How to Play Roulette: Rules, Bets & Odds
Learn how roulette works, what every bet pays, and the one choice that matters most: single-zero or double-zero. Rules, payouts and a house edge table.
Roulette is the simplest game in the casino to learn and the one with the least to decide. Once the ball is spinning there is nothing left to choose, so all of your "strategy" happens before you place a chip: which wheel you sit at and what you bet. This guide covers how a spin works, what every bet pays, and why the wheel matters more than any betting pattern.
Table Edge is a free practice site: everything here uses practice chips with no cash value, and nothing in this guide guarantees a win. Roulette is pure chance.
How a spin works
A dealer spins a ball around a wheel with numbered pockets. You bet on where it will land: a single number, a small group of numbers, a colour, odd or even, or a larger section of the board. Bets are placed on the layout, a grid of numbers 1 to 36 (half red, half black) plus the green zero or zeros. When the ball settles, the dealer marks the winning number, pays the winning bets and collects the rest.
The more numbers a bet covers, the more often it wins and the less it pays when it does.
American or European wheel?
This is the single most important decision in roulette.
- A European (single-zero) wheel has 37 pockets: the numbers 1 to 36 and one green 0. The house edge is 2.70%.
- An American (double-zero) wheel has 38 pockets: 1 to 36, a 0 and a 00. The house edge is 5.26%, nearly double.
Everything else about the game is identical: the same layout, the same bets and the same payouts. The extra pocket is the only difference, and it costs you about twice as much on every bet. If you have a choice, always play the single-zero wheel.
Inside bets and outside bets
Inside bets are placed on specific numbers or small groups on the number grid. They pay more and win less often.
Outside bets cover big groups, like red or black, odd or even, or a dozen. They pay less and win more often.
| Bet | What it covers | Pays | Chance to win (European wheel) |
|---|
| Straight up | 1 number | 35:1 | 2.7% |
| Split | 2 adjacent numbers | 17:1 | 5.4% |
| Street | A row of 3 numbers | 11:1 | 8.1% |
| Corner | 4 numbers meeting at a corner | 8:1 | 10.8% |
| Six line | 2 adjacent rows (6 numbers) | 5:1 | 16.2% |
| Dozen or column | 12 numbers | 2:1 | 32.4% |
| Red or black, odd or even, high or low | 18 numbers | 1:1 | 48.6% |
In each case the chance to win is the number of pockets you cover divided by 37. On an American wheel it is divided by 38, so every chance is a little lower, while the payouts stay the same. That gap is the house edge.
On a standard wheel nearly every bet carries the same house edge, 2.70% on a European wheel and 5.26% on an American one. The payouts are designed to match the real odds almost exactly, and the zero is what gives the casino its edge. So a bet that wins more often simply pays less when it does.
The one bad bet
The American wheel has one extra bet, the five number bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3, which pays 6:1. It is the worst bet on the table, with a house edge of 7.89%, because it doesn't divide evenly into the payout. Avoid it.
La Partage and En Prison
Some European tables have a rule that softens the zero for even-money bets (red or black, odd or even, high or low). Normally those bets lose when the ball lands on zero. With one of these rules, you lose less:
- La Partage returns half your stake straight away.
- En Prison "imprisons" your whole bet for one more spin. If it wins, you get your stake back with no profit. If it loses, you lose all of it.
The two rules play out slightly differently from one spin to the next, but in the long run they are worth the same: roughly half of what the zero would otherwise cost you. That cuts the house edge on those bets from about 2.7% to about 1.35%, which makes them among the cheapest bets in the casino. If a table offers either rule, use it.
How the odds actually work
The chance of a particular number on a European wheel is 1 in 37, or 2.7%. That surprises many people: even after 37 spins, the chance of having hit a given number at least once is only about 64%, not 100%. For a single number, you need about 26 spins for a 50% chance, 85 for 90%, and 169 for 99%. The roulette probability calculator works out these chances for any bet and number of spins.
Every spin is independent of the last. A number that hasn't come up in 100 spins is exactly as likely as any other on the next one, and a colour that has come up ten times in a row is still just as likely to come up again as the opposite colour. The wheel has no memory. The streak calculator shows how often long runs really happen.
Do betting systems work?
No betting pattern changes roulette's house edge. Systems that raise your bet after a loss, or lower it after a win, can change how your results are shaped (many small wins and the occasional big loss, or the reverse), but they can't change the expected result, because each spin has the same odds whatever you bet. Table limits and the size of your bankroll also put a ceiling on any system that depends on doubling up. The bankroll simulator and the casino myths page show this in more detail.
The only lever you control is the wheel you choose. Single-zero beats double-zero every time.
Money and mindset
Roulette is quick, and the spins come steadily, so it is easy to lose track of how much has gone across the table. Decide how much you can afford to lose before you sit down and treat it as the cost of the entertainment.
If gambling is affecting your life, you can reach the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Quick recap
- Always choose a single-zero (European) wheel when you can: 2.70% against 5.26%.
- Every standard bet has the same house edge, so pick the bets you enjoy, not the ones that seem smarter.
- Never bet the American five number line (0, 00, 1, 2, 3).
- If the table has La Partage or En Prison, even-money bets cost about 1.35%.
- No spin affects the next one, and no betting system changes the odds.
Ready to practise? Try the payout trainer and odds table, then play at the free roulette table. To compare roulette with other games, see the best odds in the casino.
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