Roulette - The Bets

To the newcomer, the methods for betting at roulette may seem incomprehensible. Fortunately, they're not.

There are two types of bet, inside and outside depending on the position on the table. The minimum bets for outside bets will usually be higher than inside bets. The chances of winning are greater but the rewards not as great.

Inside Bets

Straight up bet - A bet on a single number. Pays 35-1. The English Wheel has a house advantage of 2.7% and the American wheel has a house advantage of 5.26%.

Split bet - A bet on two numbers. Must be placed on the line dividing the numbers (e.g. 13/16). Pays 17-1.

Street bet - A three number bet (e.g. 22/23/24). Must be placed at the end of a line. Different rules apply for bets involving zero. Pays 11-1.

Corner bet - A four number bet. Must be placed on the corner of all the numbers (e.g. 26/27/29/30). Pays 5-1.

Line bet - A six number bet. Must be placed at the end of a line as a street bet but overlap two lines (e.g. 1/2/3/4/5/6). Pays 5-1.

Outside Bets

The minimum bets for outside bets will usually be higher than inside bets. The chances of winning are greater but the rewards not as great.

One bets - A bet on either 1-12, 13-24, 25-36 will return 2-1.

Even money bets - These are either red/black, odd/even or high (19-36)/low (1-18)

Zero Chances

On even money when the ball lands on zero the outcome differs depending on where you play. In France the bet is frozen but anywhere else it's just tough luck, if you've placed an outside bet you've lost.