Types of bets in roulette

Few casino games compare to the devil’s wheel for sheer scope of betting options. Here, we’ll explain all the different wagers available in both offline and online roulette games, including those specific to the American and French variants.

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Inside bets for real money roulette

Inside wagers are those where you bet on one or more specific numbers. This is where you get the juiciest odds in roulette, although the chances of success are much slimmer compared to outside bets.

Standard single-zero European roulette layouts feature seven different types of inside bets. Be sure to follow our instructions on how to make these wagers, as you want to make certain you put your chips in precisely the right spot.

Straight up – Bet on individual pockets by placing chips squarely over your number(s) of choice, making sure they aren’t touching any lines. Pays 35 to 1.

Split – Cover two numbers at once by placing your stake on the middle of the line between the two pockets you wish to bet on. Pays 17 to 1.

Street – To wager on all three numbers in a single row, put your chips on the outer edge of that row on the border between the inside and outside sections of the layout. Pays 11 to 1.

Trio – Bet on 0, 1 and 2 or on 0, 2 and 3 by putting your chips on either of the two T intersections at the top line of the layout. Pays 11 to 1.

Corner – Cover four adjacent numbers at once by placing your chips on the centre of the X intersection between them. Pays 8 to 1.

Top four – This is a special corner bet on 0, 1, 2 and 3, made by positioning your wager on the T intersection between 0 and 1 at the edge of the inside layout. Pays 8 to 1.

Six line – Bet on two adjacent streets (six numbers) by placing your stake on the T intersection where the two rows join the edge of the inside layout. Pays 5 to 1.

American roulette also features a few special inside bets which bring the added double zero pocket into play:

Basket – Much like the trio bet in Euro roulette, baskets are made by placing your wager on any of the intersections between 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3. The three options are 0, 1, 2; 0, 00, 2; and 00, 2, 3. Pays 11 to 1.

Top five – This is essentially a double street bet which features both zero panels and the first row (five numbers). Pays 6 to 1.

Roulette outside wagers

Outside bets cover large groups of numbers at once. While they don’t pay as much as inside bets, the probability of winning is much higher. These outside wagers are available in forms of real cash roulette:

Black or red – Pockets 1 through 36 are divided evenly into red numbers and black numbers, and you can cover either by placing your chips in the black box or the red box. Pays 1 to 1.

Odd or even – Cover all the odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, etc.) or all the even numbers (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc.) by putting chips in the corresponding boxes, located either side of the black and red bets. Pays 1 to 1.

Low or high – Bet on all the low numbers (1 through 18) or all the high numbers (19 through 36), found either side of the even and odd bets. Pays 1 to 1.

Dozens – Located above the black/red, odd/even and low/high bets, these boxes allow you to cover either the first dozen (one through 12), the second dozen (13 through 24), or the third dozen numbers (15 through 36) on the layout. Pays 2 to 1.

Column – Much like a dozen bet, except numbers are grouped according to the three vertical columns which make up the inside betting layout. Pays 2 to 1.

Neighbours and call bets

European and French roulette tables at online casinos often come with an additional elliptical layout known as the racetrack. This special feature makes it quick and easy to place neighbours bets and call bets, which traditionally could only be made by announcing the wager to the croupier.

These French bets allow you to wager on different sections of the wheel, rather than according to where the numbers are on the layout. They typically feature a mixture of straight bets and splits.

Neighbours – A five-piece bet on any number and the two on either side of it. For example: if you play neighbours of five, you are betting straight-up on the 5 as well as 10, 13, 24 and 16.

Grand voisins du zero – Also called serie 0/2/3, this extended neighbours bet covers the 17 numbers from 22 through 25 as they appear on the wheel. It features seven splits (4/7, 12/15, 18/21, 19/22), one corner (25/26/28/29) and one trio bet (0/2/3).

Tiers du Cylindre – Also called serie 5/8, this bet features six splits (5/8, 10/11, 13/16, 23/24, 27/30, 33/36) and covers the 12 numbers adjacent to voisins du zero on the wheel (27 through 33).

Zero game – A smaller version of the voisins bet, made up of three splits (0/3, 12/15, 32/35) and one straight-up stake (26).

Orphelins – This five-part wager is comprised of all the numbers left out of serie 5/8 and serie 0/2/3. It features four splits (6/9, 14/17, 17/20, 31/34) and one single number bet (1).

More special roulette bets

These aren’t always available at land-based Australian casinos, but you will be able to find them on the most popular titles at our top-ranked real money roulette sites.

Finale – These cover all numbers which end with the same digit. Finale bets consist of either three or four single wagers, depending on the specific bet:

Finale plein zero = 0, 10, 20, 30
Finale plein one = 1, 11, 21, 31
Finale plein two = 2, 12, 22, 32
Finale plein three = 3, 13, 23, 33
Finale plein four = 4, 14, 24, 34
Finale plein five = 5, 15, 25, 35
Finale plein six = 6, 16, 26, 36
Finale plein seven = 7, 17, 27
Finale plein eight = 8, 18, 28
Finale plein nine = 9, 19, 29

Complete – This popular high-stakes roulette bet includes every possible inside wager for a certain number. For example: a complete bet on 36 consists of a straight wager, a street (36/35/33), a corner (36/35/33/32), a six line (36/35/34/32/31/30) and two splits (36/35, 36/33). Playing the maximum stake on every part of a complete wager is known as a full complete bet.

House edge for all roulette bets

The vast majority of wagers on the devil’s wheel give the casino the same mathematical advantage: 2.70 per cent in European roulette (single zero) and 5.26 per cent in US roulette (double zero). As you will see below, however, the American version – which is already poor value – features one pretty big sucker bet.

Bet type	Payout	Euro house edge	US house edge
Black or red	1 to 1	2.70%	5.26%
Odd or even	1 to 1	2.70%	5.26%
1-18 or 19-36	1 to 1	2.70%	5.26%
Dozen	2 to 1	2.70%	5.26%
Column	2 to 1	2.70%	5.26%
Six line	5 to 1	2.70%	5.26%
Top five	6 to 1	–	7.89%
Top four	8 to 1	2.70%	–
Corner	8 to 1	2.70%	5.26%
Trio	11 to 1	2.70%	–
Basket	11 to 1	–	5.26%
Street	11 to 1	2.70%	5.26%
Split	17 to 1	2.70%	5.26%
Single number	35 to 1	2.70%	5.26%

Imprisonment rules for French roulette

Leaving aside the awful top line bet in United States roulette, there is another option which can alter the house edge – one that actually improves the player’s chances of long-term success.

Whereas most single-zero roulette games in Australia and elsewhere will simply take your money outright, many French roulette tables give you the opportunity to recoup your losses on even money bets (black/red, even/odd, etc.) when the ball lands on zero. There are two slightly different versions of this rule:

En prison – This translates literally as ‘in prison’. If the next spin turns up a winner, you get your original bet back; if you lose, the house claims the imprisoned wager. Under French rules, another zero counts as a loss for the player.
La partage – Rather than waiting for the next spin to decide your fate, you can simply take back half of your initial stake straight away.

In both cases, the casino’s advantage drops to just 1.35 per cent – exactly half the standard European roulette house edge of 2.70 per cent. So if you can find a table which offers la partage or en prison rules, by all means – put some money down.

Where to play online roulette with best odds

All of the above types of roulette bets can be wagered at roulette tables at your local land-based casino, but they can also be practiced and wagered online at the best casino sites for real money gambling. All of the sites we recommend in our tables and links are tested by our team to ensure they’re of high-quality in both gameplay and security, and each offer some of the best Internet roulette gaming available.