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Roulette has 37 or 38 numbered pockets around a spinning wheel. Red and black alternate; zero (and 00 on the American wheel) are green and belong to neither. Let's place your first bet.
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Roulette has no correct decision the way blackjack or video poker do. Every number is equally likely on every spin, and the wheel has no memory. What actually matters is knowing what each bet covers, what it pays, and which bets quietly cost you more than others. This guide covers the full table.
Inside bets (on the numbers)
| Bet | Covers | Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Straight | 1 number | 35 to 1 |
| Split | 2 adjacent numbers | 17 to 1 |
| Street | 3 numbers in a row | 11 to 1 |
| Corner | 4 numbers in a block | 8 to 1 |
| Six line | 6 numbers, two rows | 5 to 1 |
| Trio (European) | 0 with 1–2 or 2–3 | 11 to 1 |
| Five number (American only) | 0, 00, 1, 2, 3 | 6 to 1 |
Outside bets (on groups)
| Bet | Covers | Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Red / Black | 18 numbers | 1 to 1 |
| Odd / Even | 18 numbers | 1 to 1 |
| Low (1–18) / High (19–36) | 18 numbers | 1 to 1 |
| Dozen | 12 numbers (1–12, 13–24, 25–36) | 2 to 1 |
| Column | 12 numbers, one full column | 2 to 1 |
Payouts are identical on the European and American wheel. What changes is the house edge, because the American wheel has one more losing pocket.
House edge by wheel
| Wheel | Pockets | Edge |
|---|---|---|
| European | 37 (single zero) | 2.70% |
| American | 38 (double zero) | 5.26% |
| European, even-money with La Partage | 37 | 1.35% |
| American five-number bet | 38 | 7.89% |
Every single bet and every combination of bets on a given wheel carries the same house edge, with one exception: the American five-number bet. That extra losing pocket built into a 6 to 1 payout makes it the worst bet on the table.
The words that matter
- Inside betAny bet placed directly on numbers: straight, split, street, corner, six line, or the five-number bet.
- Outside betAny bet placed on a group outside the number grid: red, black, odd, even, high, low, dozen, or column.
- La PartageFrench for "the sharing." On a losing zero, an even-money bet gets half its stake back instead of losing everything.
- En PrisonA cousin of La Partage. Instead of returning half the bet, it holds the whole bet for one more spin and pays it back only if that next spin wins.
Common mistakes and myths
- Chasing a "hot" or "cold" number. Every spin is independent. A number that has not hit in 40 spins is not "due," and a number that just hit twice in a row is not more likely to hit again.
- Believing a betting system changes the edge. Martingale, Fibonacci, and every other progression change how you distribute wins and losses, not the underlying house edge. The math is identical whether you bet flat or in a pattern.
- Playing American when European is available. The two games look almost identical at the table, but American roulette costs nearly twice as much per bet. If both wheels are on the floor, the single-zero wheel is always the better game.
- Reaching for the five-number bet. The 6 to 1 payout looks generous next to a single street, but it is the one bet on the table with a worse edge than everything else. Skip it.
- Treating column and dozen bets as safer than they are. They win less often than red or black (about 32% instead of about 47%) but pay 2 to 1 instead of 1 to 1. The house edge is exactly the same as every other bet on the wheel.
House edge figures and rules from Michael Shackleford, Wizard of Odds — Roulette Basics, and the Wizard of Odds Ask the Wizard roulette archive.