Roulette
Roulette is the easiest game in the casino to price. Count the pockets, look at what a bet pays, and you have the house edge. The number of zeros on the wheel tells you nearly everything you need to know.
One wheel, two prices
The wheel comes in two common forms. The single-zero wheel has 37 pockets, 1 to 36 and a zero. The double-zero wheel, the one you will usually find in American casinos, adds a 00 for 38 pockets. The payouts are the same on both. The extra pocket is pure profit for the house.
Every payout on the layout is set as if the wheel had 36 pockets. A single number pays 35 to 1, which would be a fair price if there were 36 numbers and no zeros. The zeros are where the casino lives. On a single-zero wheel it keeps 1 pocket in 37, which is 2.70 percent of everything bet. On a double-zero wheel it keeps 2 in 38, which is 5.26 percent, nearly double the price for the same game.
So the first thing I'd do at any roulette table is count the zeros. If a single-zero wheel is on offer at a minimum you can live with, play that one. If it costs more per spin, do the sum: a $25 bet at 2.70 percent costs about $0.68 a spin on average, and a $10 bet at 5.26 percent costs about $0.53, so the better wheel can still cost you more a spin if it makes you bet more than you meant to.
The bets
Here are the main bets on a double-zero wheel, with what they cover and pay.
| Bet | Numbers covered | Pays | Chance of winning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 | 35 to 1 | 2.63% |
| Split | 2 | 17 to 1 | 5.26% |
| Street | 3 | 11 to 1 | 7.89% |
| Corner | 4 | 8 to 1 | 10.53% |
| Five-number (0, 00, 1, 2, 3) | 5 | 6 to 1 | 13.16% |
| Six line | 6 | 5 to 1 | 15.79% |
| Dozen or column | 12 | 2 to 1 | 31.58% |
| Red, black, odd, even, high, low | 18 | 1 to 1 | 47.37% |
Every one of those bets except one has the same edge, 5.26 percent, because every payout follows the same rule: 36 divided by the numbers covered, minus your stake. A corner covers 4 numbers, 36 over 4 is 9, and it pays 8 to 1. Betting red or betting your birthday costs exactly the same per dollar over time. The difference is only in how bumpy the ride is.
The exception is the five-number bet, and it is worse. It wins 5 times in 38 and pays 6 to 1. Over 38 spins at $1 you win $30 five times and lose $1 thirty-three times, for a loss of $3 in $38, or 7.89 percent. It is the worst bet on the layout and it sits right next to the zeros, where people like to put chips. I'd never bet it.
Rules that cut the price
Some single-zero tables carry a rule that gives back half of an even-money bet when the ball lands on zero. It goes by la partage, and a version called en prison holds the bet for the next spin instead. Either way, it halves the edge on red, black, odd, even, high and low, from 2.70 percent to 1.35. That makes the even-money bets at such a table about as cheap as the pass line at craps. It applies only to the even-money bets, so if you find one, that is where I'd put the money.
The scoreboard
Most roulette tables have a lit board showing the last numbers to come up. The casino didn't put it there to help you. A wheel has no memory. If red has come up eight times in a row, the chance of red on the next spin is still 18 in 38, the same as it was on the first. The board is there because people who think they see a pattern bet more, and bet faster.
The same goes for systems. Doubling after every loss, betting the numbers that are "due", spreading chips to cover most of the layout: none of it touches the 5.26 percent, because every bet on the table carries it (or worse). The Martingale page shows what happens to the doubling plan when it meets a losing run and a table maximum.
Speed and screens
Roulette's edge is plain, but it is charged on every spin, and the cost adds up with how fast the game goes. A crowded table spins slowly. An automated or online wheel can spin far faster, and the faster it goes, the more you put through it in an hour. The house edge page has the arithmetic per hour, and the live dealers page covers wheels you watch through a camera. Whether you can play online at all depends on the state you live in.
I like roulette as a game to sit at for an evening with a set amount, at the cheapest wheel in the house, betting the outside. It is honest about its price. Just remember that the price is paid on every spin, and if the evening starts running longer than the money you set aside, read responsible gambling.