The bet that covers two rows at once
A line bet sits on the felt as a single chip placed on the outer corner where two rows of three numbers meet. That one chip covers all six numbers in those two rows. On a standard layout, a chip on the line between the first and second rows covers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. The same geometry works anywhere on the table: pick any two adjacent rows, place the chip on the shared boundary, and you hold a six-number position.
Some players call this a six-line bet or a double street. The terms describe the same wager. What changes between them is only the vocabulary of the person teaching it, not the mechanics of the bet or the odds attached to it.
Where the line bet sits among inside bets
Roulette wagers divide into inside and outside bets. Inside bets live on the numbered grid itself and cover specific numbers or small groups. Outside bets sit around the grid and cover broad categories such as red or black, odd or even, or entire columns. The line bet is an inside bet, but it is the widest of the standard inside options: six numbers out of the 37 on a European wheel or the 38 on an American wheel.
The payout follows the same arithmetic as every other roulette wager: the operator pays less than the true odds of the event, and that gap is the house edge. A six-number bet that wins pays a fixed multiple of the stake, printed on the table layout or in the game's information panel. The payout is not a secret; it is the same on every standard wheel for the same bet type, and the player should read it from the table before committing chips.
| Bet type | Numbers covered | Where the chip sits | What distinguishes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 | On a single number | Narrowest inside bet, highest payout multiple |
| Split | 2 | On the line between two numbers | Covers two adjacent numbers on the grid |
| Street | 3 | On the outer edge of a row | Covers one horizontal row of three |
| Corner | 4 | On the intersection of four numbers | Covers a square block on the grid |
| Line / six-line | 6 | On the boundary between two rows | Covers two adjacent rows of three |
How a round moves from buy-in to settlement
A roulette round starts before the wheel spins, when the dealer opens the betting window. Players place chips on the layout, and a line bet is placed by setting the chip on the shared edge of the two rows. Once the dealer calls an end to betting, the wheel is already in motion or about to be, and no further chips may touch the felt.
The ball lands in a numbered pocket. If that number is one of your six, the dealer pays the winning wager at the table's posted multiple and leaves the original stake in place unless you collect it. If the number is not among your six, the dealer sweeps the chip away with the other losing inside bets. The sequence is identical for every inside wager; only the placement and the payout multiple change.
What the line bet does not change
A six-number position changes how often a win lands, not the mathematical advantage built into the wheel. Covering more numbers means a win arrives more often than a straight-up bet, but each win pays less. The house edge on the bet itself stays fixed for the wheel in use. On a European wheel with 37 pockets, the edge on an inside bet comes from the single zero. On an American wheel with 38 pockets and a double zero, the extra pocket increases the house edge on the same wager. The line bet does not escape that arithmetic; it only redistributes when wins and losses occur.
Volatility works the same way. A six-number bet produces more frequent, smaller wins than a straight-up bet on one number. That is a difference in rhythm, not a difference in expected return. The long-run rate of loss is set by the wheel's structure and the payout multiple, not by how many numbers a single chip covers.
Decision points that matter
The first decision is wheel selection. A European wheel has 37 pockets and a single zero; an American wheel has 38 with a double zero. The extra pocket increases the house edge on the American layout, and no bet placement removes it. If the venue offers both, the player who wants the lower house edge on the same bet chooses the European table.
The second decision is stake sizing. A line bet is a single unit spread across six numbers, but the player decides how many units that chip represents. The table minimum applies to the total wager, and the player reads the minimum and maximum from the table placard before sitting down. A line bet at the table minimum is a different financial commitment than the same bet at ten times that amount, even though the odds are identical.
The third decision is what to do with a win. The dealer leaves the original stake on the layout. The player can collect it, move it, or leave it to ride on the next spin. Leaving it to ride does not change the house edge on the next spin; it only changes the size of the amount exposed to that edge.
Mistakes that cost new players at the felt
The most common error is placing the chip in the wrong spot and believing it covers a different group of numbers. A chip resting on the boundary between two rows is a line bet. A chip resting on the outer corner of a single row is a street bet covering three numbers. A chip on the intersection of four numbers is a corner bet. The dealer reads the chip's position, not the player's intention, so a misplaced chip changes the wager entirely.
The second error is betting after the call. Once the dealer closes betting, a late chip is returned or, in some venues, treated as a wager on the next spin. The player who wants a line bet must have it on the felt before the window closes, because the sequence does not pause for a delayed decision.
The third error is reading a near miss as information. A ball that lands one pocket away from the covered six numbers is a loss, not a signal that the next spin is more likely to fall inside the line. Each spin is an independent event under the random number generator or the physical wheel in use, and the covered numbers carry the same probability on every spin regardless of what the previous ball did.
How to read the table before you bet
Every roulette table posts the information a player needs: the minimum and maximum wager, the payout schedule for each bet type, and the wheel configuration in use. The payout for a line bet is stated there as a multiple of the stake, such as a fixed ratio printed on the layout or shown in the game's help panel. The player who learns that number before betting knows exactly what a win returns and what the house keeps.
The same discipline applies to the wheel itself. A quick look at the zero pocket tells the player whether the table runs a single-zero or double-zero layout. That single observation changes the house edge on every inside bet, including the line.
FAQ
Is a line bet the same as a double street?
Yes. Both names describe a single wager covering six numbers across two adjacent rows of three. The chip sits on the boundary between the two rows, and the payout and odds are identical whichever term the table or the player uses.
Can I place a line bet on any two adjacent rows?
You can place it on any two rows that share a boundary on the numbered grid. The standard layout allows the bet on the outer edge where the two rows meet. The six numbers covered are always the two complete rows, never a partial selection from each.
Does a line bet have a lower house edge than other inside bets?
No. The house edge on a line bet is the same as the edge on other standard inside bets for the same wheel. A European wheel has 37 pockets and a single zero; an American wheel has 38 with a double zero. The extra pocket increases the house edge on the American layout, and the line bet does not change that arithmetic. What changes is how often a win lands and how much it pays, not the long-run rate of loss.
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