Roulette has more bet types than almost every other casino game, and a huge range of roulette odds. You might have your favourite roulette bet, but with so many different bets to choose from, why not try something new?
This table game has odds for everyone, from red-or-black coin flips to single-number long shots, and plenty of bets in between. One of the fundamental rules of odds is that the more likely something is to happen, the smaller the payout. The less likely and higher the risk, the bigger the reward.
In this roulette odds guide, I’ll explain the different roulette bets, how to place each bet at an online roulette table, and most importantly, how much you can win!
Roulette bet categories
The 3 categories of roulette bet get their names – inside bets, outside bets and called bets – because of where they appear (or in some cases, don’t appear) on the table layout.
Inside bets: Located inside the main betting board, within the grid of numbers. They have the biggest roulette odds.
Outside bets: Larger sections found around the outside of the roulette table. These have the lowest roulette returns.
Called bets: Also called announced bets, special bets or exotics. You’ll find these in the racetrack section or in a dedicated menu in the game software.
Roulette odds chart
There are several different ways to bet on single numbers or groups of numbers. The more numbers covered by a bet type, the more likely it is to happen, and the smaller the payout.
The roulette payouts chart below shows the breakdown of bets you often find in the online roulette rules, and the house edge for each bet in both European and American roulette. As you can see, the American roulette payouts are the same as the European version of the game, but because of the double zero, the house edge is almost twice as big.
| Bet type | Numbers | Payout | EU edge | US edge |
| Straight up | 1 | 35 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% |
| Split | 2 | 17 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% |
| Street | 3 | 11 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% |
| Corner | 4 | 8 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% |
| Basket | 5 | 6 to 1 | N/A | 7.89% |
| Six Line | 6 | 5 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% |
| Column | 12 | 2 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% |
| Dozen | 12 | 2 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% |
| High/Low | 18 | 1 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% |
| Odd/Even | 18 | 1 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% |
| Red/Black | 18 | 1 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% |
That’s how much you win if a bet comes in but, what is the roulette probability (your actual chance of winning), and the house edge for each bet? The rules of roulette are slightly different, depending on the type of roulette you play.
Roulette probabilities
Roulette table odds vary wildly from one bet to the next. The roulette wheel odds for a single number are 35 to 1, but you will only do that once in every 37 spins, or 2.7% of the time. Whereas the roulette winning odds of a Dozen – 2 to 1 – will only happen once in every 3.2 spins.
American roulette odds are slightly different to European roulette odds too. The odds in European roulette of hitting red or black are slightly better (you’ll do it 48% of the time on average) than the corresponding American roulette odds (47% of the time).
| Bet Type | EU edge | US edge | US probability | EU probability |
| Straight up | 2.70% | 5.26% | 2.7% | 2.6% |
| Split | 2.70% | 5.26% | 5.4% | 5.3% |
| Street | 2.70% | 5.26% | 8.1% | 7.9% |
| Corner | 2.70% | 5.26% | 10.5% | 10.5% |
| Basket | N/A | 7.89% | N/A | 13.2% |
| Six Line | 2.70% | 5.26% | 15.8% | 16.2% |
| Column | 2.70% | 5.26% | 31.6% | 32.4% |
| Dozen | 2.70% | 5.26% | 31.6% | 32.4% |
| High/Low | 2.70% | 5.26% | 47.37% | 48.65% |
| Odd/Even | 2.70% | 5.26% | 47.37% | 48.65% |
| Red/Black | 2.70% | 5.26% | 47.37% | 48.65% |
Provided you know how many numbers you’re betting on, and the total numbers on the wheel, you don’t need a roulette odds calculator to figure out the chance of winning. But if you’re interested in the chances of zero landing twice, or 5 blacks in a row happening, a roulette odds calculator or some GCSE maths will come in handy before you hit the live casino and spin the wheel.
Inside bets
If you want to bet on between 1 and 6 numbers with a single chip, inside bets are your path to roulette glory. Let’s see how each one works.
Straight Up bet
Return on a £10 bet: £360
Other names: Single number
One chip on one number – the best roulette winning odds you can get. Betting on a single roulette number carries the most risk as it has the lowest chance of coming in, but the reward is the biggest payouts odds in roulette, and the most excitement too.
With 37 roulette numbers on a European wheel (from 0 to 36), you’ll have a 1 in 37 chance of winning, and you’ll get 35 to 1 roulette odds on a single number.
Split bet
Return on a £10 bet: £180
A split bet is a single chip placed on the line between 2 numbers that are next to each other on the roulette betting board.
In European roulette there are 60 different split bets you can make, and although the numbers will be close to each other on the board and either 1 or 3 numbers apart numerically (e.g. 1 + 2, or 33 + 36), they will not usually be close to each other on the wheel.
American roulette has extra split bets for 0-00 and 2 combinations of zero and 2 (0-2 and 00-2).
Street bet
Return on a £10 bet: £120
Other names: Line, Trio
Placing a chip on the line between 1 (or 4, 7, 10 and so on) and the adjacent dozen area will cover all 3 numbers in that row. A street bet placed on the line between 1 and the 1 to 12 bet will cover 1-2-3. There are 14 possible street bets – the 12 rows and the less obvious 0-1-2 and 0-2-3 bets. You’ll get 11 to 1 odds on a bet with just over 8% chance of winning.
Streets will always contain 2 red numbers and 1 black, or vice versa. Bet number distributions on the wheel are quite varied, with some numbers spread evenly in a triangle across the wheel (13-14-15), while others such as 31-32-33 are all located in the same 10-number section of the European wheel.
In American roulette, the extra double zero creates 1 more street to play. In addition to 0-1-2 and 00-2-3, you can also play 0-00-2.
Corner bet
Return on a £10 bet: £90
Other names: Square
To cover 4 numbers in a square on the betting board, place a chip in the vertical and horizontal lines intersecting them. There 23 possible corner bets in European roulette including 0-1-2-4 (sometimes referred to as First Four) and your chances of winning are almost 11%. In American roulette, there are only 22 corner bets, as the First Four bet is replaced by the First Five.
Basket bet (American)
Return on a £10 bet: £70
Other names: 5 Number
This notorious 5-number bet is only found in American roulette. By placing a chip on the corner of 0, 1 and 1st 12, you can cover 0-00-1-2-3. Unfortunately for players who go for this bet, they only get 6 to 1 odds on a bet with real odds of 6.38 to 1.
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to easily divide 5 numbers by the 37 numbers in American roulette, so the odds are rounded down to 6 to 1, instead of up to 7 to 1. This creates a house edge of 7.89%, and avoiding the Basket Bet is one of my top roulette tips.
Six Line bet
Return on a £10 bet: £60
Other names: Double Street
You can cover a block of 6 numbers such as 1 to 6 or 4 to 9 by betting a chip at the end of the group where the dozen bets are found, in between the 2 streets. There are 11 possible Six Line bets and they have odds of 5 to 1.
Outside bets
Many roulette players care less about specific numbers and simply want better roulette payout odds. By choosing bets which divide the wheel into 2 or 3 groups, you improve your chances of winning to as much as 48%, though the roulette table payout decreases to as little as 1 to 1.
Column bet
Return on a £10 bet: £30
Found at the end of each row, column bets cover 12 numbers including every third number on the wheel. For example, a bet on the top column includes 3-6-9-12-15-18-21-24-27-30-33-36.
By covering a third of the non-zero numbers on the wheel, you’ll win 32.43% of the time in European roulette and 31.58% of the time in American roulette. Your reward? A 2 to 1 payout.
Dozen bet
Return on a £10 bet: £30
Like column odds but don’t like the specific grouping of numbers (or can’t reach the end of a column)?
Try a dozen bet when you play roulette instead. Once again, you’ll cover a third of the wheel (minus the zero) and get 2 to 1 odds, but now you can choose between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd 12’s. To place a dozen bet, look for the 3 sections between the main number grid and the even money bets.
Even Money bets
Return on a £10 bet: £20
If coin flips are your thing, roulette has 6 different ways to double your money: Red, black, high, low, odd and even. They cover almost half the wheel, with only the green zero not included in these bets.
In European roulette, even money bets will win around 48% of the time. Because there are 2 zeroes in American roulette, your even money bet has a 47% chance of success.
In French roulette rules, the La Partage and En Prison rules reduces the house edge on this roulette bet type from 2.70% to 1.35%, as you get half your stake back if the ball lands in zero.
Because of their 1 to 1 odds, even money outside bets are the bet of choice for players who follow popular roulette strategies like the Martingale roulette system, as the system relies on the almost 50% chance of success.
Special bets
Once you are familiar with all of the main bet types, you might want to explore the more exotic section bets in roulette. Don’t be put off by their unfamiliar names, or the fact that they’re either displayed in a separate racetrack area or not displayed at all!
These bets are simply another way to bet on selected groups of numbers. Some are bets with a specific set of numbers, while others allow you to choose your own set of numbers.
#1 Final
A family of bets on numbers that all share the same last digit. These usually include both straight up and split bets, so the odds vary from 17 to 1 to 35 to 1, depending the number that comes up.
#2 Le tiers du cylinder
This fixed special bet covers 6 splits. With a unit stake of £1, the Tiers bet costs £6 and a winning number returns a total of £18. This means the payout odds are 2 to 1.
#3 Orphelins
There are two variations of the orphelins roulette bet, a 5-chip bet or an 8-chip bet that features 4 splits and a single number, which can pay out either £36 or £18 for a £5 total bet.
#4 Voisins du zero
This bet costs 9 chips and covers 17 numbers. However, as it includes streets, splits and a corner bet, the roulette payouts can vary from £18 to £24. As a result, the odds of a Voisins bet fall somewhere between 1 to 1 and 2 to 1.
#5 Neighbours
The neighbours bet in roulette lets you bet on a number of your choice and the numbers either side of it on the wheel. You can choose to bet on up to 5 numbers either side, although 2 numbers is the most popular. However, many neighbours you choose to play, you’re essentially placing a series of straight up bets, each with odds of 35 to 1.
Knowing the roulette probabilities and odds will give you extra info you can use to pick the best roulette strategy for you. Whether you’re a straight-up guy or an even money missus, understanding the risk and reward of bets in roulette helps you choose how much to bet, how long you might need to wait for a win, and much more.
How payouts work
The simplest roulette wheel odds to understand are so-called ‘even money’ bets like red or black, which pay out 1 to 1. This means for every 1 unit you stake, you make a profit of 1.
At the other end of the scale, a ‘straight up’ bet on a single number pays 35 to 1. If you place a £1 chip on Red 14 and the balls lands in 14, the dealer will pay you £35 worth of chips. It’s important to remember that you also get your stake back too. You will only get back the stake on your winning bet however.
Let’s say you placed a £1 chip on each of the following bets: 14, the 14-20 split and black. If 14 comes in, here’s how the roulette payouts work:
| Bet | Result |
| £1 on 14 @ 35 to 1 | £36 |
| £1 on 14-20 split @ 17 to 1 | £18 |
| £1 on black | -£0 |
Here’s why you need to remember that you get your stake back too. The croupier will pay out your winnings and leave your original bet where it is. In the example above, the two £1 winning bets on 14 and 14-20 would be left in place for the next spin.
If you don’t want to automatically rebet them, you can take them back off the table. This is how roulette works in a real brick & mortar casino, but if you’re playing live roulette on your phone, some providers have designed the game so that your original bet will go back into your balance. The best way to play safely is to check after a win and see if your previous bet is still on the table.
FAQs
It depends! If you’re looking for a roulette which has the best chance of winning, even money bets like red or black which pay out approximately half the time are your best option. If value is what you’re after, then the roulette bet with the lowest house edge is any even money bet in French roulette. With odds of 1 to 1, a win percentage of 48% and a house edge of just 1.35%, it’s impossible to find a better roulette bet than even money bets on French roulette.
When considering how to win at roulette, it’s important to look at the house edge first. Unless you have a particular penchant for all things American, the US version of the game has a higher house edge for every roulette bet than its Euro cousin. Worst of all is the Basket bet, with a 7.89% edge instead of the usual 5.26%. If you want to bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3, simply lower your stake and place straight up bets on each number to play with the optimal house edge.
Although zero is in some ways a special number in roulette, and some players feel is one of the most common numbers in roulette, the laws of physics treat the green zero just the same as any other number. With 37 numbers on the wheel, there’s a 1 in 37 chance of the ball landing in zero (and the same with any other number). Put another way, there’s a 2.70% chance of zero being chosen. In American roulette there are two zeros, 0 and 00. That means there is a 1 in 38 chance (or 2.63%) of either zero coming up. What are the odds of any zero being chosen in American roulette? That’s 1 in 19 or 5.26%. In either form of the game, the payout odds you’ll get for a winning bet on zero is 35 to 1.
