When you look at a roulette table, you see so many numbers and so many bets. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the sheer number of options that there are for betting on the table game, leading some people to shy away from playing roulette entirely.
The truth is though that while a roulette table may look complicated, you can become a proficient player with relative ease, and be able to place bets confidently and competently like someone who has been playing for years.
One of the first things to learn is what betting options are available at the roulette table. Once you understand the types of bets that you can make and how they work, you’ll be ready to progress and learn a variety of strategies.
Mastering the roulette strategies puts you in a position to win more frequently even though the table game is one of chance.
This guide to the bets on a roulette table will cover the common bets on both American style and European and French style roulette wheels. It’s important to remember as you read that not all of the bets can be made on an American wheel.
You can easily spot an American wheel, as it will have two green sections with zeroes or double zeroes, while a European or French wheel will have just one green single zero.
The Outside Bets on a Roulette Table
At the bottom of the roulette table, there are two distinct areas.
The top part features all of the numbers that are on the roulette wheel, while the bottom part has three large rectangular sections above a row of six smaller rectangular sections.
Bets made on these nine areas at the bottom of the table or the three green rectangles on the far right of the board are called outside bets, and there are a number of ways that you can bet on them:
Even Money Outside Bets
The six sections at the very bottom of the roulette table are even money bets. Basically what this means is that you win the exact amount of money that you bet. In other words, if you place a bet for $20 and you win, you will receive $20 and will have doubled your money.
You have about an even chance of winning or losing playing here. If you are playing on an American roulette table and the ball lands in either the zero or the double zero, you will lose all of the money that you have wagered on even money outside bets.
On a European or French roulette table, you will lose half of the money that you bet on even money outside bets if the ball lands on a zero.
The even money outside bets that you place include:
Red and Black
The two innermost rectangles correspond to all of the red numbers and all of the black numbers. If you place a bet on red or black, you win if the ball lands on a number in the color that you chose.
Even and Odd
The next two rectangles out say “Even” on the left and “Odd” at the right and refer to all of the even numbers and all of the odd numbers, respectively. If you place a bet on even or odd, you win if the ball lands on the type of number you have chosen whether even or odd.
Lows
The outermost rectangle on the left says 1-18 and is referred to as “Lows.” If you place a bet here, you win if the ball lands on any of the numbers 1 through 18.
Highs
The outermost rectangle on the right says 19-36 and is referred to as “Highs.” If you place a bet here, you win if the ball lands on any of the numbers 19 to 36.
2 to 1 Outside Bets
The three rectangles located above the even money outside bets pay 2 to 1 if you win, but they are harder to win. If you wager $10 here and win, you receive $40. If the ball lands on the zero or the double zero, you lose all of the money placed on 2 to 1 outside bets.
There are two kinds of 2 to 1 Outside bets:
The dozens
The three rectangles on the bottom correspond to the dozens, the 12 numbers located directly above them on the table.
Columns
The three rectangles on the right side of the roulette table correspond to the columns, all of the numbers located directly to the left of them.
Inside Bets
There are a number of types of bets that can be made on the inside numbers, the red and black rectangles at the top of the roulette board. They include:
- Six Line: A six line bet includes six adjacent numbers and pays 5 to 1 if you win.
- Basket: A basket bet includes the 0, 1, 2 and 3 and pays 6 to 1 if you win.
- Corner: A corner bet includes four adjacent numbers and pays 8 to 1 if you win.
- Street: A street bet includes three vertical numbers and pays 11 to 1 if you win.
- Split: A split bet covers two numbers located side by side and pays 7 to 1 if you win.
- Straight up: A straight up bet is only for one number and pays 35 to 1 if you win.
Additional European and French Roulette Bets
On a European or French roulette table, you can place two additional types of bets:
Section bets, which involve numbers that fall into three different regions: tiers du cylindere, voisins du zero and orphelins.
Neighbor bets, which involve one number called and the two numbers directly to the left and the two numbers directly to the right on the wheel. (Read more about neighbor- and section bets here)
