The first thing you notice is the wheel, not the felt
Most people walk up to a roulette table looking for the spinning wheel, and that instinct is right. The wheel sits at one end of the table, usually to the dealer's side, with a shallow bowl and numbered pockets around its rim. The pockets alternate red and black, and the numbers are not in numerical order. On a European wheel there are 37 pockets, numbered 0 to 36, with a single green zero. An American wheel has 38 pockets because it adds a second green pocket marked 00. That extra pocket is the single biggest visual difference between the two layouts, and it changes the arithmetic of every bet on the table.
The rest of the table is a printed felt layout that mirrors the wheel's numbers in a grid. The felt is where you place chips, and it stays still while the wheel spins. Understanding the table means understanding both parts: the wheel decides the outcome, but the felt decides what you are betting on, how much you stand to lose per spin on average, and how the dealer will settle your chips.
The betting felt breaks into two zones
The layout is divided into an inside area and an outside area. The inside area is the numbered grid, arranged in three columns of twelve numbers each, with the zero or zeros sitting at the top of the grid. The outside area wraps around that grid and holds boxes for broader categories: red or black, odd or even, high or low, and the dozens and columns. A bet placed on a single number is an inside bet. A bet placed on red is an outside bet. The distinction matters because inside and outside bets settle at different rates and carry different edges.
| Bet type | Where it sits on the felt | What it covers | How it behaves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | Chip placed fully inside one number's box | A single number | Long odds, rare hit, highest payout among standard bets |
| Split | Chip straddling the line between two adjacent numbers | Two numbers | Pays less than a straight up, hits more often |
| Street | Chip on the outer edge of a row of three numbers | Three numbers in one row | Covers a horizontal line on the grid |
| Corner | Chip at the intersection of four number boxes | Four numbers | Covers a square block |
| Six line | Chip on the edge between two rows | Six numbers across two rows | Broader inside coverage, lower payout per unit |
| Red or black | Outside box marked with the colour | All pockets of that colour | Close to an even-money proposition, but not exactly |
| Odd or even | Outside box marked accordingly | All odd or all even numbers | Zero is neither, which is where the edge lives |
| Dozens and columns | Outside boxes marked 1st 12, 2nd 12, 3rd 12, or the column foot | Twelve numbers each | Pays 2 to 1 on a winning spin |
Every one of these bets is a different wager with its own probability of landing. What they share is that none of them removes the built-in advantage the house holds on the wheel. The zero, and the double zero on an American layout, are the pockets that create that advantage. When the ball lands in zero, most outside bets lose, and many inside bets lose too. The zero is not a neutral space; it is the mechanism that keeps the game negative-expectation for the player over the long run.
What a round looks like from buy-in to settlement
A round at a live table follows a fixed sequence, and knowing it removes most of the anxiety a new player feels. You buy in by placing cash on the felt, never directly into the dealer's hand. The dealer spreads the cash, counts it, and pushes you an equivalent stack of wheel chips. Wheel chips have no denomination printed on them; their value is assigned to you at the table and each player at the same table uses a different colour so the dealer can tell stacks apart. You cannot cash wheel chips at the cage. When you leave the table, the dealer exchanges them for standard value chips.
Once you have chips, you place them on the felt before the dealer calls no more bets. The dealer spins the wheel in one direction and sends the ball travelling the other way around the outer track. As the ball loses speed it drops into a pocket. The dealer places a marker on the winning number on the felt, clears all losing bets, and then pays winners. You should not touch your chips or reach onto the layout while this is happening. The dealer settles everything in order, outside bets first, then inside bets.
The payout for a winning straight-up bet is fixed at 35 to 1, but that payout does not make the bet fair. A European wheel has 37 pockets, so a single number is expected to hit once in every 37 spins on average, while it pays as if there were only 36. The gap between those two numbers is the house edge on that bet. The same logic applies to every other bet on the felt, which is why no betting pattern changes the underlying arithmetic.
The two wheel types change the edge on every bet
If you sit down at a table and cannot tell which wheel you are playing, look at the zero pocket. One green pocket means European layout. Two green pockets, 0 and 00, means American layout. The American wheel's extra pocket increases the house edge on nearly every bet because the payout schedule stays the same while the number of losing pockets goes up. The difference is not cosmetic.
| Feature | European wheel | American wheel |
|---|---|---|
| Pockets | 37, numbered 0 to 36 | 38, numbered 0 to 36 plus 00 |
| Green pockets | One, the single zero | Two, the single and double zero |
| Effect on outside bets | Zero loses for red, black, odd, even, high and low | Both zeros lose for the same outside bets |
| House edge on the same bet | Lower | Higher |
Some tables also carry a printed sign stating the table minimum and maximum. The minimum applies to the total of your outside bets or to each inside bet, depending on the house rules, and the dealer will tell you if a chip placement does not meet it. The maximum protects the house by capping how much can be placed on a single outcome. Neither number changes the edge; they only set the size of the swings.
What the felt cannot tell you
The printed layout shows every bet you can make, but it does not show the house edge, the payout schedule for every combination, or the table's specific rules. Those live in the posted table rules and in the game's published reference material. The felt also does not tell you which wheel type you are at unless you look at the wheel itself. Before you put chips down, read the minimum sign, check the zero pockets, and decide which bets you understand. A table can look welcoming and still be the more expensive American layout, and the only way to know is to look at the wheel, not the felt.
FAQ
Why do roulette numbers on the wheel not run in order?
The wheel sequence is arranged to alternate red and black, high and low, and odd and even as evenly as possible around the rim. The felt grid, by contrast, puts the numbers in numerical order because that makes the betting layout easier to read. The two sequences serve different purposes: the wheel is about physical balance and colour alternation, while the felt is about finding your number quickly.
Can I place a bet after the ball starts spinning?
At most live tables you may place bets while the wheel is spinning and the ball is still travelling, up until the dealer calls no more bets. Once that call is made, the layout is closed and no chips may be placed or moved. Reaching in after the call is a fast way to be corrected by the dealer, and a bet placed late will not stand.
What is the difference between wheel chips and regular casino chips?
Wheel chips are colour-coded per player and carry no printed denomination. They are only valid at the roulette table where they were issued. Regular casino chips have printed values and can be used at other tables or cashed at the cage. When you finish playing, the dealer exchanges your wheel chips for value chips before you leave the table.
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This article is general information about how these mechanics work. It is not legal advice and not a recommendation to gamble or to use any particular operator. Availability and legality differ by jurisdiction — check the rules that apply where you are.