Roulette is a popular casino game both online and offline. Playing the game is easy for beginners due to its simple rules. There is a lot of variety in wagers and payout odds.
Wheel and table layout
A roulette wheel has 38 numbered pockets ranging from 1 to 36, plus 0 and 00 (in American roulette). The pockets are alternately colored red and black, except for 0 and 00 which are green. The wheel sits on a table with a layout of all the various bets. Players place chips on the table, betting on where the ball will land next. The dealer then spins the wheel and drops the ball, and winning bets are paid out.
Types of inside bets
Now let’s look at the various inside bet options in more detail:
- Straight Up – Placing a chip directly on one number pays 35:1 if it hits. This bet has a probability of 1/38 in European roulette.
- Split Bet – Placing a chip on the line between two adjacent numbers pays 17:1 if either number hits. Odds are 2/38.
- Street Bet – A chip placed at the end of a row of three numbers pays 11:1 if any of those numbers come in. The probability is 3/38.
- Corner Bet – Betting on four connecting numbers by placing a chip on their intersecting corner pays 8:1 with 4/38 odds.
- Line Bet – A chip placed at the end of two rows containing six numbers in total pays 5:1 if any of those hit. Odds are 6/38.
- Basket Bet – Betting on 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3 by placing a chip on the corner of 0 and 1. Pays 6:1 with odds of 5/38. Only available in American roulette.
Knowing the payouts and odds for these inside bets helps you better understand the risk vs reward tradeoff. Higher payouts come with lower probabilities of hitting. For view more, visit the official website.
Types of outside bets
While inside bets involve specific numbers, outside bets cover larger groups of numbers. Here are the common outside bets:
- Red/Black – Betting on the color outcome pays even money (1:1). Probability is just under 48% as the 0 and 00 pockets are neither red nor black.
- Odd/Even – Betting on whether the winning number will be odd or even also pays 1:1. The probability is just under 48% like red/black.
- 1-18/19-36 – Betting on whether the number will be low (1-18) or high (19-36) pays 1:1 with a 48.65% probability. 0 and 00 do not count as part of these ranges.
- Columns – Wagering on one of the three columns of 12 numbers pays 2:1. Each column has a 32.43% chance of hitting.
- Dozens – Betting on the first (1-12), second (13-24), or third (25-36) dozen pays 2:1. Probability is 32.43% for each dozen.
- High/Low – Betting on the high half (19-36) or low half (1-18) of numbers pays 1:1. Probability is 48.65%.
Outside bets generally win about half the time, allowing players to enjoy many smaller wins even though the payouts are lower.
