Choosing your bets

When you play Roulette, you’ll have a lot of different options to bet on. One of the reasons why the game is so popular is that there are loads of betting options and some have big payouts if you’re lucky enough to win them.

There are two main groups of bets. These are the inside bets and the outside bets, so named because of their position on the Roulette table.

Outside bets are generally the safer options and as a result, pay out less than the inside bets. These include options such as betting on red or black and betting on odds or evens. Choosing your bets of these payout even money (1/1). This means a bet of $10 would give you $10 in profit if it wins. Despite it being even money, however, there’s not a 50/50 chance of winning. If you bet on red or black, there’s always a small chance that the ball lands on the green 0 or 00. Your odds or evens bet will also lose if the ball lands on 0 or 00. This is where the house edge comes from, and is why American Roulette has a higher house edge.

Outside bets also include high or low numbers, columns, and dozens.

• High or low numbers split the numbers from one to thirty-six in half. Betting on 1-18 or 19-36 will both payout at even odds. Again, you’ll lose your bet if the ball lands on either 0 or 00.
• Columns lets you bet on specific columns of numbers shown on the Roulette table. There are three columns that each contain twelve numbers, if the ball lands on any of the twelve numbers, you’ll win. Odds for this bet are set at 2 to 1 for most games, meaning a $10 will make $20 in profit.
• Dozens also give you twelve numbers to bet on, only this time they will be consecutive numbers.

Inside bets are the higher risk and higher reward options. Specific numbers and small groups of numbers are all known as inside bets and these bets can pay out big if you’re lucky enough. The most obvious choice for the inside bets is the straight number bet. This allows you to bet on one specific number, perfect if you have a lucky number. Payouts for straight numbers bets are 35 to 1 for all of the numbers. A $10 bet will give you $350 in profit if the ball lands on your number.

As well as straight number bets, other inside bets include split bets, street bets, corner bets, line bets, and the five number bet. Some game types may offer some or all of these betting options so check before you start playing.

• Split bets allow you to place a bet on two numbers that sit next to each other on the table. If the ball lands on either number, your bet will win and the casino usually pays out 17 to 1. A $10 bet would win $170.
• Street bets are a group of three adjacent numbers on a row. If the ball lands on any of those three numbers on the row, you’ll win. This pays out at odds of 11 to 1. A $10 would give you $110 in profit.
• Corner bets allow you to place a bet on any four numbers which form a square on the Roulette table. This bet pays out at odds of 8 to 1 at most casinos. So a $10 bet would give you $80.
• Line bets allow you to pick two rows of numbers next to each other on the Roulette table. That equals six numbers in total and gives you odds of 5 to 1. A $10 bet would payout $50.
• The five number bet is a bet on the first five numbers of the table. This has the highest house edge of any Roulette bet at nearly 8%. It pays out at odds of 6 to 1, a $10 bet would win you $60.