How to Play Roulette

How roulette works: the wheel and the objective

The idea of roulette is simple: a ball spins around a wheel of numbered pockets, and you bet on where it will end up⁴. The wheel holds the numbers 0 through 36, arranged in a set order rather than numerically, with each number colored red or black and the zero or zeroes colored green. The croupier spins the wheel in one direction and throws the ball in the other; in Macau's official rules the ball may be thrown left to right or right to left, always rolling opposite to the wheel's rotation⁵.

The betting layout mirrors the wheel. The table has two main areas: an inside area where you bet on specific numbers, and an outside area where you bet on broader outcomes like odd or even, red or black, or groups of twelve numbers⁶.

Timing matters more than new players expect. Once the croupier removes a small clear plastic marker called the dolly from the table, you can begin placing bets, and in many casinos you can keep betting while the ball spins until the croupier calls "no more bets"¹. After the winning number is announced and paid, most casinos only allow new bets once the dolly is removed again, though some let you bet in specific areas while it is still down¹.

One rule about table minimums catches people out: you must place the full minimum bet on either the inside or the outside, and you cannot split it between the two. On outside bets, the whole minimum must go on one individual spot, but on the inside you can spread it across different numbers⁶. For more on how minimums and maximums work at Asian tables, see casino table limits in Asia.

Inside bets: straight up, split, street, corner and six line

Inside bets are bets on specific numbers. You place your chips directly on the numbered grid¹. There are five standard types:

• Straight up. Place your chip directly on any single number, including zero. It is the simplest bet on the table and the biggest payout⁷.
• Split. Place your chip on the line between any two adjoining numbers, either vertical or horizontal. Both numbers are covered⁷.
• Street. A bet on three consecutive numbers in one row. You place your chip on the outer edge of the row at the end where the three numbers meet⁸.
• Corner. Place your chip at the point where four numbers meet on the grid. All four numbers are covered⁷.
• Six line. A bet on two adjacent rows, covering six numbers. The chip goes on the common outer corner shared by the two rows⁸.

A full house rules list from a Manila casino confirms the same set: straight up on any single number, split on any two adjacent numbers, street on any row of three, corner on any four adjacent numbers, and six line covering six adjacent numbers, plus the outside bets covered below⁹.

There is also a trio bet, covering 0, 1 and 2 or 00, 2 and 3, which appears on some tables alongside the standard five¹⁰. American wheels add a unique five-number bet covering 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3, available only on that variant¹¹. Some venues, such as Hoiana in Vietnam with its own Hoiana Roulette game, allow bets placed across several adjacent numbers and permit standing bets, where a bet stays on the table for the next spin¹².

Inside bet payouts: from 35:1 down to 5:1

Inside bets have lower odds of winning but much higher payouts, as high as 35:1¹. Here is what each one pays:

These figures are consistent across operator rule sheets: a straight up bet pays 35 times your betting amount, a split pays 17 times, a street 11 times, a corner 8 times, and a six line 5 times⁸. House rules lists from other operators match: straight 35 to 1, split 17 to 1, street 11 to 1, corner 8 to 1, six line 5 to 1¹³, and the same payouts apply at electronic roulette terminals, for example at Ha Tien Vegas, where straight up pays 35 to 1 down to six line at 5 to 1¹⁴.

Payouts are quoted as odds to 1, so a winning straight up bet of 10 returns your 10 plus 350 in winnings. The casino's payout odds on a single number are 35 to 1¹⁵, even though the wheel offers worse true odds than that, which is where the house edge comes from (covered below).

Two variants sit slightly outside this table. The American five-number bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 pays 6 to 1⁹. And on Lightning Roulette, straight bets pay only 30 to 1 instead of the standard 35 to 1, in exchange for the chance of multiplied wins¹⁶.

Outside bets: red or black, odd or even, high or low, dozens and columns

Outside bets move you off individual numbers and onto broad outcomes. You bet on whether the winning number is high or low, odd or even, red or black, or part of a group of twelve numbers¹. The standard set:

• Red or black. Bet on the color of the winning number.
• Odd or even. Bet on whether the number is odd or even.
• High or low. Low covers 1 to 18, high covers 19 to 36.
• Dozens. The layout is marked 1st 12, 2nd 12 and 3rd 12, each covering twelve numbers⁹.
• Columns. A bet on the twelve numbers in one vertical column of the layout⁹.

The even-money options, red or black, odd or even, and low or high, all pay the same when they win¹. Dozens and columns each cover twelve numbers and pay 2 to 1¹⁷.

Outside bets are the popular end of the table because they win often. They have better odds but lower payouts than inside bets¹. A betting guide from a crypto casino groups them by volatility: red/black, odd/even and high/low are the low-volatility bets at 1:1, while dozens and columns are medium-volatility at 2:1, and straight up number bets are the high-volatility end at 35:1¹⁸.

Outside bet payouts: even-money and 2:1 bets

Outside bets come in exactly two payout levels: 1:1, known as even money, or 2:1¹.

House rules confirm each line: red, black, odd, even, high and low all pay 1 to 1, and column and dozen bets pay 2 to 1¹³. Another operator's rules sheet lists the same even-money payout on red-black, odd-even and high-low, and 2 to 1 on the twelve-number bets¹⁹. Even money means you win an amount equal to your stake, so a winning 10 bet returns your 10 plus 10.

European or American wheel: which rules apply to you

The single most important thing to check before you sit down is which wheel the table uses, because it changes every odds calculation in the game.

European roulette is played on a 37-number wheel with one zero only². The table layout and the corresponding wheel slots feature only a single zero²⁰. Any one number has a 1 in 37 chance of coming up²⁰.

American roulette features a double zero²⁰. The wheel has green 0 and 00 spots, known as "zero" and "double zero"¹⁷, giving 38 pockets and a 1 in 38 chance on any single number²⁰. While European wheels have one zero slot, American wheels have two zeroes⁸.

The practical difference is the house edge. With one zero the house edge is cut to 1/37, or 2.70%, on all bets². American roulette carries a house edge of 1/19, or 5.26%, on all bets except the 0-00-1-2-3 combination, which is worse at 7.89%². In short, 2.7% for European and 5.26% for its American cousin²¹. Every bet type pays the same on both wheels, but the European wheel gives you better value on all of them, so the wheel choice matters more than the bet choice.

There are also wheels beyond the standard two. Triple-zero roulette has a 7.69% house edge on every bet, and quadruple-zero roulette, with four zeroes arranged in a 2x2 grid on the layout, carries a 10% edge on every bet². If you see extra green pockets, the odds are worse than either standard game.

What happens when zero comes up

Zero is where roulette makes its money, and the rule is blunt: when 0 comes up, bets on 0 win and all other bets lose to the house⁵. All outside bets lose when zero, or double zero, comes out as the winning number⁹. If the winning number is zero, all outside bets lose⁸. So your red, black, odd, even, high, low, dozen and column bets are all swept away.

There are exceptions, and they are worth looking for:

• La partage. Under French rules, if you make an even-money bet and the ball lands in zero, you get half your bet back². La partage returns half your stake on even-money bets if the ball lands on zero¹¹.
• En prison. If you place an even-odds bet and the ball lands on 0, your bet is "in prison" and held for the next spin. If the next spin lands on your chosen outcome, your original wager is recovered; if it lands on 0 again, the bet is forfeited¹⁰.
• Atlantic City rules. In Atlantic City, if the ball lands in 0 or 00, the player loses only half of any even-money bet, though this does not apply on single-zero wheels².

Either French rule cuts the effective edge on red/black-style bets to as low as 1.35%, the best standard odds in roulette². French roulette includes both en prison and la partage, giving you an extra chance when the ball lands in zero on red/black or odd/even bets²². If you have a choice of tables, a French-rules table with one of these rules is the softest version of the game you will find.

Some house variants handle zero their own way. At Hoiana, if the winning number is 0 or the Hoiana logo spot, all bets not placed on 0 or the logo lose¹².

House edge and winning odds by bet type

The house edge does not change with your bet on a standard wheel: 2.70% on a European table, 5.26% on an American one, except the 0-00-1-2-3 bet, which carries a 7.89% edge on an American wheel². What changes is your chance of winning each spin and the size of the payout when you do.

A straight up bet pays 35 to 1 but wins under 3% of the time²³, which is the trade-off that defines inside betting: rare, large wins versus frequent, small ones. The even-money bets sit at the other end, winning close to half of all spins; the zero pocket is what takes those wins away, and it is the entire house edge in one sentence.

For how roulette compares with baccarat, blackjack and sic bo on this measure, see the house edge of casino games compared.

Where the rules vary: live tables, e-roulette and Lightning Roulette

The rules above are the classic game, but in Asia you will meet several versions of it.

Live tables. A standard live dealer table plays exactly the rules described here. At a live dealer table you place your chip directly on any single number, including zero, for a straight up, on the line between two numbers for a split, on the outer edge of a row for a street, or at the corner where four numbers meet⁷. Hoiana Roulette, a house variant in Vietnam, offers the full range of inside bets (straight up, split, street, corner, top line, six line) and outside bets (column, dozen, low/high, red/black, even/odd), with standing bets allowed¹².

Electronic roulette. Terminals and e-roulette machines, such as those at Ha Tien Vegas, carry the same payout table as the live game: straight up 35 to 1, split 17 to 1, street 11 to 1, corner 8 to 1, six line 5 to 1¹⁴. Online versions widen the stakes dramatically: one crypto casino's roulette lets you wager between $0.01 and $20,000²⁴, and another offers bets ranging from $1 to $300,000²⁴. Standard European roulette online has a house edge of approximately 2.70%².

Lightning Roulette. This is a live dealer version of European Roulette with RNG enhancements, played on numbers 0 and 1 to 36¹⁶. It offers the full familiar menu of bets: straight, split, street, corner, six line, column, dozen, odd and even, red and black, and high/low¹⁶. The twist is Lucky Numbers and Lucky Payouts: bonuses start at 50x and rise to 2,000x your bet²². The trade-off is that straight bet payouts are limited to 30 to 1 instead of 35 to 1, while all the other bet types, including the dozens, red and black, odd and even, and high and low, pay the regular European payouts¹⁶.

Double Ball Roulette. Played on a single-zero European wheel using two balls instead of one, with stakes from $0.20 to $4,000 and its own payout structure²². Because it uses a single-zero wheel, its base house edge is 2.70%²².

French roulette online. Some online tables add the en prison and la partage rules described above, which is what brings the even-money edge down to 1.35%².

Whatever version you play, check two things before your first chip: how many zeroes are on the wheel, and whether the straight up pays 35 to 1 or something less. Those two facts tell you almost everything about the value of the table.

Age and entry

Most countries set the minimum age for betting at 18³, and online roulette tables typically state 18+ in their rules¹³. Japan is stricter: you must be 20 years old to bet²⁵. In practice, the age that applies to you is the one at the venue you walk into, so check the casino's own entry rule before you go; our casinos and integrated resorts guide covers who can enter where in Asia.