Roulette bets and odds: inside, outside and the house edge
Stoopid Pigeon Editorial· · 8 min read
Roulette feels like the most open-ended game on the floor — dozens of numbers, colours, columns and combinations to back — but underneath the variety the maths is surprisingly tidy. On a given wheel, almost every bet costs the same. The real choices that move the odds are simpler than the betting layout suggests: which wheel you play, which rules the table runs, and how many spins you make per hour.
This guide breaks down the wheel and the table, what each inside and outside bet pays, why every standard bet on the same wheel carries the identical house edge, and why “hot” and “cold” numbers don’t predict anything. No promises of winning — roulette, like every casino game, is built to make money for the house — just a clear look at what each bet actually costs.
The wheel and the table
There are two main roulette wheels, and the difference between them matters more than any bet you could place.
The European wheel has 37 pockets: numbers 1 to 36 plus a single 0. The American wheel has 38 pockets: the same 1 to 36, plus a 0 and a 00 (double zero). That single extra pocket is the whole reason the American game costs roughly twice as much to play.
The betting layout — the felt grid where chips go — is broadly the same on both: a block of 36 numbers arranged in three columns and twelve rows, with the zeros at the top and the “outside” areas (red/black, odd/even and so on) around the edge. Bets fall into two families:
- Inside bets — chips placed on individual numbers or small clusters of them. Long odds, big payouts.
- Outside bets — chips placed on the broad categories around the edge (colour, odd/even, dozens, columns). Short odds, frequent small wins.
The names “inside” and “outside” simply describe where the chips sit on the felt. They don’t describe better or worse value — as the maths below shows, they cost the same.
Inside bets and what they pay
Inside bets cover one number or a tight group of adjacent numbers. The fewer numbers a bet covers, the bigger the payout — and the rarer the win. These payouts are the same on European and American wheels.
- Straight-up — a single number. Pays 35:1.
- Split — two adjoining numbers, chip on the line between them. Pays 17:1.
- Street — three numbers in a row, chip on the row’s edge. Pays 11:1.
- Corner (or square) — four numbers meeting at one point. Pays 8:1.
- Line (or six-line) — two adjacent rows, six numbers. Pays 5:1.
A useful sanity check: a straight-up bet pays 35:1, but on a European wheel there are 37 possible outcomes, not 36. That one-pocket gap between the true odds and the payout odds is exactly where the house edge lives — and it sits inside every one of these bets.
A straight-up number pays 35:1, yet the European wheel holds 37 pockets and the American holds 38. The win is real, but the payout is always a notch short of fair — that short notch is the house edge, baked into every bet on the felt.
Outside bets and what they pay
Outside bets cover large groups of numbers, so they win far more often but pay far less. They split into the even-money bets and the 2:1 bets.
The even-money bets each cover (almost) half the wheel and pay 1:1:
- Red or black — the colour of the winning number.
- Odd or even — whether the number is odd or even.
- High or low — 1 to 18 (low) or 19 to 36 (high).
The zeros belong to none of these groups, which is precisely why even a “50/50-looking” bet still loses in the long run.
The 2:1 outside bets each cover twelve numbers:
- Dozens — 1–12, 13–24 or 25–36. Pays 2:1.
- Columns — one of the three vertical columns of twelve numbers. Pays 2:1.
Twelve numbers out of 37 (or 38) is a little under a third of the wheel, and a 2:1 payout would be exactly fair only if there were 36 pockets and no zero. The zeros tilt it — again, the same edge as every other bet.
Why every bet on a wheel carries the same edge
This is the part that surprises most players: on a single wheel, a straight-up bet, a corner, a column and red/black all cost the same in the long run. The bets look wildly different, but the house edge is identical.
The reason is simple. Each payout is calculated as if the zero (and the double zero) didn’t exist. A straight-up bet pays 35:1 as though there were 36 numbers; a 2:1 dozen pays as though there were 36; an even-money bet pays 1:1 as though the colours split the wheel cleanly. But the extra pocket — or two — is always there, never paying out at full odds. That single uncovered slice is the house’s cut, and because it’s expressed as the same proportion of every wager, it lands on every bet equally.
So the bet you choose changes the shape of your results — a few big wins versus many small ones — but not the price. You can chase rare 35:1 hits or grind 1:1 colours; over time the wheel takes the same slice either way. For a fuller treatment of how this works across the casino, see what is the house edge.
Why American (double-zero) is worse
Because the edge comes entirely from the uncovered zeros, adding a second one nearly doubles the cost.
- European single-zero wheel: house edge ≈ 2.70%.
- American double-zero wheel: house edge ≈ 5.26%.
The American wheel also carries one bet the European wheel doesn’t: the five-number bet (0, 00, 1, 2 and 3), which is worse still at roughly 7.89%. It’s the one bet on the layout to actively avoid.
The practical takeaway is short: if both wheels are available, the European single-zero game is close to half the price for the same experience. The bets, the payouts and the rituals are otherwise the same — the only difference is that extra pocket quietly costing you.
The rules that halve the edge: la partage and en prison
Some European (often French) tables run a rule that softens the blow specifically on the even-money bets — red/black, odd/even, high/low — when the ball lands on zero:
- La partage (“the dividing”) returns half your even-money stake when zero hits.
- En prison (“imprisoned”) locks the bet for one more spin instead; if it wins the next spin, the stake is returned (without winnings).
Either rule roughly halves the even-money house edge on a single-zero wheel — from about 2.70% down to around 1.35% on those bets. That’s a meaningful improvement, putting even-money roulette in the same low-cost neighbourhood as the better table games. The catch: it applies only to the even-money bets, only where the table offers it, and you should confirm the rule before sitting down, because not every European table runs it.
”Hot” and “cold” numbers don’t help
Most roulette tables display a board of recent winning numbers, often flagging “hot” numbers that have hit frequently and “cold” numbers that haven’t appeared in a while. The board feels like data. As a prediction tool, it’s worthless.
Every spin is independent. A fair wheel has no memory: the ball doesn’t know that 17 came up four times in the last hour, and it isn’t “due” to land on a number that’s been cold. The probability of any given number on the next spin is exactly what it always was — 1 in 37 on a European wheel, 1 in 38 on an American one — regardless of what the board shows.
Chasing hot numbers and betting against cold ones are two sides of the same mistake: reading a pattern into independent events. (The only exception is a genuinely biased, physically flawed wheel — a real but vanishingly rare situation that modern, regularly-maintained equipment is built to prevent, and certainly not something a display board would reveal.) For why this fallacy is so persistent, see our piece on hot and cold numbers.
”Systems” don’t beat the edge
Because the wheel feels patterned, roulette attracts more betting “systems” than almost any other game. None of them change the house edge.
- Martingale (doubling after a loss). The classic: double your even-money bet after every loss to recover it on the next win. It works until a normal losing streak collides with the table limit or your bankroll — and one bad run erases dozens of small wins.
- Reverse / other progressions. Paroli, D’Alembert, Fibonacci and the rest just reshape when you bet more or less. They redistribute the swings; they don’t touch the long-run cost.
The maths is unforgiving here: no staking pattern can turn a negative-edge game positive, because each spin’s edge is fixed no matter what you bet or how you size it. What systems genuinely offer is structure and pacing — and if that keeps a session calm and within budget, that’s a fair reason to use one. Just don’t mistake structure for an edge.
Bankroll and pace: the levers that actually matter
Since the edge can’t be beaten, the useful choices are all about exposure:
- Pick the European wheel whenever it’s offered — that single choice roughly halves the cost versus American.
- Look for la partage / en prison if you favour even-money bets; it halves the edge again on those.
- Set a session budget before you sit down and treat it as the cost of the entertainment, not an investment.
- Slow down. Roulette can run 40-plus spins an hour. Fewer spins means fewer bets and less total exposure to the edge — the single most underrated lever there is.
- Decide a stop, both ways — a loss limit and a win target — and walk when you hit either.
The same logic runs across the floor; our overview of table games versus slot games and the bankroll management guide both make the point that how much and how fast you bet matters more than what you bet on.
Quick-reference: payouts and odds
| Bet | Numbers covered | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Straight-up | 1 | 35:1 |
| Split | 2 | 17:1 |
| Street | 3 | 11:1 |
| Corner | 4 | 8:1 |
| Line (six-line) | 6 | 5:1 |
| Dozen | 12 | 2:1 |
| Column | 12 | 2:1 |
| Red / Black | 18 | 1:1 |
| Odd / Even | 18 | 1:1 |
| High / Low | 18 | 1:1 |
House edge: European single-zero ≈ 2.70% on every standard bet; American double-zero ≈ 5.26% (with the American five-number bet worse at ≈ 7.89%). La partage / en prison roughly halves the even-money edge to ≈ 1.35% where offered.
The short version
- On a given wheel, every standard bet carries the same edge — your bet choice changes the shape of the ride, not the price.
- Play European (≈ 2.70%) over American (≈ 5.26%) whenever you can; skip the American five-number bet entirely.
- La partage / en prison roughly halves the edge on even-money bets — worth seeking out.
- Hot and cold numbers predict nothing. Spins are independent; the wheel has no memory.
- No system beats the edge. Slowing down and capping the session are the closest things to a strategy.
Roulette is one of the most enjoyable games on the floor precisely because the choices are simple once the maths is clear. Pick the cheaper wheel, take the friendlier rules where you find them, set a budget, and play at a pace you control. The wheel decides the rest.
Frequently asked questions
What is the house edge on roulette?
About 2.70% on a European single-zero wheel and about 5.26% on an American double-zero wheel. The difference comes entirely from the extra 00 pocket on the American wheel.
Do different roulette bets have different house edges?
No. On a given wheel, almost every standard bet — straight-up, split, corner, column, red/black — carries the same edge. The payouts differ, but the long-run cost is identical. The one exception is the American five-number bet, which is worse at about 7.89%.
What does a straight-up bet pay?
35:1. You back a single number; if it hits, you're paid 35 times your stake. Because the wheel has 37 or 38 pockets rather than 36, that payout is always slightly short of fair, which is where the house edge sits.
What's the difference between inside and outside bets?
Inside bets cover individual numbers or small clusters and pay long odds (straight-up 35:1 down to line 5:1). Outside bets cover large groups — colours, odd/even, dozens, columns — and pay short odds (2:1 or 1:1). They cost the same in the long run; only the frequency and size of wins differ.
Is European roulette better than American?
For the player, yes. The European single-zero wheel has a house edge of about 2.70%, while the American double-zero wheel is about 5.26% — roughly twice as expensive for the same game. If both are available, the European wheel is the better choice.
What are the en prison and la partage rules?
They are rules on some European tables that soften the loss on even-money bets when the ball lands on zero. La partage returns half the stake; en prison locks it for one more spin. Either roughly halves the even-money house edge to around 1.35% where offered.
Do hot and cold numbers help me win?
No. Every spin is independent, and the wheel has no memory of past results. A number that has hit often isn't more likely to repeat, and a cold number isn't "due." The display boards track history but predict nothing.
Does the Martingale system beat roulette?
No. Doubling after a loss runs into the table limit or your bankroll during a normal losing streak, and no staking pattern changes the underlying house edge. Systems can pace a session, but they can't make a negative-edge game positive.
What is the worst bet on a roulette table?
The American five-number bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3), with a house edge of about 7.89% — higher than any other bet. It exists only on the double-zero wheel and is the one bet worth avoiding outright.
How can I lose more slowly at roulette?
Choose the European wheel, look for la partage or en prison on even-money bets, set a session budget and a stop both ways, and slow your pace. Fewer spins per hour means fewer bets and less total exposure to the edge, which can't be beaten but can be limited.