If you are novice player, it’s a good idea to have a solid understanding of the types of roulette bets you can make before you hit the casino. It also helps to know the odds, payouts, and house edge of each roulette bet. Knowing how much to bet and what combination of numbers to bet on are the most important ingredients for success at the roulette table.
Roulette revolves around a spinning wheel with numbered slots. The dealer will take bets from gamblers, spin the wheel, and then throw the ball into it. Whichever players correctly guess the color, number or section, win. In online roulette, a random number generator chooses the winning number.
In roulette, there are two main groups of bets – outside bets and inside bets. The names are derived from the bet positions on the layout of the table. Outside bets have higher chances of winning, but much smaller payouts. Inside bets, on the other hand, have less probability of winning, but considerably bigger payouts.
Inside Roulette Bets
Inside bets refer to specific numbers and sets of numbers on the inside of the roulette betting table. They have a lower chance of winning than outside bets, but this is balanced by a larger payout. The house edge on inside bets is the same as on outside bets. There are a few different bets you can make.
Straight Up Roulette Bet
This is a bet on any given number on the wheel. If the ball lands on that number, you win. Straight-up bets are also applicable to the zero or double-zero in European and American roulette, respectively.
When you opt for a straight up bet, you must place your chips at the center of the box number that you have picked, without going beyond the lines.
The payout will be 35:1 as you are betting on one specific number. This is also called a single-number bet.
Split Roulette Bet
Two straight up bets in one. You wager on two numbers next to each other instead of just one ( for ex: 1|2, 8|9, 13|14, 20|21, 25|26, 33|36).
To go for this bet, place your chips on the line that divides your chosen adjacent numbers (horizontally or vertically). If the ball lands on one of the two number, you win!
The payout will be 17:1 as you are betting on two adjacent numbers.
Street Roulette Bet
A wager on three numbers appearing in a row (for example: (1, 2, 3), ( 4, 5, 6), ( 7, 8, 9 )… (34, 35,36)). Sometimes, these are called “trio bets” or “steam bets”.
If the ball lands on any number within the trio, you win. Place your chips on the furthest line next to the first number of a row.
For example, if you want to bet on 19, 20, 21, you will place the chips on the outer line bordering 19.
The payout will be 11:1 as you are betting on a row of three numbers (i.e. 19, 20, 21).
Corner Roulette Bet
Corer or also known as “four-number bet” or “square bet”.
This bet is similar to the split bet. But instead of two numbers, you’re betting that one of four adjoining numbers that form a square layout (for example: 16-17-19-20).
You can place a Roulette corner bet by positioning your chip(s) at the center point where the four touching numbers intersect each other.
If the ball hits a number that is part of your four-digit combination you win.
The payout will be 8:1 as you are betting on four numbers.
Five-Line / Top Line Roulette Bet
Is an American roulette exclusive bet. It is a bet on the numbers 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3. The ball must land on one of these in order to win. This bet pays 6:1; however, it is the only bet with a higher than normal house edge (7.9%), and should probably be avoided during play.
Basket (First four bet) Roulette Bet
Is a roulette bet that is exclusive for a European wheel. The bet includes wagering on 0, 1, 2 and 3. This pays 6:1.
Line ( Six Line Bet or Double Street Bet) Roulette Bet
This Is a bet on two consecutive rows containing 3 numbers each. It has similarities to the street bet since it also covers lines of numbers as these are presented on the board, but instead of one line of three numbers you can bet on two lines and cover six numbers in total.
This bet is made by placing chips at the intersection between the two lines along the side of the board.
If any of these numbers hit, the the pay off is 5:1
Don’t confuse the 6 line bet with the Five Number Bet, which has the worst odds on the table. The 6 Line is a totally different bet.
Outside Roulette Bets
These are bets made on the perimeter of the roulette table. They are made on groups of numbers or colors instead on a specific number.
Color Bet (Red / Black) Roulette Bet
A roulette table contains 18 red and 18 black pockets. You’re making a bet on whether a red number or a black number will win. These two bets cover all numbers that have pockets of the appropriate color on the roulette wheel. All you need to do is put your chips in the middle of the red or the black box on the table.
This bet pays out at even odds 1:1 (it give you twice the amount of your wager.) if the ball lands on the roulette color you choose. But because of the 0 or 00 on the wheel – neither of which are black OR red – your odds of winning are less than 50/50 (if, however, the ball lands on a 0 or 00 which have green pockets, all red and black wagers will lose).
Even / Odd (Pair or Impairment) Roulette Bet
Another roulette bet to cover half of the numbers just like when you wager on color, but you bet on even or odd numbers.
This is marked as “Even” and “Odd” on the table. If you decide to bet on the Odd numbers, you need to place your chip(s) on the box marked ‘ODD’ next to the 19-36 box at the bottom right of the table.
This bet pays out at even odds (1:1) if you correctly call the ball landing on odd or even. Keep in mind that 0 and 00 are not part of either even or odd.
High / Low (Manqué Passe) Roulette Bet
The numbers on the roulette table are divided into two sections:
- Low numbers (1 to 18)
- High numbers (19 to 36)
You’re betting on whether the number selected will fall within 1-18 (low) or 19-36 (high). Just like in the Even / Odd roulette bet the 0 (00) is not part of either low or high. The payout will be even odds (1:1) if the ball lands on 1-18 and you’ve bet low, or if the ball lands on 19-36 and you’ve bet high.
Column Roulette Bet
The numbers on a roulette layout are organized into three columns of 12 numbers each.
- 1st column – 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34
- 2nd column – 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35
- 3rd column – 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36
Player wagers bet by placing a chip at the bottom of the column where there is a box that says 2 to 1. This kind of bet will double your money with odds of 2:1.
Dozen Roulette Bet
Essentially the same bet as a column bet since you bet on 12 numbers but in order:
- 1st 12 – This covers the ball landing on numbers 1-12
- 2nd 12 – This covers the ball landing on numbers 13-24
- 3rd 12 – This covers the ball landing on numbers 25-36
To place a dozen bet, set your chips on any of the boxes marked “1st 12” “2nd 12” or “3rd 12”. The payout will be 2:1 if you successfully bet on the roulette ball landing on either the first dozen (1-12), second dozen (13-24) or third dozen (25-36).
Snake Roulette Bet
A wager that covers the numbers 1, 5, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 23, 27, 30, 32 and 34.
As you can see, it’s called the snake bet because when you connect the numbers on the table you’ve bet on, it forms an “S” shape like a snake. There are no split bets involved in the snake bet and typically you should ensure that all 12 of the straight number bets are of the same unit.
Each number should have the same value chip placed on it to create a proper snake bet, so that regardless of which number wins (if any of them do), your return will be the same.
This is a special roulette bet, not available at all casinos.
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Call bets (“called bets” or “announced bets”) Roulette Bets
These may not be found at all online casino because they are specific to European or French Roulette. Call bets in roulette are bets that cover sections of the roulette wheel.
Fixed Called Roulette Bets
- Neighbors of Zero (Voisins du Zero)- A bet on all 17 numbers near to the green zero.
- Thirds of the Wheel (Tiers du Cylindre) – A bet on 12 numbers which are found adjacent to the neighbors of zero.
- Zero Game – A bet on seven numbers near to the green zero.
- The Orphans (orphans) – A bet on any of the numbers which are not covered by the other called bets.
Variable Called Fixed Called Roulette Bets
- The Neighbors – A bet on 5 adjacent numbers
- The Finals – A bet on the last digit (e.g. 5 would be a bet on 5, 15, 25, 35)
Final Roulette Bets
This is a bet made on a single-zero roulette wheel. The way the Final Bet works is that the player bets on numbers that end with the same digit. For instance Final Four means that you bet on the numbers 4, 14, 24 and 34 ; Final Eight – 8, 18 and 28. As you can see, this can be a 3-number bet or a 4-number bet, depending on the combination you choose. Some casinos even offer split-final bets. You could bet on 5/8. This would look like one piece each on the splits 5/8, 15/18, 25/28, and 35.
The most common way of saying final bet is finaal bet – or finaal 4, finaal 7 or split-finaal 5/8.
As you probably already know, European roulette has better odds for the player than American roulette because there is one less pocket on the wheel for the ball to fall into. 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. 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.
