How to play roulette: the rules
Roulette is a bet on where a ball will land on a spinning wheel. You put chips on a number or a group of numbers, the croupier spins the wheel and the ball, and every bet that covers the winning pocket gets paid. The fewer numbers a bet covers, the more it pays.
The wheel and the layout
The wheel has the numbers 1 to 36, half red and half black, plus one or more green zeros. The layout is the printed table where you place your chips: the numbers in 12 rows of three, the zeros at the top and the bets on groups of numbers around the edge.
| Wheel | Pockets | Zeros | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single zero (European) | 37 | 0 | 2.70% |
| Double zero (American) | 38 | 0, 00 | 5.26% |
| Triple zero | 39 | 0, 00, 000 | 7.69% |
House edge is what a bet loses on average, as a share of the amount bet.
The zeros are where the house makes its money. Every payout is set as if the wheel had only the numbers 1 to 36, so a bet on one number pays 35 to 1 on all three wheels. On a single-zero wheel, 36 of every 37 chips bet come back on average, and the missing one is the 2.70% above. Each extra zero makes every bet a little less likely to win and pays no more for it, so pick the wheel with the fewest zeros.
How a round goes
- Place your chips on the layout. You can make several bets in the same round.
- The croupier spins the wheel one way and the ball the other way. You can usually keep betting for a few more seconds.
- The croupier calls “No more bets”. From then on, no chip can be added or moved.
- The ball drops into a pocket. That’s the winning number.
- The croupier puts the dolly, a small marker, on the winning number on the layout.
- Losing bets are cleared and winning bets are paid. The dolly comes off and the next round starts.
In our game there’s no one to wait for: bets close when you tap Spin.
Inside bets: on the numbers
Inside bets go on the numbers themselves. They win less often and pay more. The last three columns are your chance of winning on each wheel.
| Bet | Covers | Pays | Chance, single zero | Chance, double zero | Chance, triple zero |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | One number, zeros included | 35 to 1 | 2.70% | 2.63% | 2.56% |
| Split | Two numbers next to each other, such as 17 and 20 | 17 to 1 | 5.41% | 5.26% | 5.13% |
| Street | A row of three, such as 1, 2, 3 | 11 to 1 | 8.11% | 7.89% | 7.69% |
| Trio | Three numbers that include a zero, such as 0, 1, 2, or 0, 00, 000 on triple zero | 11 to 1 | 8.11% | 7.89% | 7.69% |
| Corner | Four numbers that meet at a corner, such as 17, 18, 20, 21 | 8 to 1 | 10.81% | 10.53% | 10.26% |
| Six line | Two rows next to each other, such as 1 to 6 | 5 to 1 | 16.22% | 15.79% | 15.38% |
| Top line (first four) | 0, 1, 2, 3 | 8 to 1 | 10.81% | – | – |
| Five-number bet (top line) | 0, 00, 1, 2, 3 | 6 to 1 | – | 13.16% | – |
| Top line | 0, 00, 000, 1, 2, 3 | 5 to 1 | – | – | 15.38% |
“Pays 35 to 1” means you win 35 chips and keep the one you bet. A dash means that wheel’s layout doesn’t have the bet.
Outside bets: on groups of numbers
Outside bets sit around the edge of the layout and cover 12 or 18 numbers. They win more often and pay less.
| Bet | Covers | Pays | Chance, single zero | Chance, double zero | Chance, triple zero |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Column | The 12 numbers of one of the three columns | 2 to 1 | 32.43% | 31.58% | 30.77% |
| Dozen | 1 to 12, 13 to 24 or 25 to 36 | 2 to 1 | 32.43% | 31.58% | 30.77% |
| Red or black | The 18 numbers of one color | 1 to 1 | 48.65% | 47.37% | 46.15% |
| Odd or even | The 18 odd or the 18 even numbers | 1 to 1 | 48.65% | 47.37% | 46.15% |
| 1-18 or 19-36 (low or high) | The lower or the upper half of the numbers | 1 to 1 | 48.65% | 47.37% | 46.15% |
A zero is not red or black, odd or even, low or high, so every outside bet loses to it. The last three rows are the even-money bets, the only ones la partage and en prison can help.
What each bet costs
On a given wheel, every bet costs the same share of what you bet, whatever it covers. The one exception is the five-number bet: it would have to pay 6.2 to 1 to match the others, and it pays 6 to 1.
| Bet | Single zero | Double zero | Triple zero |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every bet except the top line | 2.70% | 5.26% | 7.69% |
| Top line, including the five-number bet | 2.70% | 7.89% | 7.69% |
La partage and en prison: French roulette
French roulette is played on a single-zero wheel and usually has one of two rules that make the even-money bets (red/black, odd/even, 1-18/19-36) cheaper when the ball lands on zero. Neither one changes any other bet.
- La partage: you get half your bet back and lose the other half. That halves the house edge on these bets, from 2.70% to 1.35% on a single-zero wheel.
- En prison: your bet stays on the table for the next spin. If it wins, you get your bet back with no winnings; if it loses, the house takes it. In the simplest version a second zero loses it too, and the edge is 1.39%.
| Rule | Single zero | Double zero | Triple zero |
|---|---|---|---|
| The bet loses (standard) | 2.70% | 5.26% | 7.69% |
| La partage: half the bet back | 1.35% | 2.63% | 3.85% |
| En prison, a second zero loses it | 1.39% | 2.77% | 4.14% |
| En prison, a second zero keeps it in prison | 1.35% | 2.63% | 3.85% |
| En prison, each zero sinks it one level deeper | 1.37% | 2.70% | 4.01% |
House edge of one even-money bet. What a second zero does to a bet in prison depends on the casino, which is why en prison has three rows. In our game you can choose la partage or en prison (a second zero loses it) on any wheel.
No bet beats the wheel
Only two things change what a bet costs: the five-number bet is worse, and the zero rules above are better. Everything else, from one number to red or black, costs the same on a given wheel. Moving your chips around changes how often you win and how much, not what you lose on average.
Past spins don’t affect the next one either. The wheel has no memory: after ten blacks in a row, red still has the same 48.65% chance on a single-zero wheel. Betting systems such as Martingale only change how your wins and losses are spread, and you can see that for yourself with virtual chips over thousands of sessions.
Words you’ll hear
- Croupier: the person who runs the table, spins the wheel and pays the bets.
- Pocket: one of the numbered slots on the wheel, where the ball lands.
- Layout or felt: the printed table where the chips go.
- Chip: what you bet with. In our game they’re virtual, so nothing you play here costs money.
- Dolly: the marker the croupier puts on the winning number.
- No more bets: the call that closes betting for the round.
- Inside and outside bets: the bets on the numbers and the bets around the edge of the layout.
- Even-money bets: red/black, odd/even and 1-18/19-36, which pay 1 to 1.
- House edge: what a bet loses on average, as a share of the amount bet.
- La partage and en prison: French for “the sharing” and “in prison”, the two zero rules above.
- Surrender: what some double-zero tables call la partage.
Where to go next
The quickest way to learn the layout is to play a few spins with the trainer on. It shows each bet’s payout, chance and house edge as you place it.
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