You win when the ball lands in a pocket your bet covers
A roulette round settles the moment the ball drops into a numbered pocket. If your chips sit on a bet that includes that number, you are paid according to the fixed odds for that bet type. If not, the chips are collected and the next spin begins. There is no partial win and no push in roulette: every settled bet either pays in full or loses in full.
The amount you receive is always a multiple of your stake. Roulette does not use pari-mutuel pools or variable odds. The payout for a straight-up bet on a single number is fixed, the payout for a split is fixed, and so on. What changes between casinos is the wheel type, the table minimum and maximum, and a few local rule variations such as whether a losing even-money bet is taken in full or held under a rule like en prison or la partage.
The sequence from buy-in to settlement
You buy in at the table with cash or, in some venues, a voucher or marker. The dealer exchanges that for wheel chips, which carry no denomination printed on them. Each player at the table receives a different chip colour so the dealer can tell bets apart. When you are done playing, you exchange the wheel chips back at the table for cash chips, which the cashier then converts to money. Wheel chips are not valid at other tables.
Betting opens before the dealer calls no more bets. You place chips directly on the layout, and overlapping positions are allowed: a chip on the corner where four numbers meet covers all four. Once the ball is released, the dealer will announce when betting closes. After the ball settles, the dealer marks the winning number, clears losing bets, and pays winners from the outside inward. Your payout is placed next to your original bet, and you may leave both in place for the next spin or collect.
What each bet pays
Roulette bets divide into inside bets, which sit on the numbered grid, and outside bets, which sit around it. Inside bets cover fewer numbers and pay larger multiples. Outside bets cover many numbers and pay smaller multiples. The table below lists the standard payouts for a European single-zero wheel. The odds against each bet are the number of losing pockets divided by the number of winning pockets, and the payout is set just below those true odds, which is where the house edge comes from.
| Bet | Pockets covered | Payout | What you are betting on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 | 35 to 1 | A single number |
| Split | 2 | 17 to 1 | Two adjacent numbers |
| Street | 3 | 11 to 1 | A row of three numbers |
| Corner | 4 | 8 to 1 | Four numbers meeting at a corner |
| Six line | 6 | 5 to 1 | Two adjacent rows |
| Column / dozen | 12 | 2 to 1 | A column or a block of twelve numbers |
| Red, black, odd, even, 1-18, 19-36 | 18 | 1 to 1 | An even-money characteristic |
These payouts are the same on an American wheel. What changes on the American layout is that the wheel has 38 pockets instead of 37, because it adds a double zero alongside the single zero. The extra pocket does not change any payout. It adds one more losing outcome to every bet, which increases the house edge across the board. On a European wheel, the zero is the pocket that gives the house its edge on the even-money bets; on an American wheel, both zero pockets do.
Where the house edge comes from
House edge and return to player are complements: they sum to 100% for the same bet under the same rule set. A straight-up bet on a European wheel covers 1 pocket out of 37, so the true odds against it are 36 to 1. The table pays 35 to 1. That one-unit shortfall, repeated over a very large number of spins, is the edge. It is a long-run statistical average, not a per-session guarantee, and it does not predict what will happen on the next spin.
Different bets on the same table carry different edges in some games, but on a standard roulette layout the edge is broadly uniform across most bet types on a given wheel. The wheel type matters more than the bet type. The table below compares the two common wheel layouts.
| Wheel type | Pockets | Zero pockets | Effect on payouts | Effect on house edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European | 37 | 1 | None; payouts are the same | Lower, because fewer losing pockets exist |
| American | 38 | 2 | None; payouts are the same | Higher, because the double zero adds one losing pocket to every bet |
Some European tables apply a rule that softens the edge on even-money bets. Under la partage, a losing even-money bet when the zero appears returns half the stake. Under en prison, the bet is held in place for the next spin instead of being collected. These rules apply only to the even-money bets and only when the zero is the losing pocket. They are table rules, not universal, and they are printed or announced at the table where they apply.
How to check the payout before you bet
The payout for every bet is printed on the table layout itself, usually beside the betting area or on a placard at the table. Online, the game information panel or paytable shows the same figures. If a rule like la partage or en prison is in force, it will be stated there or announced by the dealer. The wheel type is visible on the wheel: a European wheel has one green zero pocket, an American wheel has two.
If you are playing online, the game's information panel also lists the theoretical return to player for that specific configuration. That figure is a long-run average over an enormous number of spins. It does not tell you what your next session will return, and a short session can end well above or well below it because roulette is a high-variance game on the inside bets and a lower-variance one on the outside bets.
Three procedural mistakes that cost new players money
The first is betting without checking the wheel type. An American wheel and a European wheel look similar at a glance, but the extra zero pocket changes the long-run cost of every bet on the table. The second is assuming a winning bet pays your stake back plus the listed multiple. A 35 to 1 straight-up win pays 35 units of profit and returns your original 1 unit, so you receive 36 units back in total. The third is leaving the table with wheel chips. They are only redeemable at the table that issued them, so exchange them for cash chips before you step away.
FAQ
Does a winning bet pay my stake back on top of the payout?
Yes. The payout is profit. If you place 10 units on a straight-up number and it wins at 35 to 1, you receive 350 units in profit and your original 10 units back, for 360 units returned in total.
Do all roulette bets have the same house edge?
On a standard layout, most bets on the same wheel carry the same edge because the payout shortfall is uniform. The wheel type matters more: an American wheel's extra double-zero pocket increases the edge on every bet compared with a European wheel. Local rules like la partage can reduce the edge on even-money bets only.
Can I predict which number will win next?
No. Each spin is independent, and the random number generator or physical wheel has no memory of previous outcomes. No betting pattern changes the built-in edge, and no number is due because it has not appeared recently.
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