Is there a particular bet on the roulette table that has better chances of winning than others? That depends on your perspective and the roulette strategy you apply, but in most cases all the roulette bets are essentially the same. Specifically they are all subject to the house edge.

A street bet is when a player wagers a 3 number bet on numbers found in the “Street” part of the roulette table (the inside border of the row you want to bet on 1,2,3 is one street, 4,5,6 is the next and so on till 34,35,36). Therefore, if you bet on all 11 streets at the same time, you’ll wind up covering 33 numbers. There are a lot of options when it comes to the types of bets that you can place when playing this table casino game. Thus, there is no single best way to play roulette. The way this game usually works is, players need to bet on a certain color, number or both. They can also bet on even or odd numbers.

The Odds of Bets on the Roulette Table

The page about how to play roulette explains the various types of bets and their respective odds. Pay particular attention to the house edge for each type of bet and you will notice that the house edge is the same for all bets. As the pace in the link also explains, the house edge is essentially unfair payouts offered by the casino. The principle is very simple although often misunderstood. It has nothing to do with the green zero.

How Different Bets Affects Results

If you bet on 30 individual numbers, the chances are that you will profit on most of your spins. The problem is when you eventually lose, you lose big.

Apply this principle to betting on an individual number such as 32. You statistically will win one every 37 spins on the European single zero wheel. For most players, play will be particularly boring because wins will infrequently occur. Now consider a red or black bet, you expect to win approximately 50% of the time (actually slightly less than 50%). The more frequent wins is generally more appealing for the average player, but the two types of bets are still subject to the house edge of -2.7%. That means if two different players making the different types of bets both wagered $100, the expected return, or loss in this case, is exactly the same.

So for the average roulette strategy, the different types of bets only controls how frequently a win or loss will occur.

But there are exceptions to this rule, and again it depends on the roulette betting system you are applying.

Bets and Odds with Advantage Play

Advantage play is the term given to professional roulette system methods. They refer to any legitimately effective system that gives the player the advantage. These are the kinds of systems that can and have won millions in modern casinos. Typically they use roulette physics to predict the winning number. Advantage play can be applied on either European or American roulette wheels exactly the same way, although the edge is slightly less on American wheels because of the added pocket and resulting less fair payout.

The one thing that all advantage play systems have in common is that they use inside bets. These are table bets on individual numbers, which represent specific sectors or areas of the physical roulette wheel. An example would be 0,32 and 15 which are all neighbouring numbers on the roulette wheel.

If you are using a professional system, and these are definitively the best type of roulette bet, and in fact the only profitable roulette bet. This is because the professional systems attempted to understand the physics of why the roulette ball lands where it does, to predict future spins and ultimately the winning number.

For example, a professional player may use visual ballistics or a roulette computer device. These ultimately determine the speed of the wheel rotor and ball to predict where the ball will fall. While it may not possible to predict the winning number with 100% accuracy, perfect accuracy is not needed to overcome the house edge. In fact only a very small increase in prediction accuracy is all that is needed to predict the winning number and place a winning bet.

Placing Bets on the Table

Again using the example of a roulette computer, this device uses the timings of the roulette wheel and ball to make predictions. This is done while the ball is still spinning, and before the dealer calls no more bets. This is a critical time in which the player has to make some quick bets on the table. The player may only have 4 to 5 seconds, or even less, before the dealer calls no more bets. In most cases, the player only needs to make one bet on an individual number in the predicted region of the wheel.

Bets Before the Ball is Released

In common conditions it is also possible to predict spin outcomes before the ball is even released. It is not possible in all circumstances, but enough for it to be a practical and viable income source for today’s roulette players. Such an approach may be considered a banned roulette system although not illegal, because they do not at all interfere with the outcome of roulette spins.

Types of Roulette Bets

The two main types of roulette bets are the inside bets and outside bets. See the roulette bets page for a detailed explanation of the odds, chip locations and payouts

Knowing which type of bet to make is important for players who want to hodl their own at the roulette table.

Each table will carry a placard describing the minimum and maximum bets at the table. For example, it might read, 'Roulette. $5 minimum inside bets, $5 minimum outside bets. $1,000 maximum outside, $100 maximum inside.' Table maximums usually are lower on inside bets because of the higher payoffs offered. The odds are exactly the same as on outside bets, but most casinos are loath to risk losing $35,000 at one shot on a $1,000 bet on one number.

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Though the listed minimums for inside and outside bets are likely to be the same, they don't mean the same thing. A player betting the $5 minimum on inside bets is allowed to spread five $1 chips around on different bets on the inside. However, the minimum for outside bets means the player must wager the entire $5 on each outside bet. Betting $1 on evens, $1 on red, $1 on the first 12, $1 on the first 18, and $1 on the first column doesn't satisfy the minimum.

The player may make any of the bets by placing a chip or chips on the appropriate spot. However, the size of the table may make it difficult to reach some betting areas. To place a bet you can't reach, put the chips on the table and ask the dealer to put them on the desired bet for you. If you aren't sure how to make outside or inside bets, check the information below.

Outside Bets

Red or black: There are 18 numbers with red backgrounds and 18 with black backgrounds. A bet on red pays off if the ball stops in the slot by any of the 18 red numbers; a bet on black pays off if the ball lands on any of the black numbers. A winning red or black bet pays even money -- the player keeps the original bet and gets an equal amount in winnings.

Odd or even: Another even-money bet. The player is betting that either one of the 18 odd numbers (1, 3, 5, and so forth) or one of the 18 even numbers (2, 4, 6, and so forth) will be chosen.

1 through 18, 19 through 36: Also for even money, a bet on whether the ball will stop on any of the first 18 numbers or any of the last 18 numbers.

The house gets its edge from 0 and 00 -- they are neither red nor black, neither odd nor even, neither part of the first 18 nor the last 18. If the ball lands on 0 or 00, all even-money bets -- in fact, all outside bets -- lose.

In casinos offering a French wheel with the en prison rule, the player does not lose an even money bet when the 0 comes up. Instead, the bet is 'in prison' -- the player does not lose the wager, but it remains in effect for the next spin. If the bet wins on the next spin, it is released, and the player may pull it back. The bet may not remain in prison on consecutive spins -- a second consecutive 0 makes the bet a loser. This is a very favorable rule for the player, and one that is rare in the United States.

How To Bet On A Roulette Table

Dozens: Wagers on the first 12 numbers, second 12, or third 12 pay 2-1.

Best Way To Win Roulette

Columns: Wagers on any of the three columns on the grid pay 2-1. Because the grid is arranged in 12 rows of three consecutive numbers (1-2-3 is the first row, 4-5-6 the second, and so on), each number in a column is three higher than the one before.

Inside Bets

Best Way To Win On A Roulette Table

Single number: Bets on individual numbers, including 0 and 00, are placed by putting a chip or chips fully inside a numbered box. If a single-number bet hits, it pays 35-1. (Remember, however, that the true odds are 37-1.)

Split: This is a wager on two numbers, and it pays 17-1. Make a split bet by placing a chip so that it straddles the line between two numbers.

Street: A three-number bet, paying 11-1, is made by placing a chip on the line separating outside bets from the inside, indicating a row of three consecutive numbers.

Corner: A chip is placed at the intersection of a horizontal line with a vertical line inside the layout. This indicates a bet on the four adjacent numbers, and it pays 8-1.

Five-number: For the worst bet on the table, place a chip so that it lies on the line separating the inside from the outside, while straddling the horizontal line between 0-00 and 1-2-3. This bet pays 6-1 and carries a 7.89 percent house edge. The five-number bet does not exist on the French wheel because of the absence of 00.

Best Bets On Roulette

Double street: Just as on the street bet, place a chip on the line separating the outside from the inside, but let it straddle the horizontal line between two rows. That gives you six numbers in two consecutive three-number rows, and the bet pays 5-1.

Best Bet On Roulette Wheel

Special note: Watch for your payoffs. On winning inside bets, most dealers will push the winnings to you but leave the original bet in place. After the dealer has finished payoffs and is ready for the next round of bets, it is up to you to move the original bet if you do not want to make the same wager. Some dealers will leave the winnings on the layout, and if you do not wish to bet it all on the next spin, you must remove it. It is common for the dealer to leave the winnings on outside bets next to the original bet. It is up to you to move the chips when the dealer is ready.