It has been abundantly clear that roulette is not the table game it once was in its LAs Vegas days. Nowadays, players can find all kinds of roulette tables with many types of bets, gameplay options, bonuses and mechanics that traditional roulette games could not replicate. Either way, it’s safe to say that roulette is an entertaining game through and through.
While roulette looks fairly simple to play, once you dive a little deeper, you’ll find that it gets quite complex, especially when it comes to betting. Don’t worry, though; as your trusty roulette guide, we’ll take you through everything you need to know about roulette bets.
TYPES OF ROULETTE BETS
Before we get into the specifics, let’s look at the different types of roulette bets from a bird’s eye view. Bear in mind that, given the amount of variation, especially if you play roulette online, the betting options available may vary from one roulette table to another. Roulette odds and house edge may also vary, but we’ll get into that later.
Take a look at the major types of bets you’ll find on a typical roulette table:
- Inside Bets
- Outside Bets
- Call Stakes
- Neighbour Stakes
- Favourite Stakes
- Final Bets
- Full Complete Bets
- Imprisonment Stakes
It is also important to remember that you may find a different number of betting options depending on the type of roulette game you play. Some roulette bets may only be available on specific tables — the Basket bet, for example, can only be found at American roulette tables. Before you actually begin placing your wagers, give the rules a quick glance.
OUTSIDE WAGERS IN ROULETTE
Inside and Outside bets make up the two major categories of roulette bets.
To put it simply, Outside wagers are all the bets that can be placed outside the betting area. These wagers are also referred to as even-money bets as they offer a payout of 1:1. These stakes are often considered to be much easier to place than Inside bets, as these bet combinations cover almost all the numbers on the roulette wheel, giving players greater chances of winning. That said, Outside stakes offer much lower payouts than Inside stakes.
COLUMN BET
The Column bet requires wagering on the ball landing on one of the three columns on the roulette table, covering all the numbers in that column. The zero is not included in this bet.
DOZEN BET
The Dozen wager is an even-money bet that covers a dozen numbers. On the table you will find the option to wager on either the first, second or third dozen of numbers.
RED/BLACK BET
The Red/Black roulette bet covers the ball landing on any of the red or black numbers found on the wheel. By placing this even-money bet , players will be betting on either all 18 red numbers or all 18 black numbers. The zero is not included in these stakes as it is a green numbered pocket.
ODD OR EVEN BET
The Odd/Even bet is similar to the Red/Black bet. However, instead of betting on red or black numbers, the Odd/Even roulette bet involves betting on either all the odd numbers or all the even ones. The zero is not included in this even-money bet.
1-18 OR 19-36 BET
Also referred to as the High/Low bet, the 1-18/19-36 even-money bet involves betting on the ball landing on any of the first 18 or the second 18 numbers. The zero is not included in this bet.
INSIDE BETS IN ROULETTE
Inside stakes are roulette bets that make the second major betting category. These stakes are basically all the bets that can be placed inside the betting area. If you’re unsure of where these stakes can be placed exactly, the table will indicate each bet position in its layout.
Inside stakes are generally quite risky to place as they do not offer the best roulette odds. That said, however, their high-risk levels are paired with great payouts — much greater than the payouts offered by Outside stakes. It is generally recommended that beginner players start off with Outside stakes first before they make their way to Inside betting options.
Here is a full list of the types of Inside roulette bets one can place when playing European roulette and American roulette:
STRAIGHT UP BET
The Straight up bet, also known as the Straight bet, covers the ball landing on one single number on the roulette wheel and may include the zero.
SPLIT BET
Split bets cover two horizontally or vertically adjacent numbers.
TRIO BET
The Trio bets, also known as Steam bets, are not stakes that are commonly known. This bet type can be found on all types of roulette as it features the single zero in European roulette and the double zero in American roulette. So, placing the Trio bet involves wagering on the ball landing on the zero (or double zero), and the two numbers that adjoin it.
STREET BET
The Street bet is a three-number bet. This bet would cover a row of three consecutive numbers, horizontally.
CORNER BET
The Corner bets, also known as Square bets or Quarter stakes, involve placing a chip at the corner of the intersection of four numbers in which all four numbers are covered.
SIX LINE BET
As their name implies, Six-Line bets are six-number bets that cover six numbers that form two consecutive rows, adjacent to each other.
BASKET BET
The Basket stake is an Inside bet type that can only be found on an American roulette wheel. Also known as a five-number bet or Top Line bet, the Basket stake involves wagering on the 0, 00, one, two and three pockets.
SNAKE BET
The Snake bet is another not-so-common wagering option on this list. This bet covers the one, five, nine, 12, 14, 16, 19, 23, 27, 30, 32, and 34 and gets its name from the snake-like pattern formed when highlighting the numbers covered.
CALL BETS
Call bets are pretty different from Inside and Outside stakes, which is why they deserve a category all on their own. What makes these stakes different is the fact that they are generally ‘called out’ or ‘announced’ instead of simply placing your chips on the table. If you play online roulette casino games with a live dealer, you’ll quickly realise you can’t actually call out your bet, so Call bets are sometimes dubbed as Special stakes.
Here are the different Call bets you can place:
VOISINS DU ZERO
Directly translating to ‘neighbours of zero’, this bet is among the four French bets that can be placed on any conventional table and requires a minimum of nine chips. As its name implies, this bet places chips on the numbers that are closest to zero (on a single-zero roulette wheel), including 22, 18, 29, seven, 28, 12, 35, three, 26, zero, 32, 15, 19, four, 21, two, 25.
With this bet, players must place two chips are placed on the zero, two, three trio, one on the four/seven split, one on 12/15, one on 18/21, one on 19/22, two on 25/26/28/29 corner, and one on 32/35.
JEU ZERO
Also referred to as the ‘zero game’ bet, the Jeu Zero bet involves wagering on the 12, 35, three, 26, zero, 32 and 15 and requires a minimum of four chips.
With this bet, three chips are placed on splits (zero/three, 12/15, 32/35) and one chip is bet straight up on 26. This bet is very popular in German and European casinos, birthing a few variations, including ‘Zero Spiel Naca’ which featured an additional bet on 19.
TIERS DU CYLINDRE
This bet involves wagering on the 12 numbers that are on the opposite side of the wheel, including 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, eight, 23, 10, five, 24, 16, and 33. This bet can be directly translated to ‘thirds of the wheel’ and requires a total of six chips to be placed.
ORPHELINS À CHEVAL
This wagering option covers the two slices of the wheel outside of the Tiers and Voisins bets, wagering on a total of eight numbers. These include 17, 34, six, one, 20, 14, 31, and nine.
NEIGHBOUR BET
A neighbour bet requires placing one chip on one number and the two numbers that neighbour it on the wheel.
FINAL BETS
A Final bet is a stake placed on numbers with the same end/final digit. For instance, if you place a Final bet on four, you’ll be wagering on all numbers that end in four, including four, 14, 24 and 34.
Here’s a list of all the Final stakes you can place:
- Final zero — zero, 10, 20, 30
- Final one — one, 11, 21, 31
- Final two — two, 12, 22, 32
- Final three — three, 13, 23, 33
- Final four — four, 14, 24, 34
- Final five — five, 15, 25, 35
- Final six — six, 16, 26, 36
- Final seven — seven, 17, 27
- Final eight — eight, 18, 28
- Final nine — nine, 19, 29
The number of chips needed for this bet depends on the type of Final bet you place. Some online casinos offer split-final bets as well.
FULL COMPLETE BETS
A Complete bet is probably the most straightforward bet you can place. It involves placing all your chips on one single number, so it is quite risky. In fact, the Complete bet is often placed by high-rollers with the aim to take advantage of the table’s maximum bet limit using a progressive betting model.
IMPRISONMENT BETS
When playing French roulette, you’ll likely come across Imprisonment stakes. French roulette features two additional rules that give players better odds, which is why this variation of the game has such a low house edge.
LA PARTAGE
The La Partage rule states that, if the ball lands on zero and the player’s stake loses, then they will receive half their bet back.
EN PRISON
Directly translating to ‘in prison’, the En Prison rule is pretty similar to the La Partage rule. The reason behind its name is because, when players choose to place this stake, the dealer (or live dealer if playing roulette at an online casino) will place their stakes ‘in prison’.
If the number that was wagered on does not turn out to be a winning number, the dealer will hold that bet on the table for the next spin. If the next spin results in a win, the bet will be returned to the player in full.
ROULETTE BETS — NAMES AND NUMBERS
If the thought of placing Complete bets enticed you, we’ve compiled a quick table that will help you understand the idea behind this stake. The most popular Complete bet is arguably the bet on 17. Here’s what that might look like:
| Type of Roulette Bet | Numbers to Bet On |
| Straight | 17 |
| Split | 17, 14 |
| Split | 17, 16 |
| Split | 17, 18 |
| Split | 17, 20 |
| Street | 17, 16, 18 |
| Corner | 17, 16, 13, 14 |
| Corner | 17, 18, 14, 15 |
| Corner | 17, 18, 20, 21 |
| Line | 17, 16, 18, 13, 14, 15 |
| Line | 17, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21 |
If you’d rather stick to the regular set of wagering options, here’s a breakdown:
| Type of Bet | Bet Explanation |
| Straight Bet | The Straight Up bet involves wagering on a single number including the zero. |
| Split Bet | Wagering on two horizontally or vertically adjacent numbers. |
| Trio Bet | These stakes would cover the zero on a European table or the 00 on an American table and the two numbers that adjoin them. Also known as Steam bets. |
| Street Bet | This bet would cover a row of three consecutive numbers, horizontally. |
| Corner Bet | Wagering on the intersection of four pockets where all numbers are covered. |
| Five-Number Bet | Also known as the Basket/Top Line bet, this bet would cover the zero, 00, one, two and three on an American wheel. |
| Line Bet | Line bets cover six numbers that form two consecutive rows adjacent to each other. |
| Snake Bet | Placing chips as an s-shaped snaking line on 12 straight numbers. |
| Column Bet | Wagering on one of three columns, covering 12 numbers in that column. |
| Dozen Bet | Wagering on a dozen numbers. |
| High or Low Bet | Wagering on the first 18 numbers or the second 18 numbers on a European wheel. |
| Even or Odd Bet | Wagering on either all odd numbers or all even ones. |
| Red/Black Bet | A stake that covers either all 18 red numbers or all 18 black numbers. |
| Tiers du Cylindre | Also known as ‘thirds of the wheel’. Places six chips on 12 numbers, including 27, 33 and the numbers that lie in between them, opposite the zero. |
| Voisins du Zero | Placing nine chips on 17 numbers, including the 22, 25 and the numbers that lie in between them on the side of the wheel that contains the zero. |
| Orphelins à Cheval | This is a bet placed on eight numbers. Make up two slices of the wheel outside of the Tiers and Voisins bets |
| Jeu Zero | Places four chips on the number zero and its closest six numbers. |
| Neighbour | A single bet on one number one on the two numbers that neighbour it on the wheel. |
| Final | A bet placed on all numbers with the same end digit. |
ROULETTE PAYOUTS
Let’s take a look at how each of the above stakes pay out:
| Type of Bet | Payout | European Roulette Odds | American Roulette Odds |
| Straight Up | 35:1 | 2,70% | 2,60% |
| Split | 17:1 | 5,40% | 5,30% |
| Trio | 11:1 | 2,70% | 5,26% |
| Street | 11:1 | 8,10% | 7,90% |
| Square | 8:1 | 10,80% | 10,50% |
| Basket | 6:1 | – | 13,20% |
| Line | 5:1 | 16,20% | 15,80% |
| Snake | 2:1 | 32,43% | 31,58% |
| Column | 2:1 | 32,40% | 31,60% |
| Dozen | 2:1 | 32,40% | 31,60% |
| High/Low | 1:1 | 48,65% | 47,37% |
| Odd/Even | 1:1 | 48,65% | 47,37% |
| Red/Black | 1:1 | 48,65% | 47,37% |
| Type of Bet | Payout | Odds |
| Tiers du Cylindre | 17:1 | 32,40% |
| Voisins du Zero | Varies depending on number | 45,90% |
| Orphelins à Cheval | 35:1 for the bet made on a single number, 17:1 for the splits | 21,60% |
| Jeu Zero | 26:1 | 18,90% |
| Neighbour | Varies depending on number | 13,50% |
| Final | Varies depending on number | 10.80% / 8.10% |
⭐ HOW DO ROULETTE BETS WORK?
Considering this game is all about predicting where the ball will land, and only one number can win, there are several different bets one can place, each divided into its own category. Your wagering options might also alter depending on whether you’re playing on a single-zero wheel or a 00-wheel.
⭐ HOW TO PLACE STAKES ON A ROULETTE TABLE?
Placing roulette bets is super easy at most casinos. If you’re playing at an online casino, all you have to do is select one of the different-coloured chips found on the user interface. If you’re playing at your local casino, you must buy your physical chips and then instruct the dealer on where you would like your chips placed.
Bear in mind that online real-money roulette requires players to place real stakes.
⭐ HOW LONG ARE YOU ALLOWED TO PLACE BETS FOR IN ROULETTE?
No matter whether you play online roulette or land-based roulette, you will be allowed to place more bets as long as you still have real money in your bankroll.
⭐ AT WHAT POINT CAN YOU NO LONGER PLACE BETS DURING ROULETTE?
When playing real-money roulette online, players will be given a limited time frame to place their stakes. Once the wagering time has expired, players must wait until the round is finished to place their next bet.
⭐ HOW TO INCREASE BETS IN ROULETTE?
When playing at online casino sites, each table would list the minimum and maximum bets a player can place. The minimum bet does not necessarily have to be one chip, as there are several chips that hold different values. So, to increase their stake, players can simply select a chip with a greater value.
⭐ WHAT ARE INSIDE BETS IN ROULETTE?
Inside roulette bets are all those stakes that are placed inside the wagering area. For example, punters may place one piece Straight Up on one number, or on several numbers with six-number bets (Line stake), or with four-number stakes (Square bets).
⭐ WHAT ARE OUTSIDE BETS IN ROULETTE?
Outside roulette bets are all those stakes that can be placed outside the wagering area. They are very popular choices in the roulette world simply because they tend to pay out more often than Inside roulette stakes do. This is because Outside stakes cover more numbered pockets. The trade off, however, is that these stakes offer a less valuable payout.
⭐ WHAT ARE CORNER STAKES IN ROULETTE?
Corner stakes involve placing a chip on the intersection of four pocket. Here, players will stake on the ball landing on any of the numbers are covered.
⭐ HOW TO WIN EVEN-MONEY BETS?
Unfortunately, there is no strategy or method of play that can guarantee a win every single time. This is especially true due to the house edge, which is a percentage that describes the mathematical advantage the house has over the player. In the end, the house will always win.
Players can only know the winner once the ball lands in a numbered pocket, but placing Outside stakes may help boost their chance of winning since these stakes cover the majority of the board. On top of that, players can also choose to play on tables with a lower edge. French roulette has one of the lowest house edges, for example. The lower the edge, the greater players’ odds of winning!
⭐ WHAT ARE THE BEST BETS IN ROULETTE?
The best roulette bets are often considered to be Outside stakes. This is because these stakes have high odds of winning and so, pay out much more frequently than other wagering options. Most roulette strategies are also based on using these stakes, so they’re pretty popular, to say the least.
⭐ WHAT BETS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN ROULETTE?
When playing roulette at an online gambling site, it is rare that you’ll come across a wagering option that is illegal.
However, when playing roulette at a land-based casino, you may find that some regions in the world ban Call and Late wagering. This is because you may find some players that call out stakes without actual chips to back them up.