The bet that covers six numbers at once
A double street sits on the felt as a single chip placed on the outer corner line where two rows of three numbers meet. The chip does not sit on any number. It sits on the line itself, and that placement is what tells the croupier you are covering all six numbers in those two adjacent rows. If any one of the six lands, the bet pays. If any other number lands, the bet is collected.
The name changes depending on where you play. Some tables call it a six line, some call it a double street, and the payout is the same either way. You are risking one unit to win five, and the dealer will leave your original chip in place when they pay you, so a winning bet returns six units in total: the five-unit profit and the one unit you staked.
That payout is fixed by the mathematics of the wheel, not by the casino's mood. A European wheel has 37 pockets and a single zero. An American wheel has 38 pockets with a double zero. The double street covers six of those pockets, so on a European wheel it wins six times in every 37 spins on average, and loses 31 times. The house keeps its edge because the payout is five to one rather than the true odds the wheel would suggest.
How the payout compares with other inside bets
Roulette bets split into two families. Inside bets sit on the numbered grid or its lines and pay more per win because they cover fewer numbers. Outside bets sit around the grid and pay less because they cover more numbers. The double street is an inside bet, but it behaves like a bridge between the two families: it covers more numbers than most inside bets while still paying at inside-bet rates.
The table below compares the double street with the other standard inside bets on a European wheel. The payout column is what the table pays on top of the returned stake. The coverage column is how many pockets the bet wins on.
| Bet name | Numbers covered | Payout | What the chip placement looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 | 35 to 1 | Chip fully inside a single number square |
| Split | 2 | 17 to 1 | Chip on the line between two numbers |
| Street | 3 | 11 to 1 | Chip on the outer edge of a row of three |
| Corner | 4 | 8 to 1 | Chip on the intersection of four numbers |
| Double street | 6 | 5 to 1 | Chip on the outer corner line between two rows |
The double street is not the only way to cover six numbers, and that is where new players sometimes confuse themselves. A double street covers six numbers in two adjacent rows. Six individual straight-up bets also cover six numbers, but they cost six units and each pays 35 to 1 on its own number. A double street costs one unit and pays 5 to 1 if any of the six lands. The total coverage is the same; the cost, the payout and the way losses accumulate are completely different.
Where the house edge comes from on this bet
Every roulette bet carries the same house edge on a given wheel because the payout is short of the true odds by the same proportion. On a European wheel, the true odds against a double street winning are 31 losing pockets to six winning pockets. A fair payout would therefore be 31 divided by 6, which is just over 5.17 to 1. The table pays 5 to 1. That gap between 5.17 and 5 is the house edge, and it is the same gap that appears on every other bet on the same wheel.
On an American wheel the gap widens because the extra double-zero pocket adds one more losing number to every bet without changing any payout. The double street still covers six numbers and still pays 5 to 1, but now there are 32 losing pockets instead of 31. The house edge rises on every bet on the layout, including this one.
Volatility does not change any of this. A double street wins more often than a straight-up bet and less often than an outside bet like red or black. That changes how a session feels, because you will collect winning spins more regularly than someone chasing a single number. It does not change the expected rate of loss over a large number of spins. The edge stays with the house on every bet, at the same rate, on the same wheel.
The sequence of a round from buy-in to settlement
A double street is placed before the croupier calls an end to betting. You buy in by placing cash on the felt, never into the croupier's hand, and the croupier exchanges it for roulette chips. Roulette chips are colour-coded to each player at the table so the croupier can tell whose bets are whose when several people are betting on the same layout. They have no cash value away from that specific table, and you must exchange them back before you leave.
When the ball is released, the croupier will announce that no more bets may be placed. From that moment the layout is frozen. When the ball settles, the croupier places a marker on the winning number, clears all losing bets from the felt, and then pays winning bets starting with the inside bets and moving outward. A winning double street is paid at 5 to 1 with the original chip left in place. You collect the profit and the stake together, or you leave the stake in place for the next spin if you intend to repeat the bet.
The most common procedural mistake on this bet is placing the chip in the wrong position. A chip that sits on the corner between two rows but slightly too far inward can be read as a corner bet covering only four numbers. A chip placed on the outer line of a single row is a street bet covering three numbers. The croupier will usually clarify an ambiguous placement, but the time to be precise is before the ball is released, because after the call of no more bets the placement stands as it lies.
A second mistake is assuming a double street pays like six straight-up bets. It does not. The payout is 5 to 1 on the single unit, not 35 to 1 on each of six units. A player who wants six straight-up bets must stake six units and accept that five of them lose on every winning spin.
A third mistake is chasing a double street after a run of losses because it feels due. The wheel has no memory. The six numbers covered by a double street have the same chance of appearing on the next spin as they had on the previous one, and no sequence of losing spins changes that. A double street is a single bet with a fixed payout and a fixed probability, repeated identically on every spin.
Choosing between a double street and the alternatives
A double street is a middle-ground bet in terms of session rhythm. It wins roughly once every six spins on a European wheel, which means you will collect payouts far more often than a straight-up bettor, but each payout is smaller. The trade-off is between the frequency of winning spins and the size of each win, and that trade-off is governed entirely by variance, not by any difference in the expected rate of loss.
Some players combine a double street with outside bets to smooth the session further. As an example, suppose a player places one unit on a double street and one unit on an outside bet covering 18 numbers. The outside bet wins often and pays even money, while the double street wins less often and pays 5 to 1. The two bets are independent of each other: each carries its own house edge, and combining them changes the distribution of outcomes, not the underlying edge on either bet.
No betting pattern changes the built-in edge of a negative-expectation game. A player can choose a double street, a straight-up bet, an outside bet, or any combination, and the house edge on each individual wager remains what the wheel and the payout table make it. What changes is how often the player wins, how much they win when they do, and how long a given bankroll lasts at a given stake.
FAQ
Is a double street the same as a six line?
Yes. The two names describe the same bet: one chip covering six numbers in two adjacent rows, paying 5 to 1. Different tables and different rule descriptions use one name or the other, but the placement, the coverage and the payout are identical.
Can I place a double street on the zero?
No. The zero sits outside the numbered grid of rows and columns, so it cannot be part of a double street. A double street always covers six numbers arranged in two rows of three. If you want to cover the zero alongside a double street, you would need a separate bet, such as a straight-up bet on the zero itself.
Does a double street pay differently on an American wheel?
The payout is the same 5 to 1 on both wheel types. What changes is the probability of winning, because the American wheel has one extra pocket. The bet covers six numbers either way, but on an American wheel there are more losing pockets, so the house edge on the bet is higher.
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