Roulette glossary: the terms explained plainly

The terms

Croupier

The casino employee who runs the table: takes bets, spins the wheel, announces the result, and pays the winners.

Inside bet

A bet placed on the number grid itself: a single number or a small group touching it (split, street, corner, six line). High payouts, low probabilities.

Outside bet

A bet on the large groups around the grid: red or black, even or odd, 1 to 18, 19 to 36, dozens, and columns. Low payouts, high probabilities.

Straight up

A bet on one single number, paying 35 to 1. The narrowest, swingiest bet on the table.

Split

One bet covering two adjacent numbers on the layout, paying 17 to 1.

Street

One bet covering a row of three numbers, paying 11 to 1.

Corner

One bet covering four numbers that meet at a point on the layout, paying 8 to 1.

Six line

One bet covering two adjacent rows, six numbers, paying 5 to 1.

Dozen

An outside bet on 1 to 12, 13 to 24, or 25 to 36, paying 2 to 1.

Column

An outside bet on one of the three long columns of the grid, twelve numbers, paying 2 to 1.

Even money bet

Any outside bet paying 1 to 1: red, black, even, odd, 1 to 18, or 19 to 36. Each covers 18 of the 37 numbers; the zero beats them all.

House edge

The share of every stake the casino keeps on average. On a single zero wheel it is 1/37, about 2.70 percent, identical for every standard bet; the payout chart shows the math.

Single zero and double zero

European wheels have one zero (37 pockets); American wheels add a double zero (38 pockets) at the same payouts, nearly doubling the house edge. See the comparison page.

La partage

A rule on some European tables: if the ball lands on zero, even money bets lose only half their stake. It halves the edge on those bets. Our simulator models the standard rules, without la partage.

En prison

A cousin of la partage: on zero, an even money stake is held 'in prison' for the next spin instead of being taken; win it back or lose it. Also not part of the standard rules our simulator models.

Announced bets, call bets

Traditional French combinations announced to the croupier instead of placed by hand. They are fixed sets of standard bets, so they carry the same house edge as their parts.

Voisins du zero

The announced bet covering the seventeen numbers nearest the zero on the wheel, placed as a fixed combination of splits, corners, and a street.

Tiers du cylindre

The announced bet covering the twelve numbers on the opposite side of the wheel from the zero, placed as six splits.

Orphelins

The orphans: the eight numbers belonging to neither the voisins nor the tiers, covered with a straight up and four splits.

Bankroll

The money, or in our app the virtual points, you have set aside to play with. Decide it before you start; it is the price of the session.

Table limit

The posted minimum and maximum stakes per bet. Maximums are what stop doubling systems from doubling forever.

No more bets

The croupier's call, rien ne va plus, that closes the layout while the ball is still rolling. After it, chips stay where they are.

Numbers behind the words: the payout chart prices every bet here exactly, European vs American shows what the second zero costs, and the strategy simulations show what happens when systems built from these bets meet a million sessions.