Roulette bets explained: table layout, inside and outside bets

Key facts

The roulette table layout puts 1 to 36 in 12 rows of three, with zero at the head. Inside bets go on the numbers, outside bets on the boxes around them, and call bets on the racetrack.
Inside bets cover 1 to 6 numbers and pay 35 to 1 down to 5 to 1. Outside bets cover 12 or 18 numbers and pay 2 to 1 or 1 to 1. Zero is never part of an outside bet.
On a single zero wheel every standard bet loses the same 2.70% on average. What changes is the swing: in our calculation 100 spins at $5 swing about $50 on red but about $292 on a single number.
Approved Australian rules make you responsible for where your chips sit, close betting at 'no more bets' and let you withdraw a winning bet before the next spin.

Roulette bets explained in one minute

A roulette bet is a set of numbers, picked by where you put your chip. There are three families:

Inside bets sit on the numbered grid and cover 1 to 6 numbers.
Outside bets sit in the boxes around the grid and cover 12 or 18 numbers.
Call bets cover sections of the wheel and are made on a racetrack area next to the layout.

On a single zero wheel every standard bet carries the same 2.70% house edge, so this page is about what each bet is and how it behaves, not which one is "best". For the payout, true odds and win chance of every bet in one table, see roulette odds.

The roulette table layout

The roulette table layout is a grid of 36 numbers in 12 rows of three, with zero across the top. Victoria's approved rules define the pieces of it precisely: a street is any three consecutive numbers ending in a multiple of 3, or 0, 1, 2, or 0, 2, 3; and the three columns are fixed sets of 12.

The top and bottom of the grid look like this:

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
0 (across the top)
1	2	3
4	5	6
7	8	9
...	...	...
34	35	36
Column bet (2 to 1)	Column bet (2 to 1)	Column bet (2 to 1)

Along the side run the dozens (1 to 12, 13 to 24, 25 to 36) and the six even-money boxes: 1 to 18, even, red, black, odd and 19 to 36. On a double zero layout, 00 sits beside 0 at the top; on Victoria's triple zero Crown Roulette layout there is a 000 (or Crown symbol) as well.

Inside bets roulette players use

Inside bets go directly on the numbers. Where you put the chip decides how many numbers it covers.

Bet	Chip position	Numbers	Example	Pays
Straight up	In the middle of a number	1	17	35 to 1
Split	On the line between two adjacent numbers	2	17 and 20	17 to 1
Street	On the outer edge of a row	3	16, 17, 18	11 to 1
Corner	Where four numbers meet	4	13, 14, 16, 17	8 to 1
Six line	Where two streets meet at the edge	6	13 to 18	5 to 1

Zero can be part of inside bets: 0 with 1, 2 or 3 as splits, the streets 0, 1, 2 and 0, 2, 3, and a four-number bet on 0, 1, 2, 3, which Tasmania's rules list as a "Four-Line" at 8 to 1 and Victoria's as a corner. On a double zero table there is also the five-number bet on 0, 00, 1, 2, 3 at 6 to 1, the costliest bet in standard roulette at 7.89%; the American roulette guide explains why.

Outside bets roulette tables offer

Bet	Chip position	Numbers	Pays
Column	Box at the end of a column	12	2 to 1
Dozen	1st 12, 2nd 12 or 3rd 12 box	12	2 to 1
Low or high	1 to 18 or 19 to 36 box	18	1 to 1
Even or odd	Even or odd box	18	1 to 1
Red or black	Colour box	18	1 to 1

Zero is in none of them, which is the whole house edge on outside bets: when 0 lands, the approved rules in every jurisdiction we read say all bets that do not include zero lose. The exception is a French table that uses La Partage, where even-money bets lose only half; see French roulette.

Call bets on the racetrack

Call bets cover parts of the wheel rather than parts of the layout. They are defined in the approved rules as bundles of ordinary bets:

Call bet	What it covers	Chips
Neighbours	A number plus the 1, 2 or 3 numbers either side of it on the wheel	3, 5 or 7
Tiers (series 5/8)	The 12 numbers on the side of the wheel opposite zero	6
Orphelins (orphans)	The 8 numbers not in Tiers or Voisins	5
Voisins du Zero	The 17 numbers around zero	9
Zero game	The 7 numbers closest to zero	4
Finales	Every number ending in the same digit, e.g. finales of 1 = 1, 11, 21, 31	3 to 6

In the ACT's approved rules a neighbours bet is five pieces, for example 3, 26, 0, 32, 15. Exact chip positions and the payout of each are worked through in our European roulette guide, which also lists the wheel order these bets follow.

How placing a bet works in an Australian casino

The approved rules in Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT say much the same thing about chips:

You can play with value chips or colour chips. Colour chips (Tasmania calls them wheel checks) carry no printed value; you declare the value when you buy them, and they can only be used at the table that issued them.
Where your chip sits is your responsibility, even if the dealer helped place it. Make sure any instruction to the dealer is carried out correctly.
Betting closes at "no more bets". After that nothing can be placed, changed or removed until the spin is settled, though a winning bet may be withdrawn before the next spin.
Limits are on a sign at the table. In Victoria the Casino Control Act 1991 requires the minimum and maximum to be displayed, and a higher minimum needs a sign up at least 20 minutes before it starts. A bet under the minimum is paid or collected once and then you are told further ones will be returned; a bet over the maximum is settled only up to the maximum.
No side bets between players. The ACT's rules say players may not bet with each other, and casino staff may not advise you how to play beyond explaining the rules.

Pundit tip: with inside bets near the edge of a row, say out loud what you meant ("street 16 to 18") when you place them. The rules settle your bet where the chip sits, not where you intended it.

How much each bet swings

Every bet costs the same on average, but the ride is very different. In our calculation, for 100 spins at $5 on a single zero wheel (expected loss $13.51 whichever you pick):

Bet	Typical swing either way (one standard deviation)	Spins for an even chance of at least one win	Chance of no win in 10 spins
Straight up	$292	25.3	76.0%
Split	$204	12.5	57.4%
Street	$164	8.2	42.9%
Corner	$140	6.1	31.9%
Six line	$111	3.9	17.0%
Dozen or column	$70	1.8	2.0%
Even money	$50	1.0	0.13%

Inside bets are the lottery tickets of roulette: long dry spells and occasional big hits. Outside bets keep you at the table longer for the same expected cost. You can turn any payout into the win chance it implies with our implied probability calculator.

Bets on electronic and live tables

The same bets appear on electronic terminals. Victoria's approved TouchBet Roulette, for example, links up to fifty touch-screen betting stations to a real wheel, and settles bets by what the screen shows when betting closes. Online versions are covered in our live roulette guide, but note that online roulette cannot legally be offered to people in Australia; our online roulette Australia page has the detail.

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Frequently asked questions

What are inside bets in roulette?

Inside bets are placed on the numbered part of the layout: a straight-up on one number, a split on two, a street on three, a corner on four and a six line on six. They pay 35, 17, 11, 8 and 5 to 1 and win less often the more they pay.

What are outside bets in roulette?

Outside bets go in the boxes around the numbers: the three columns, the three dozens, and the even-money chances (red, black, odd, even, 1 to 18 and 19 to 36). They cover 12 or 18 numbers, never include zero, and pay 2 to 1 or 1 to 1.

How is the roulette table layout arranged?

Numbers 1 to 36 run in 12 rows of three, so each row is a street ending in a multiple of 3, and the three long columns are 1, 4, 7 up to 34; 2, 5, 8 up to 35; and 3, 6, 9 up to 36. Zero sits at the top, and a double zero layout adds 00 beside it.

Which roulette bet is best?

On a single zero wheel none is better value: every standard bet costs 2.70% on average. Outside bets give a smoother ride and inside bets a bumpier one. The only bets to avoid are the double zero five-number bet (7.89%) and anything on a triple zero wheel (7.69%).

What are call bets in roulette?

Call bets cover sections of the wheel rather than the layout, such as the neighbours of a number, Tiers, Orphelins and Voisins du Zero. They are made on a racetrack area and are bundles of ordinary splits, streets and straight-ups, with the same edge.