Overview
Roulette is played on a numbered wheel and a betting layout. You place chips on a single number, a group of numbers or an outside bet such as red or black, then the ball is spun and comes to rest in one pocket. The green zero pockets are what give the house its edge: they lose on every outside bet.
Usual Commercial Rules
The steps and rules below describe how this kind of game is usually played elsewhere. They are not the procedure this website runs. The round you can play is described under “What this page settles”.
- Choose a table and confirm whether it uses a European (single zero) or American (double zero) wheel.
- Place inside bets on numbers or outside bets on red/black, odd/even, high/low, dozens or columns.
- Betting closes, the wheel is spun and the winning pocket is recorded.
- Winning bets are paid at the rates shown below; all other chips are collected.
Rules
European wheel
37 pockets: 1 to 36 and a single zero. The house edge on every bet is 1/37, or 2.70%.
American wheel
38 pockets: 1 to 36, zero and double zero. The house edge is 2/38, or 5.26%, and the five-number bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3) is worse at 7.89%.
La Partage
On French-rules tables, half of an even-money stake is returned when the ball lands on zero, which reduces the edge on those bets to 1.35%.
No memory
Each spin is independent. A colour or number that has not appeared recently is no more likely to appear next.
Common Variants
- European roulette
- Single-zero wheel, the better choice of the two standard versions.
- French roulette
- Single-zero wheel with La Partage or En Prison rules on even-money bets.
- American roulette
- Double-zero wheel with a higher house edge.
- Live roulette
- A physical wheel spun by a dealer and streamed in real time.
Payouts and House Edge
Every standard bet on a given wheel has the same house edge; only the size and frequency of wins change.
| Bet | Covers | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 number | 35:1 |
| Split | 2 numbers | 17:1 |
| Street | 3 numbers | 11:1 |
| Corner | 4 numbers | 8:1 |
| Six line | 6 numbers | 5:1 |
| Dozen or column | 12 numbers | 2:1 |
| Red/black, odd/even, 1-18/19-36 | 18 numbers | 1:1 |
The figures above are standard mathematical values for the rules described. They are not a certificate for the round on this page.
What this page settles
The playable round is an even-money stake settled on this website. The chance of a win is (1 − house edge) / 2, using the house edge for this category. A win returns twice the stake. No independent laboratory certificate is published for that draw, and it is not a live studio connection.
Commercial roulette usually selects one pocket on a wheel. This website does not run that wheel. The round here is even money.
Play Responsibly
Progressive systems such as doubling after each loss raise your stake quickly and run into table limits; they cannot overcome the zero. Decide your budget before you sit down. See responsible gambling for the tools available in your account.
Play a round
Even-money round against the published house edge for this category. A win returns twice the stake. This is not a live studio game. You must meet the local minimum age and be outside Ontario.