripped off.
The biggest example is the Top Line or First Five bet on American roulette tables. While the odds in roulette are very consistent across almost all bets, this particular bet is an exception. This is because payouts in roulette are generally designed to be fair for a wheel with 36 pockets, with the house edge coming from the fact that there are actually 37 (European roulette) or 38 (American roulette) pockets for the ball to fall into.
On an American table, that means that whether you make a straight bet at 35-1 payout, or bet on black at even money, the house edge is 2/38, or 5.26%. However, the Top Line bet covers exactly five numbers (0-00-1-2-3), a number that 36 can’t be evenly divided into. Casinos offer 6-1 on this bet, which would only be a fair bet if there were 35 pockets. The result of this is a house edge of 7.89%, which is much higher than on any other bet.
The Top Line isn’t always the only sucker bet on the table. Generally, it’s best to avoid unusual side bets that may be added to the game, especially in online roulette. As in other casino games, these side bets are almost always added to make more money off players and come with extraordinarily high house edges.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR ODDS AT ROULETTE
One of the best ways to improve your odds in roulette is by brushing up on your roulette strategy. While the results of each spin are random, roulette strategies can be used to manage your sessions and get the kinds of results you’re looking for.
For instance, let’s say you want to maximize your chances of booking at least a small win at the end of a session. Your best bet may be the Martingale System, which asks you to place even money bets, doubling your bet amount after a loss. On the other hand, a player looking for a huge payday would be better off trying something like the Guetting System. We cover many of these systems as well as other ways to improve your odds on our roulette strategy page.
The most important thing you can do to maximize your roulette odds is to get some practice in before you try playing for real money. If you’re looking to develop your skills or test a new betting strategy, you’ll want to check out the 80+ free online roulette titles which are available for you to try without risking any money.
PLAY AT THE TOP ONLINE ROULETTE SITES
00 Odds Roulette
At this point, you should have a strong knowledge of roulette odds and payouts, which bets you want to seek out, and which to avoid. Armed with this information, you should feel confident about playing roulette for real cash at one of our top-rated casinos.
We only recommend the most trustworthy and reputable online casinos for our readers. Any of the sites in the table below will provide you with a safe and secure place to enjoy playing roulette.
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2 | T&C APPLY | PAYOUT | 9.8 | READ REVIEW | PLAY NOW |
3 | T&C APPLY | PAYOUT | 9 | READ REVIEW | PLAY NOW |
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FAQ
? Are roulette odds good?
Roulette 00 Payout
While roulette odds vary depending on the type of table you are playing at, the odds are generally quite good. That’s especially true when compared to other popular gambling options like slot machines, which normally have much higher house edges.
❤️ What is the best bet in roulette?
If you want the best odds in roulette, you’ll want to find a European roulette table where you can take advantage of la partage rules on even money bets. Under those conditions, the house edge is just 1.35%.
? What are the best roulette bet combinations?
There are many different roulette bet combinations that are effective, with the best one depending on your goals at the table. Familiarizing yourself with bet systems can help you determine what works for you, and what doesn’t.
? How much is a roulette chip worth?
Roulette Bets Odds
The most common value for a roulette chip in an American casino is one dollar. However, this amount can vary depending on how much you buy in for at the table. When you purchase your chips, your croupier will set a value that leaves you with a reasonable amount of chips to play with: buy in for $100, and you’ll get dollar chips; start with $10,000 on the table, and each chip might be worth $100 instead.
❓ Are roulette tables rigged?
Odds In Roulette
Generally speaking, roulette tables are fair. Casinos have a mathematical advantage and don’t need to cheat to get roulette odds they are happy with. However, there have been plenty of cases where biased wheels have made some numbers appear more often than others – something that attentive players can take advantage of.
00 Odds In Roulette
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---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | T&C APPLY | PAYOUT | 10 | READ REVIEW | PLAY NOW |