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Roulette is a game with an aura of exclusivity, tradition and glamour. Yet, there’s no reason to be intimidated by the strange roulette terms or rituals.

Placing bad bets does not mean that players will always lose, but it does mean they will have fewer chances of winning. The single worst bet in roulette is the basket bet and regardless of the attractive payout, this bet should be avoided by any real money player. Learn Roulette Odds - All you need to know about the odds of roulette games. Use our trusted, expert guide so you can play better, both live and online. Well, quite simply, it’s the worst bet in roulette. You can only play it on American Roulette- where all the other bets carry a house edge of 5.3%. The house edge for the five number bet is 7.9%. Even if you bet $100 on every single number individually including 0, which will cost you $3700, your chance of winning is certain yet your payout is less than what you put in: $3600. Even though this one number may seem insignificant, it puts your odds below 50 50, making roulette one of the worst games to play. If there is no double-zero, the five-number bet does not exist. The single-zero wheel is a better play than the double-zero version, with a house edge of 2.7% on each wager. Problem is, single-zero roulette is not common in the United States. Most of the single-zero wheels I know of are in high-limit rooms.

With our guide, you’ll learn to play online roulette like a pro in no time. There are plenty of pictures to show how everything works.

In this roulette guide, we’ll go through:

• Different bet types
• French bets
• Answers to the most common roulette questions

Rules of roulette

Playing roulette is very straightforward and the rules have stayed essentially the same for over 200 years. Here’s how it works:

1. The players place their bets on individual numbers, ranging from 0 to 36 or groups of numbers, marked on the roulette table.
2. The dealer spins the roulette wheel and launches a small ball going in the opposite direction on its outer rim. After this, he calls out “No more bets”.
3. The ball slows down and falls into one of the numbered slots. This is the winning number.
4. The dealer calls out the winning number and tells whether it is red or black, big or small, even or odd.
5. Different bets have different payouts. If you bet on the winning number, you’ll get your money back 36-fold. By picking the correct colour, you’ll double your original wager.

Roulette payouts

In roulette betting, there are different odds and payouts. They are based on how many numbers each individual bet covers. The less likely the outcome, the bigger the reward.

The payout is usually expressed as a ratio of the payout to the original bet. Note that the payout is your net win for that bet - you will also get back your original bet.

EXAMPLE: For a single number or “straight” bet, the payout is 35:1. If you bet £1 and win, you get £36 (£35 plus your original £1).

Here’s a list of all roulette bet payouts and odds in European roulette. The detailed description of different types of bets can be found in the sections below. In American roulette, the payouts are the same, but the probability for a hit is lower.

• 1 number: payout 35:1, chance to hit 2.7%
• 2 numbers: payout 17:1, chance to hit 5.41%
• 3 numbers: payout 11:1, chance to hit 8.11%
• 4 numbers: payout 8:1, chance to hit 10.81%
• 5 numbers: payout 6:1, chance to hit 13.16% (only in American roulette)
• 6 numbers: payout 5:1, chance to hit 16.22%
• 12 numbers: payout 2:1, chance to hit 32.43%
• 18 numbers: payout 1:1, chance to hit 48.65%

The roulette table layout

The roulette table is divided into two main sections. The numbers from 0 to 36 are laid out in a 3 by 12 grid with a zero on top. These form the inside bets.

Outside the number grid, there are betting areas corresponding to different number groups, such as black and red. These are called outside bets.

Some tables also feature the racetrack. It has all the numbers in the same order as they appear on the wheel.

Below you can see the classic roulette table layout and the different sections:

ROULETTE WHEEL LAYOUTS

French and European roulettes feature numbers 0-36; American roulette has an additional double zero. Because of this, the sequence of European and American roulette wheel numbers differ from each other:

European roulette wheel sequence

0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25, 17, 34, 6, 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10,

5, 24, 16, 33, 1, 20, 14, 31, 9, 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26

American roulette wheel sequence

0, 28, 9, 26, 30, 11, 7, 20, 32, 17, 5, 22, 34, 15, 3, 24, 36, 13, 1, 00, 27, 10, 25, 29, 12, 8, 19, 31, 18, 6, 21, 33, 16, 4, 23, 35, 14, 2

Roulette bets explained

Roulette is a versatile game, which lets you place several different bets to suit your preferences. These fall into two main bet types: inside and outside bets.

INSIDE BETS

All the bets placed inside the numbered grid are called inside bets. In addition to the straight bet on a single number, there are several ways to bet on combinations of numbers within the grid.

1. Straight - chip placed on a single number. Payout 35:1
2. Split - chip placed between 2 numbers touching each other horizontally or vertically. Payout 17:1
3. Street - chip placed on the outer edge of row covers 3 numbers. Payout 11:1.
4. Corner - chip placed on the intersection of 4 numbers. Payout 8:1.
5. Line - a chip placed between two streets covers 6 numbers. Payout 5:1.

NOTE: A chip placed on the line between 0 and 1 covers 4 numbers (0, 1, 2, 3) in European roulette and 5 numbers (0, 00, 1, 2, 3) in American roulette. In the European version, the payout is 8:1, just like in any corner bet. In American roulette, though, the payout is 6:1. With the house edge of whopping 7.89%, this is by far the worst bet in roulette.

Why use split bets instead of betting on single numbers?

Does Roulette Have The Worst Odds Ever

Split, street, corner and line bets allow you to target several numbers with a single chip. If you want to stick to the table minimum and make your stack last longer, covering a bigger portion of the table with fewer chips makes sense.

OUTSIDE BETS

Outside the numbered grid, there are betting areas for different groups of numbers. These are several different outside bets, and they come in pairs and threes:

• Red & Black - the colour of the number pays 1:1.
• Big & Small - 1-18 are small numbers, 19-36 are big. Payout 1:1.
• Even & Odd - payout 1:1.
• Dozens - 1st, 2nd and 3rd dozen cover numbers 1-12, 13-24 and 25-36 respectively. Payout 2:1.
• Columns - The long lines of numbers covering 12 numbers each. Payout 2:1.

Why play outside bets?

Combining single numbers in split bets lets you cover extra space on the board for the same amount of money; outside bets allow you to take this even further. With more chips at your disposal, you can place more bets with ease and try out different combinations.

For example, placing a black type bet online covers half the table with a single click. This is much easier, faster and cheaper than doing it one number at a time. In addition, you can try out different roulette strategies to make your game more interesting.

NOTE: You can't target multiple outside bets with a single chip. For example, you can't place a chip on the border between Even and Red to play both of these bets.

The race track and French bets

The race track is an ellipse-shaped area on the table. It features all the numbers in the order they appear on the wheel.

All tables don’t have the race track. In some online roulette versions, you’ll need to select “show racetrack” from a game menu.

The race track is divided into 4 sections with French names. They are classic call bets or announced bets. Each has a specific way the bet should be laid out on the table. Since some bets feature a mix of singles, splits, trios and corners, the payouts vary between different numbers included in each group.

The term “call bets” means that some brick-and-mortar casinos let you state your intention verbally to the dealer, who will then accept your announced bet.

In online roulette featuring the racetrack, it’s even easier: click on the bet name and the chips will be placed correctly.

THE ZERO BET – JEU ZÉRO

The zero bet covers 0 and the 6 surrounding numbers: 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32 and 15. It takes 4 chips to make this bet:

• 1 chip on 0-3 split
• 1 chip on 12-15 split
• 1 chip on 26 straight
• 1 chip on 32-35 split

THE NEIGHBOURS BET – VOISINS DU ZÉRO

The neighbours bet includes all the numbers of the zero bet, plus 5 more numbers on each side: 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2 and 25.

Also known as series 0/2/3, you’ll need 9 chips to cover all the neighbors of zero:

• 2 chips on the 0-2-3 trio
• 1 chip on 4-7 split
• 1 chip on 12-15 split
• 1 chip on 18-21 split
• 1 chip on 19-22 split
• 2 chips on 25-26-28-29 corner
• 1 chip on 32-35 split

THE THIRDS OF THE WHEEL – TIERS DU CYLINDRE

The thirds of the wheel bet covers 12 numbers opposite zero: 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16 and 33.

Also known as series 5/8, it takes 6 chips to complete the tiers bet:

• 1 chip on 5-8 split
• 1 chip on 10-11 split
• 1 chip on 13-16 split
• 1 chip on 23-24 split
• 1 chip on 27-30 split
• 1 chip on 33-36 split

THE ORPHANS BET – ORPHELINS À CHEVAL

The orphans bet covers the 9 numbers not included in voisins and tiers bets: 1, 20, 14, 31, 9, 6, 34 and 17.

Because the numbers are situated on opposite sides of the wheel, this bet is also known as orphelins à cheval, literally “horse orphans”. You’ll need 5 chips for the orphelins bet:

• 1 chip on 1 straight
• 1 chip on 6-9 split
• 1 chip on 14-17 split
• 1 chip on 17-20 split
• 1 chip on 31-34 split

Roulette betting limits

Roulette tables always have house limits indicating the minimum and maximum bets allowed. In the same table, the limits are usually different for outside and inside bets.

In brick-and-mortar casinos, outside bets have a higher minimum and maximum than the inside bets. Depending on the casino you visit and the table you choose, you may see e.g. a £1 minimum for inside bets, and a £10 minimum for outside bets. The table maximum typically ranges between 50 - 500 times the minimum bet.

In online casino table games, the table minimum is usually the same for all bets. However, in live dealer roulette, table maximums may be lower for inside bets than the outside bets.

This encourages placing bets with higher hit frequency but lower payouts, resulting in more predictable results for both players and casinos.

In addition to the table limits, casino bonuses online have a set maximum bet for meeting the wagering requirements. These can be found in the bonus terms and conditions,

The house edge

Zero forms the house edge in roulette. Different roulette versions have different rules governing the zero. We’ll explain these differences shortly, but they all boil down to this:

• American roulette - House edge 5.26%, RTP 94.7%
• European roulette - House edge 2.7%, RTP 97.3%
• French roulette - House edge 1.35%, RTP 98.65%

Let’s start with European roulette, which is the simplest and most common variation available. The European wheel has 37 numbers, including the zero. Without the house edge, the payout on single numbers would be 36:1. Alas, it’s only 35:1. This means pays you 1:37 less, which equals 2.7% house edge or 97.3% return to player.

Zero isn’t included in any outside bets: in roulette, zero is neither black or red, big or small, even or odd. In American roulette, 00 works exactly like 0.

The double zero almost doubles the house edge for American roulette compared to the European version. The 5.26% house edge means 94.74% RTP.

French roulette offers the smallest house edge available in roulette: 1.35%. This is achieved with a special “la partage” rule. When the ball stops on zero, half of all even money bets are returned. These bets with 1:1 payout include red/black, big/small, even/odd.

EXAMPLE: You bet £2 on red and the ball stops on 0. You get back £1.

Roulette Q&A

Q: What does roulette mean in English?

A: Roulette literally means 'small wheel'. In French, the wheel is 'la rouelle', and 'roulette' is the diminutive form of this noun.

Q: What is the highest number on a roulette wheel?

A: 36.

Q: How many numbers are there on a roulette wheel?

A: European roulette has 37 numbers (1-36 and 0). American roulette wheels have an additional 00, bringing the total amount to 38.

Q: What colour is 0 on a roulette wheel?

A: Zero and double zero are both green. They are not part of any outside bet, including black and red.

Q: What does 0 pay in roulette?

A: In straight bets, 0 and 00 work as any other individual number and pay 35:1. The odds for hitting zero on a single spin are 1:36 in European roulette and 1:38 in American roulette, resulting in a 2.7% and 5.26% house edge respectively.

Q: What are the best roulette bets?

A: The odds are always the same for every bet, except for the zero line bet in American roulette, which is single-handedly the worst roulette bet. If you want more frequent hits, stick to bets that cover a larger portion of the table, i.e. outside bets. If you want bigger payouts, bet on single numbers.

Q: What do all the numbers on a roulette wheel add up to?

A: Adding together all the numbers between 1 and 36 results in 666, the number of the beast. A legend has it that Francois Blanc, the inventor of single-zero roulette, sold his soul to the devil in exchange of the secrets of the roulette wheel.

Q: Who invented roulette?

A: The roulette wheel was accidentally invented by a 17th-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal. He was aiming to create a perpetual motion machine instead. The first description of roulette as we know it comes from Paris in 1796. However, games with a similar idea have been played for millennia.

Q: What is a roulette ball made of?

A: In the old days, roulette balls were fashioned out of ivory. However, ivory isn’t a very ethical or durable material by modern standards. Nowadays the roulette balls try to replicate the look and feel of ivory and are made out ofimg acetal, nylon, phenolic and Teflon. The most common roulette ball sizes are 3/4 inch and 5/8 inch.

Q: What is “no more bets” in French?

A: The dealers in French roulette tables may say “Rien ne va plus” (lit. nothing goes anymore) or “Les jeux sont faits” (lit. the bets are made). When urging the players to place their next bets, they’ll use the phrase “Faits vo jeux” (make your bets).

Here’s the thing about casino games:

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They’re all rigged.

But not in the way you think they are.

I had an interesting argument with a friend of mine the other night. He’s a conspiracy theorist, through and through. I mean, he believes the earth is flat (for real).

He’s absolutely convinced that the results of casino games aren’t random at all. He thinks all the games are rigged so that you can’t win. The only exception, according to him, is craps. He said that it’s impossible to rig a pair of dice.

I tried to explain to him that the casinos don’t need to cheat on the outcomes because they’ve set the payout odds up in such a way that they have a mathematical edge that no one can beat in the long run. They do this by offering payout odds that aren’t as good as the odds of winning.

For example, if you were playing roulette and betting on black, and that bet paid off at even money, you’d break even in the long run if you had a 50% chance of winning.

But you don’t have a 50% chance of winning that bet. You only have a 47.37% probability of winning that bet, because there are 38 numbers on the wheel, and only 18 of them are black—not 19.

The House Edge in Casino Games

Casinos, gamblers, and writers quantify this advantage that the house experiences with a percentage called “the house edge.”

It’s the long-term average percentage of each bet that the casino expects to win because of this discrepancy between the odds of winning and the payout odds.

For example, if I say that the house edge in roulette is 5.26%, it means that you can expect to lose an average of $5.26 every time you place a $100 bet on a roulette spin.

The higher the house edge is for a game, the worse the odds are for the player. The lower the house edge is, the better the odds are for the player.

And to make things even more confusing, many games offer multiple bets, each of which has a different house edge. Craps is a good example of this. Some of the bets at the craps table are among the best odds in the casino, but many of them have some of the worst odds in the casino.

This post focuses exclusively on the worst odds in the casino. Please don’t place these bets unless you just hate money and love casinos.

Also, don’t worry about whether the outcomes to the games are rigged. They’re not, for the simple reason that they don’t need to be. The casinos make more money by offering honest games. If the games’ outcomes were rigged, no one would play them.

1- Keno Has a House Edge Close to 30%

Keno is a simple game of number-picking that closely resembles the lottery. It is, in fact, a privately run lottery hosted by the casino with drawings every few minutes. You choose between 9 and 15 numbers from 80 potential numbers.

The casino draws 20 balls from that same pool of 80 numbers. If enough of your numbers match the numbers that the casino drew, you win a prize. The more matches you have, the more your payout is.

If you know anything about the lottery, you know that the house edge is close to 50%. Keno, being a similar game, has a similar house edge. But it’s actually a better game than the lottery, with a house edge that can vary between 20% and 40%. The average seems to hover around 30%.

Players like keno because they can stay in action relatively constantly without risking much money. They also enjoy the possibility of winning a huge cash prize. The only other games in the casino which offer such a potentially big return on your bet are the slot machines.

But that roughly 30% house edge makes keno the game with the worst odds in the casino. Most of the other bets on most of the other games don’t even come close.

2- The Logo or Joker Bet on the Big Six Wheel Has a House Edge of about 24%

The Big Six Wheel is such an old-fashioned casino game that it’s not even available in most casinos anymore. It resembles a carnival game more than anything else. All the bets on the Big Six Wheel are lousy, but a bet on the logo/joker is usually the worst bet.

Here’s how the Big Six Wheel works:

You have a vertical “wheel of fortune” with various dollar amounts on the wheel. Usually, you can bet on the following dollar amounts:

• $1
• $2
• $5
• $10
• $20
• The Joker

You bet a dollar on any of these amounts, and if the wheel lands on that amount, you win the prize. The probabilities of winning are, of course, determined by how many total stops are on the wheel and how many of those are the prize you bet on.

You might have 54 total stops on the wheel. If only one of those is the joker, then the probability of winning a bet on the joker is 1/54, or 53 to 1.

The payoff for that bet is usually 40 to 1.

That’s a huge discrepancy between your odds of winning and the payout for the bet, but what does it mean in terms of an average.

That’s easy to calculate, too.

Assume you bet $100 on 54 spins of the wheel, and assume you get statistically perfect results. You lose 53 times, for a total loss of $5300. You win once, for a total win of $4000. Your net loss is $1300.

Since you want an average loss per spin, you divide that net loss of $1300 by the 54 spins, and you find that you’ve lost an average of $24.07 per spin.

Since you were betting $100 per spin, you can say that the average loss is 24.07% of your bet.

That’s a huge house edge, making this bet an example of the 2nd worst odds in the casino.

The $5 bet and the $20 bet are almost as bad. The house edge on each of those is 22.22%.

Of course, some casinos have different versions of the Big Six Wheel with different prizes and different odds.

3- The 2-Face Domino Bet in Sic Bo Has a House Edge of 18.52%

Sic Bo is an Asian-themed dice game where you bet on the outcome of a roll of 3 dice. You can bet on various outcomes, like the total of the 3 dice, or whether the total is high or low. The house edge is high on almost all these bets, but the 2-face domino bet is usually the Sic Bo bet with the worst odds.

The 2-face domino bet is a wager on 2 specific numbers coming up on the dice. For example, you might place a 1-6 2-face domino bet. If one of the dice has a 1, while another has a 6, you win this bet.

If you place a 1-6 bet, any of the following outcomes would be winners:

1. 1-6-1
2. 1-6-2
3. 1-6-3
4. 1-6-4
5. 1-6-5
6. 1-6-6

It’s a horrible bet in the middle of a table full of mediocre and worse bets. The small and big bets are really the only Sic Bo bets worth making, and the house edge on those is 2.78%. That’s far from the worst in the casino, but that’s far and away the best bet on the Sic Bo table.

4- The Tie Bet in Casino War Has a House Edge of 18.65%

Casino War is one of the dumbest games in the casino. It’s literally just a gambling version of the kids’ game where you compare one card from each of you to see which one is higher. It’s also a lightning fast game, which means that you’ll lose more money faster because of the number of bets you’ll place per hour.

Most people just place a standard bet, which wins if the player’s card is higher than the dealer’s. It loses if the dealer’s card is higher. If there’s a tie, the player can surrender half his bet or go to war. If he goes to war, he places a 2nd bet, the dealer burns 3 cards, and then deals another card to both the player and herself. If the player then wins, he gets paid off, but only on that 2nd bet. The first bet is considered a push. If the player loses, he loses both bets.

It’s obvious where the house gets its edge in that situation, since the game would be 50/50 if the player didn’t have to place a 2nd bet for a chance to only win one unit.

But you also have the option to bet that the first 2 cards will tie. If you win that bet, the payoff is 10 to 1. The odds of a tie vary based on how many decks are in use. In a 6-deck game, the odds of a tie are about 12.5 to 1.

It’s silly to play Casino War to begin with.

But since the tie bet offers some of the worst odds in the casino, it’s even sillier to place that bet.

5- The “Any 7” Bet in Craps Has a House Edge of 16.67%

Some bets in craps are one-roll bets. The outcome of the next roll determines whether the bet wins or loses. The any 7 bet is one of these. It’s just a bet that the next roll of the dice will wind up with a total of 7.

This doesn’t sound like the worst bet in the world at first. After all, a 7 is the most likely total in craps. The odds of winning this bet are 5 to 1.

The problem is that the payoff for this bet is only 4 to 1.

Using the $100 bets on 6 perfect rolls of the dice method for calculating the house edge, you get the following results:

You lose $100 on 5 bets, for a total loss of $500. You win $400 on one bet, for a net loss of $100.

Divide $100 by 6 spins to get the average amount lost per roll, and you get $16.67.

Some of the bets at the craps table offer a house edge as low as 1.41%,

Why would you feel the need to place a bet where your average losses will be more than 10 times that?

Ignorance is the only excuse I can imagine.

6- Slot Machines Might Have a House Edge as High as 25%

Slot machines, unlike other casino games, make their house edge opaque. To calculate the house edge of a casino game, you need 2 pieces of information:

1. The prize amount
2. The probability of winning

On a slot machine, you have a list of prize amounts for the various reel combinations. It’s called the pay table.

What you lack are the probabilities of winning these prizes. It depends on the probability of getting any given symbol on the pay line, and that probability can be anything. The results on a slot machine spin are determined by a computer program called a random number generator (RNG).

It can be programmed to give one symbol a 1/10 probability, another symbol a 1/20 probability, and all the other symbols 1/8 probabilities. Or you could have an entirely different set of probabilities.

You can even have 2 slot machines with the same symbols and the same themes with entirely different probabilities attached to them. In other words, the machines might be identical on the surface, but one might have a house edge of 5% while the other has a house edge of 25%.

Most slot machines don’t have a house edge this high.

But it’s impossible for you to tell which slots have which house edge figures behind them.

Also, no other game in the casino plays as fast as slots. Remember how I said Casino War plays really fast? I was talking about 200 bets per hour, maybe.

But it’s not unusual to make 600 bets per hour on a slot machine.

My advice to savvy gamblers who like their money is to avoid slot machines as much as possible.

7- The 5-Number Bet in American Roulette Has a House Edge of 7.89%

Roulette odds are some of the most mediocre in the house. A standard bet on an American roulette wheel has a house edge of 5.26%.

But one bet on the American roulette wheel has the distinction of offering a house edge even worse than that.

This is the 5-number bet.

It’s a bet that the ball will land on any of the following results:

• 0
• 00
• 1
• 2
• 3

The probability of winning that bet is 5/38.

If you placed $100 bets on that bet for 38 spins, you’d win 5 times, and you’d lose 33 times. That’s a loss of $3300.

The payoff is 6 to 1, so you’ll win $600 on 5 of those bets, for winnings of $3000.

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Your net loss is $300.

Averaged out over 38 spins, that’s $7.89 lost per spin or 7.89%.

Most people shouldn’t bet on any of the bets at the American roulette table, but placing this bet is just silly. You might as well give the casino your money and let them kick you in the stomach while you’re at it.

Conclusion

It’s always interesting to look at subjects like the worst odds in the casino. It’s also important to remember that from a certain perspective, it doesn’t really matter how good or bad the odds are. If the house has any edge, no matter how small, the casino will eventually win all your money. You just need to play long enough, and they’ve got you.

But from the perspective of getting value for your money, which bets offer the worst odds versus which bets offer the best odds is a crucial question. It helps you decide where to put your money to get the best chance for a lot of entertainment in the casino for your money.

Does Roulette Have The Worst Odds Win

If you’re losing $230/hour instead of $8/hour, you’re probably not getting as much entertainment for your money. Understanding which bets offer the worst odds is the first step in getting to that smaller hourly loss amount.