If you like the excitement of playing the pinball machine in the night market, then you will also fall in love with Roulette! With the similar gameplay and the same kind of excitement, roulette is one of the most popular games in the casino. In this article, we will explain more about the roulette and analyze the probability of each gameplay to help you adjust your betting strategy!
[Introduction to Roulette]
Roulette evolved in 3 main variations – European, French and American. In the French and European roulette, there are 37 numbered pockets, which contain the numbers from 1 to 36, including one zero-pocket. The color pattern of the roulette is well-known by everyone – the pockets alternate between black and red, with the single-zero pocket colored in green. While the American roulette, in addition to 1-36 of numbers, there is a double-zero pocket, a total of 38 numbers. Once all the participants in the game have placed their bets on the table, the dealer spins the wheel and throws in a small ball. Whichever is the number of the pockets the ball lands in is the winning number. If you bet on that number or on a group of numbers that contain it, then you’ll get the corresponding payouts according to different gameplay.
[Gameplay of Roulette]
In the following, we will introduce the gameplay of roulette, which usually split into two main groups of bets:
(I) Inside bets：
Inside bets are placed on the numbers at the center of the table, it tends to have a lower probability of winning, but offers the biggest roulette payouts. For this reason, inside bets are often the best way to start playing for those who are new to the game, as it gives you a chance to earn a big payout on any given spin without having to risk much money on each bet.
Straight: A bet on a single number. If the ball lands on that number, the bet pays 1:35.
Split: A bet on 2 adjacent numbers on the roulette table. If either of those numbers hits, the bet pays 1:17.
Street: A bet on a row of 3 numbers on the roulette layout. If any of those numbers wins, your bet pays out at 1:11 odds.
Corner: A bet on a “square” of 4 numbers on the roulette betting layout. If any of these numbers wins, the bet pays 1:8.
Six Line: A bet on 2 consecutive rows, covering 6 numbers in total. If the ball lands on any of those numbers, you’ll win at 1:5 odds.
Basket: This bet is only available on European roulette tables, and covers the zero along with 1, 2, and 3. If any of those four numbers wins, the bet pays 1:8.
Trio: Like a street bet, this bet covers 3 numbers, but it includes one of the zeros. For example, a player can make a trio bet covering 0, 1, and 2. If any of those numbers wins, the bet pays 1:11.
Top Line: This bet is only available on American roulette and covers 5 numbers: the zero, double zero, 1, 2, and 3. If the ball lands on any of those numbers, your bet pays out at 1:6 odds.
(II) Outside bets：
Outside bets have special betting areas on the outer portion of the board.Outside bets cover large sections of the wheel, giving you a better chance of winning your bet. However, they also come with smaller payouts, and may require higher minimum wagers than inside bets.
Columns: A column bet covers one of the three columns on the roulette table layout, each of which contains 12 numbers. If any of those 12 numbers wins, your bet pays 1:2 odds.
Dozens: These bets cover sets of 12 consecutive numbers: 1-12, 13-24, or 25-36. If a number in the range you bet on wins, the bet pays 1:2.
Odd/Even: These bets cover all of the odd or even numbers on the table (note that zeros do not count as either odd or even). If a matching number wins, then your bet pays out even money.
Red/Black: These bets cover all pockets – 18 each – of that color. If the ball lands on that color, then you can get the even money payout.
High/Low: These bets cover the range of 1-18 and 19-36. Should the ball land on a number in the range you’ve chosen, the bet pays even money.
[Roulette odds and probabilities]
So, now you know well about the gameplay of roulette, and how much you can win by placing them. Now, we will show you the most interesting part of roulette, by calculating the roulette odds and the probabilities of each bet.
For each bet listed in the tables below, I calculated the so-called RTP (Return to Player), it is called the payout ratio as well. The payout ratio is the expected long-term value for a bet.
(I) Inside bets – odds and probabilities
The table below shows what you need to know about the odds and chances of win of the inside bets on roulette. Some of the bets are available only in either American or European roulette, thus some of the table columns are empty.
| Bet | Numbers | Payout | Chance of Win (European Roulette) | Chance of Win (American Roulette) | RTP of the Bet (European Roulette) |
RTP of the Bet (American Roulette) |
| Straight | 1 | 1:35 | 1/37 | 1/38 | 97.3% | 94.74% |
| Split | 2 | 1:17 | 2/37 | 2/38 | 97.3% | 94.74% |
| Street | 3 | 1:11 | 3/37 | 3/38 | 97.3% | 94.74% |
| Six Line | 6 | 1:5 | 6/37 | 6/38 | 97.3% | 94.74% |
| Corner | 4 | 1:8 | 4/37 | 4/38 | 97.3% | 94.74% |
| Trio | 3 | 1:11 | 3/37 | – | 97.3% | – |
| Basket | 4 | 1:8 | 4/37 | – | 97.3% | – |
| Top Line | 5 | 1:6 | – | 5/38 | – | 92.1% |
Kindly take note the RTP of American roulette’s “top line” bet is lower than the RTP on any other bet on roulette. That’s because this bet covers 5 numbers, and only pays 7-times the bet value. If the winnings were 7.2-times the bet value for this bet, it would have the same RTP as the other American roulette bets. That’s why placing any chips on the “top line” bet is never a good idea.
(II) Outside bets – odds and probabilities
All the important information about the odds of the outside bets are listed in the table below.
| Bet | Numbers | Payout | Chance of Win (European Roulette) | Chance of Win (American Roulette) | RTP of the Bet (European Roulette) |
RTP of the Bet (American Roulette) |
| Red/Black | 18 | 1:1 | 18/37 | 18/38 | 97.3% | 94.74% |
| Odd/Even | 18 | 1:1 | 18/37 | 18/38 | 97.3% | 94.74% |
| High/Low | 18 | 1:1 | 18/37 | 18/38 | 97.3% | 94.74% |
| Dozens | 12 | 1:2 | 12/37 | 12/38 | 97.3% | 94.74% |
| Columns | 12 | 1:2 | 12/37 | 12/38 | 97.3% | 94.74% |
The above table includes numbers of games without the use of any special rules such as “La Partage,” “In Prison” or “Surrender” which can change the game’s RTP.
After reading the above introduction, you should know more about the probabilities of roulette. If you are interested in it, you can start your roulette journey at Baji.live!
