Every roulette bet has a fixed payout, and on a given wheel every bet carries the same house edge. What changes from bet to bet is how often you win and how big the win is. Knowing the bets on the table, and how some players combine them, helps you choose a style that suits your budget.
This guide covers inside and outside bets, the French call bets, common betting patterns and the best way to pick a table. The list below shows casinos that accept your province, best-rated first. In Ontario, it only shows casinos registered with iGaming Ontario and no bonus offers; see our Ontario online casinos page for details.
Inside and outside bets
Inside bets are placed on the numbers themselves, in the main grid of the layout. They pay more but win less often. Outside bets are placed on the boxes around the grid. They cover bigger groups of numbers, so they win more often and pay less. If you are new to the game, start with our roulette rules.
| Bet | Covers | Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 number | 35:1 |
| Split | 2 adjacent numbers | 17:1 |
| Street | 3 numbers in a row | 11:1 |
| Corner | 4 numbers in a square | 8:1 |
| Six line | 6 numbers (two streets) | 5:1 |
| Dozen | 12 numbers (1 to 12, 13 to 24 or 25 to 36) | 2:1 |
| Column | 12 numbers in a column | 2:1 |
| Red or black, odd or even, 1 to 18 or 19 to 36 | 18 numbers | 1:1 |
The house edge is 2.70% on every bet on a European (single-zero) wheel and 5.26% on an American (double-zero) wheel. See our roulette odds and probabilities guide for the math behind this.
Call bets: betting on wheel sections
Call bets, also known as French or announced bets, cover a section of a single-zero wheel instead of a block of numbers on the layout. Each one is made up of several chips spread over splits, corners and straight-up bets. The house edge stays at 2.70%, the same as any other bet on that wheel. These bets come from French and European tables, and many online games offer a “racetrack” layout that makes them easy to place.
Voisins du Zéro
“Neighbours of zero” covers 17 numbers: 0, 2, 3, 4, 7, 12, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32 and 35. It takes 9 chips:
- 1 chip each on the splits 4/7, 12/15, 18/21, 19/22 and 32/35
- 2 chips on the 0/2/3 trio
- 2 chips on the corner of 25, 26, 28 and 29
Tiers du Cylindre
“Thirds of the wheel” covers 12 numbers: 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 16, 23, 24, 27, 30, 33 and 36. It takes 6 chips, one on each of the splits 5/8, 10/11, 13/16, 23/24, 27/30 and 33/36.
Orphelins
“Orphans” covers the 8 numbers that the other two bets leave out: 1, 6, 9, 14, 17, 20, 31 and 34. It takes 5 chips: 1 straight up on number 1, and 1 chip each on the splits 6/9, 14/17, 17/20 and 31/34. Number 17 is in two splits.
Jeu Zéro
“Zero game” covers 7 numbers: 0, 3, 12, 15, 26, 32 and 35. It takes 4 chips: 1 each on the splits 0/3, 12/15 and 32/35, and 1 straight up on 26.
Neighbours bet
A neighbours bet covers one number plus the two numbers on either side of it on the wheel, not on the layout. That makes 5 numbers and 5 chips. The numbers beside each other on the wheel are often far apart on the table, which is why the racetrack layout is useful here.
Betting patterns and hedging
Hedging means placing bets that cover each other, so a single spin is less likely to lose your whole stake. It does not change the house edge. You are still giving up the same percentage of what you bet, just in a different pattern of wins and losses. Examples below use a single-zero wheel (37 numbers) and CAD.
Hedging on an even chance
Say you want to risk $10 on one spin. You put $5 on even and $1 straight up on each of five odd numbers (3, 11, 19, 27 and 35). The results are:
- One of your five odd numbers hits (5 in 37): the winning number pays $35, and you lose $4 on the other four odd numbers and $5 on even. Net profit: $26.
- Any even number hits (18 in 37): even pays $5, and you lose the $5 on the odd numbers. You break even.
- Another odd number or zero hits (14 in 37): you lose the full $10.
You lose the full stake on 14 spins in 37 instead of 19 in 37 with a plain even bet, but the wins are also much smaller. Averaged over many spins you still lose 2.70% of what you bet.
Hedging on the dozens
You can also combine a dozen with inside bets. Put $5 on the first dozen (1 to 12) and $1 on each of five splits in the 13 to 36 range, for example 17/20, 22/25, 27/30, 31/34 and 33/36. The total stake is $10 and you cover 22 of the 37 numbers:
- A split wins (10 in 37): $17 from the winning split, minus $4 on the other splits and $5 on the dozen. Net profit: $8.
- The first dozen wins (12 in 37): $10 from the dozen, minus $5 on the splits. Net profit: $5.
- Anything else (15 in 37): you lose $10.
A simpler version is to cover two dozens with equal bets. With $5 on each dozen, you cover 24 of 37 numbers. If either dozen hits (24 in 37), you win $10 and lose $5, for a net profit of $5. If the third dozen or zero hits (13 in 37), you lose $10.
Systems and myths
Sleeping numbers. Some players track numbers that have not come up for a while and bet on them, or bet against numbers that have come up often. On a fair wheel, each spin is independent. A number that has not appeared in 50 spins is no more “due” than any other number. This is the gambler’s fallacy.
Following the wheel. Betting on red after a run of reds, or against it after a run, is the same idea. The wheel has no memory, and online roulette uses a random number generator, so past results tell you nothing about the next spin.
The “red” system. The third column has eight red numbers (3, 9, 12, 18, 21, 27, 30 and 36) and four black ones (6, 15, 24 and 33). The system bets the third column and black together. With $10 on the column and $20 on black, a red number in the column breaks even, a black number in the column wins $40, any other black wins $10, and any other red or zero loses $30. It feels like an edge, but the house edge is still 2.70%.
No betting system changes the house edge, and each spin is independent. Systems only change how your wins and losses are spread out. For more, see our guides to roulette systems and roulette strategies.
Getting the best odds
- Choose a single-zero wheel. The house edge is 2.70% on European roulette and 5.26% on American roulette.
- Look for La Partage or En Prison. On French roulette, even-money bets that lose to a zero only lose half, which cuts the house edge on those bets to 1.35%.
- Avoid the five-number bet. On an American wheel, the bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 has a house edge of 7.89%, the worst on the table.
Many online casinos also offer live dealer roulette, which follows the same rules. Our roulette section has guides for all of the variations.
Play within your limits
Roulette always has a house edge, so only bet money you can afford to lose and set a limit before you start. The legal age is 19 or older in most provinces and 18 or older in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. See our responsible gambling page for tips and where to get help.
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