The table looks busier than it is
A roulette layout can intimidate a new player: dozens of numbered pockets, coloured chips, French terms, and a felt covered in boxes. But every wager on the table belongs to one of two groups, and once you see the grouping, the whole game becomes readable. The number of distinct bet types is not a matter of counting boxes; it is a matter of how the casino classifies wagers for payout purposes.
On a standard European wheel there are 37 pockets, numbered 0 through 36, with a single zero. An American wheel adds a double zero for 38 pockets. That extra pocket is not cosmetic: it changes the house edge on every bet placed on that layout. The bet types themselves, however, are the same on both wheels.
Inside bets: wagers placed on the numbered grid
Inside bets sit on the numbered section of the felt, the part that looks like a grid of individual numbers. They pay more because they cover fewer outcomes. The terminology is positional: the name of the bet tells you where the chip goes and which numbers it covers.
A straight-up bet is a single number. A split covers two adjacent numbers on the grid, with the chip placed on the line between them. A street covers a row of three numbers, with the chip on the outer edge of that row. A corner, sometimes called a square, covers four numbers that meet at a single intersection. A six-line, or line bet, covers two adjacent rows, six numbers in total.
On layouts that include a zero, there are also bets that involve it. A trio covers the zero, one, and two on a European layout, or the zero, double zero, and two on an American one. The basket bet on an American wheel covers zero, double zero, one, two, and three. The exact placement rules vary slightly by table, but the dealer will always confirm a chip's position before the spin if there is any ambiguity.
Outside bets: wagers placed around the grid
Outside bets sit on the perimeter of the layout, away from the numbered grid. They cover larger groups of numbers and therefore pay less, but they hit more often. The outside area holds the even-money bets: red or black, odd or even, and high or low. High and low split the numbers into 1 through 18 and 19 through 36. On a European wheel, the zero is green and belongs to none of these groups; on an American wheel, both zeros are excluded.
The other outside bets are dozens and columns. A dozen bet covers twelve consecutive numbers: 1 through 12, 13 through 24, or 25 through 36. A column bet covers one of the three vertical columns on the grid, twelve numbers each. The zero sits outside the columns and dozens on most layouts, which is why those bets do not cover it.
Announced bets: a third category on some tables
On many European tables, particularly in venues with a French tradition, the dealer will accept announced bets, sometimes called call bets. These are not placed by the player's own hand; the player announces the wager and the dealer places it. They are groupings of numbers that follow the wheel's physical order rather than the felt's layout.
The most common announced bets are the voisins du zero, which cover a section of the wheel around the zero; the tiers du cylindre, which cover the opposite section; and the orphelins, which cover the numbers left over between those two sections. There are also zero-section bets that include the zero and its neighbours on the wheel. These wagers are usually placed as a set of straight-up and split bets, and the table will display a minimum for the announced bet as a whole. Not every table offers them, and they are rare on American layouts.
How the bet types compare
The difference between bet types is not just where the chip goes. It is how many numbers are covered, how often the bet is expected to hit, and how much it pays when it does. The table below groups the main bet types by coverage and payout. The payout odds are fixed by the game's structure: a bet covering N numbers pays as if there were 36 paying numbers, which is where the house edge comes from on a wheel with 37 or 38 pockets.
| Bet type | Numbers covered | Payout odds | Placed where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight-up | 1 | 35 to 1 | On a single number |
| Split | 2 | 17 to 1 | On the line between two numbers |
| Street | 3 | 11 to 1 | On the outer edge of a row |
| Corner | 4 | 8 to 1 | On the intersection of four numbers |
| Six-line | 6 | 5 to 1 | On the edge between two rows |
| Dozen or column | 12 | 2 to 1 | In the marked outside boxes |
| Red/black, odd/even, high/low | 18 | 1 to 1 | In the marked outside boxes |
The payout odds are the same on European and American wheels for each bet type, but the house edge differs because the American wheel has one extra pocket that pays no bet. A straight-up bet on a European wheel faces a different expected loss than the same bet on an American wheel, even though both pay 35 to 1. The edge is built into the gap between the payout odds and the true odds of the bet winning.
The sequence of a round, from buy-in to settlement
A roulette round moves faster than most new players expect. Understanding the sequence prevents the most common procedural errors, which are almost always about timing rather than strategy.
First, the player buys in. At a live table, cash is placed on the felt, never handed directly to the dealer. The dealer exchanges it for roulette chips. These chips are not the same as the chips used at other tables; they have no denomination printed on them, and their value is set by the player at buy-in. Each player at the table receives a different colour so that bets can be told apart after the spin.
Second, the betting window opens. Players place chips on the layout. The dealer will announce when betting is closing, usually with a phrase like "no more bets." Once those words are spoken, no chip on the felt may be touched. This is the single most important procedural rule at the table.
Third, the dealer spins the wheel and releases the ball in the opposite direction. The ball loses momentum, drops into a pocket, and the winning number is marked. The dealer places a marker on the winning number on the felt, then clears all losing bets from the layout.
Fourth, winning bets are paid. The dealer pays outside bets first, then inside bets. The player does not need to calculate the payout; the dealer does it. The player's job is to watch that the correct amount is placed next to the winning chip, and to leave the winning chip in place until the payout is complete. After the payout, the player collects both the winning chip and the payout, and the next round begins.
What the house edge means for each bet
Roulette is unusual among table games in that most bets on the same wheel carry the same house edge. A straight-up bet and an even-money bet on a European wheel face the same expected loss per unit wagered, because the payout odds are scaled to the number of pockets covered. The exception is the American basket bet, which covers five numbers but pays as if it covered fewer, giving it a higher edge than the other bets on that layout.
This does not make all bets equal in practice. A straight-up bet hits rarely and pays a lot when it does; an even-money bet hits often and pays a little. The difference is volatility, not edge. A player who wants a long session with frequent small outcomes will experience the game differently from one who wants a single large payout, even though the long-run expected loss is the same for both on a given wheel.
The choice between a European and an American wheel, where both are available, is the one decision that changes the edge across every bet. The extra pocket on the American wheel is not offset by any higher payout. A player who has a choice of tables is choosing between two different expected loss rates, and the wheel type is printed on the layout or visible on the wheel itself.
Mistakes that cost new players the most
The first mistake is touching chips after the dealer calls no more bets. This is not a minor courtesy; it is the rule that protects the integrity of the game. A player who moves a chip after the call will have the bet returned or disallowed, and repeated violations will end the session.
The second mistake is placing a bet that does not clearly belong to one position. A chip that sits ambiguously between a split and a straight-up, or between a street and a corner, will be placed by the dealer according to the table's convention, which may not be what the player intended. The fix is to place chips precisely, and to say the intended bet aloud if there is any doubt.
The third mistake is assuming that a betting system changes the edge. Doubling a bet after a loss, or any other progression, changes the distribution of outcomes: it creates many small wins and occasional large losses. It does not change the expected loss per unit wagered. The wheel has no memory, and no sequence of past numbers makes any future number more or less likely. A player who understands this can choose a bet type for its volatility and session character, rather than for a false promise of recovery.
FAQ
How many bet types are there in roulette in total?
As a practical matter, a player can place six main inside bets and six main outside bets, plus announced bets on tables that offer them. The exact count depends on how the table groups them: some venues count the basket bet separately, and announced bets are each a bundle of straight-up and split bets rather than a single wager type.
Are the payout odds different on American and European wheels?
No. A straight-up bet pays 35 to 1 on both wheels, and every other bet type pays the same on both. What changes is the house edge, because the American wheel has one extra pocket that no bet covers. The payout odds stay fixed; the expected loss per unit wagered rises.
What is the difference between a column bet and a dozen bet?
Both cover twelve numbers and both pay 2 to 1. A dozen bet covers a consecutive block of numbers: 1 through 12, 13 through 24, or 25 through 36. A column bet covers one of the three vertical columns on the felt, which are not consecutive on the wheel. On most layouts, the zero sits outside both groups and is not covered by either bet.
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