The bet you are looking at covers one row of three numbers
A street in roulette is a single wager that covers three consecutive numbers sitting in one horizontal row of the table layout. The name comes from the way the bet sits on the felt: your chip goes on the outer boundary line at the end of that row, and it rides across all three numbers at once. If any one of those three numbers comes up, the bet wins. If any other number appears, the bet loses.
On a standard layout the rows are 1-2-3, 4-5-6, 7-8-9, and so on up through 34-35-36. The zero does not belong to any street. On an American wheel the double zero sits outside the street structure as well, which matters when you are counting how many losing pockets a street bet faces.
How the bet is placed and settled
You do not place three separate chips. A street is one chip placed on the line at the outside edge of the row, where the row meets the outside betting area. If the table has a racetrack or a call-bet section, a street is still placed on the main layout, not announced to the dealer as a call bet. The dealer will usually repeat the placement or tap the table to confirm it before the ball is released.
When the ball lands, settlement is immediate. A winning street pays a fixed multiple of the stake, and the original chip stays on the layout unless you pick it up. The payout is the same for every street on the table: the bet covers three numbers, and the payout is set so that the house keeps its edge across all of them. You do not get a larger payout for a street that contains a number you consider lucky.
Where a street sits among the other inside bets
Roulette bets split into inside and outside groups. Inside bets sit on or inside the numbered grid and cover specific numbers or small clusters. Outside bets sit around the grid and cover larger categories such as red or black, odd or even, or the first dozen. A street is an inside bet because it names three specific numbers.
The table below compares a street with the other common inside bets. The payout column describes the relationship in words because the exact multiple is printed on the table layout and can differ slightly by house rule; the number of pockets covered is fixed by the wheel and layout.
| Bet | Numbers covered | How it is placed | What changes the edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | One number | Chip fully inside the number's box | Highest payout, lowest hit frequency |
| Split | Two adjacent numbers | Chip on the line between them | Payout between straight and street |
| Street | Three numbers in one row | Chip on the outer line at the row's end | One payout for any of the three |
| Corner | Four numbers meeting at one corner | Chip on the shared corner point | More numbers, lower payout than a street |
| Six line | Six numbers across two rows | Chip on the outer line where two rows meet | More numbers again, lower payout |
The house edge on a street is the same as the edge on most other inside bets when the payout is set in the standard proportion, because the payout is scaled to the number of pockets covered. The wheel type changes the edge across all of them. A European wheel has 37 pockets and a single zero. An American wheel has 38 pockets with a single and double zero. The extra pocket on the American layout increases the house edge across the board, and a street bet faces one more losing pocket on that wheel.
Reading the payout before you bet
The payout for a street is printed on the table layout or shown in the game's information panel, and it is the figure you should read before placing the chip. Do not rely on memory from a different casino or a different software version. The number of pockets on the wheel is fixed, but the payout multiple is a house rule, and a rule change alters the edge on that specific table.
You can also work out whether the payout is in the standard proportion by looking at the ratio of numbers covered to numbers not covered. A street covers three numbers. On a European wheel the other pockets are the ones that lose. If the payout is set so that the return for a win is proportionate to that ratio, the edge is the standard one for that wheel. If the payout is lower than that proportion, the edge is higher. The table layout will state the payout, and the wheel type tells you the pocket count.
Two mistakes new players make with a street
The first is thinking a street covers the zero because the zero sits at the end of the rows. It does not. The zero has its own position on the layout, and a chip placed on the line at the end of the 1-2-3 row covers only 1, 2 and 3. If you want the zero covered, that is a separate straight-up bet or part of a different announced or neighbour wager where the table offers one.
The second is placing the chip on the line between two rows and expecting it to behave like a street. That placement is a six-line bet covering six numbers, not three. The payout is lower because more numbers are covered. Before the ball is released, check that the chip sits exactly where you intend: on the outer boundary of one row for a street, or on the shared corner for a corner bet. The dealer will confirm the placement if you ask.
What a street does not change
A street bet does not alter the house edge, and no sequence of street bets changes the long-run mathematics of the wheel. The edge stays with the house on every spin because the payout is set below the true odds of the three numbers hitting. The bet does give you a different distribution of outcomes than a straight-up bet: you will win more often, and each win will be smaller. That is a trade in variance, not a change in expected loss.
Volatility works the same way here as it does on any other bet. A street sits between a straight-up and a six-line in how often it hits and how much it pays. Choosing a street instead of a straight-up means more frequent, smaller wins. Choosing a six-line instead of a street means more frequent wins again, smaller again. None of those choices changes the edge the wheel carries.
FAQ
Is a street bet the same as a row bet?
Yes. A street and a row bet are two names for the same wager: one chip covering the three numbers in a single horizontal row of the layout. The term you hear depends on the table and the region, but the placement and the settlement are identical.
Can I put a different amount on each number in a street?
Not as a single street bet. A street is one wager at one stake covering all three numbers together. If you want different amounts on individual numbers, you would place separate straight-up bets on those numbers, which changes the payout structure and the total amount at risk.
Does a street bet cover the zero on an American wheel?
No. The zero and double zero sit outside the numbered rows and are not part of any street. Covering them requires a separate bet on the zero, the double zero, or a split or other wager that includes them where the table offers one.
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