Roulette basics
In roulette you bet on where a ball will land on a spinning wheel of numbered pockets. Every standard bet on a European wheel has the same 2.7% house edge, because the single green zero wins for the house. American wheels add a double zero and almost double the edge to 5.26%, so always choose European.
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Roulette is one of the simplest casino games to learn and one of the easiest to misunderstand. The rules take two minutes. The odds take a little longer, and they’re what decide how much a session costs you. This guide covers both, with Rand examples.
How roulette works
The wheel has numbered pockets: 1 to 36, alternately red and black, plus a green 0. American wheels add a second green pocket, 00. You place chips on the table layout to bet on where the ball will land. The dealer spins the wheel, drops the ball, and pays bets that cover the winning pocket.
Online, you’ll find two kinds of roulette:
- RNG roulette: a computer game using a random number generator. Fast, with low minimums.
- Live roulette: a real wheel and dealer streamed from a studio. See our live casino guide.
Inside bets
Inside bets go on the numbered grid. They pay more because they win less often.
| Bet | Covers | Pays | Chance to win (European) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 number | 35 to 1 | 2.7% |
| Split | 2 adjacent numbers | 17 to 1 | 5.4% |
| Street | 3 numbers in a row | 11 to 1 | 8.1% |
| Corner | 4 numbers in a square | 8 to 1 | 10.8% |
| Six line | 6 numbers (two rows) | 5 to 1 | 16.2% |
Outside bets
Outside bets go around the edge of the layout. They win more often and pay less.
| Bet | Covers | Pays | Chance to win (European) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red or black | 18 numbers | 1 to 1 | 48.6% |
| Odd or even | 18 numbers | 1 to 1 | 48.6% |
| Low (1-18) or high (19-36) | 18 numbers | 1 to 1 | 48.6% |
| Dozen (1-12, 13-24, 25-36) | 12 numbers | 2 to 1 | 32.4% |
| Column | 12 numbers | 2 to 1 | 32.4% |
The zero isn’t covered by any outside bet. That’s why red or black wins 48.6% of the time, not 50%.
Where the house edge comes from
Every payout in roulette is set as if the zero didn’t exist. A straight-up bet pays 35 to 1, which would be fair on a wheel of 36 numbers. But there are 37 pockets on a European wheel, so the casino keeps the difference.
House edge (European) = 1 ÷ 37 = 2.7% House edge (American) = 2 ÷ 38 = 5.26%
The important consequence: on a European wheel, every standard bet has the same 2.7% edge. Red or black, a single number, a corner: all cost you, on average, R2.70 for every R100 you bet. The only thing your choice changes is how bumpy the ride is.
La partage and en prison
Some European and French tables use la partage: if zero comes up, even-money bets (red/black, odd/even, high/low) lose only half their stake. That cuts the edge on those bets to 1.35%. “En prison” works similarly. If you mostly bet red or black, look for these rules on the table’s info screen.
Avoid the five-number bet
On American wheels, the “top line” bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 pays 6 to 1 and carries a 7.9% house edge, the worst bet on the table.
A worked example in Rands
Say you have R500 and play European roulette at R10 a spin for 100 spins. That’s R1,000 in total bets.
- Expected loss: about R27 (2.7% of R1,000), whatever you bet on.
- If you bet R10 on red every spin: you’d expect around 49 wins and 51 losses, and your balance would usually finish somewhere between about R400 and R600.
- If you bet R10 on a single number every spin: you’d expect about 2 or 3 wins at R350 each, but many sessions have none or just one, and some have four or five. The range of outcomes is far wider.
Same average cost, very different experience. Bet on outside bets if you want your money to last; inside bets if you want a small chance of a big hit.
Betting systems don’t change the odds
Every roulette system manages your stakes, not the wheel. The best known:
- Martingale: double after each loss. You win your base stake when you eventually win, but seven losses in a row on red (about a 1 in 100 event) means your eighth bet is 128 times your base stake. At R10, that’s R1,280 on one spin to win R10. Table limits stop the sequence before long.
- Reverse Martingale (Paroli): double after each win. Shorter losing streaks, but it gives back a run of wins on a single loss.
- D’Alembert and Fibonacci: gentler progressions with the same underlying problem.
None of these change the 2.7% that every single bet costs. They just rearrange when you win and lose. See our bankroll management guide for a more useful way to think about stakes.
Myths about roulette
- “Red is due.” The wheel has no memory. After ten reds, the chance of black on the next spin is still 48.6%.
- “Hot and cold numbers.” The scoreboards show past results only. They don’t predict anything.
- “Online roulette is rigged.” Licensed RNG games are tested, and live tables use physical wheels on camera. The edge is built into the payouts, not hidden in the software.
Roulette variants you’ll see
- European roulette: single zero, 2.7% edge. Your default choice.
- French roulette: single zero, often with la partage. The best odds on even-money bets.
- American roulette: double zero, 5.26% edge. Avoid it when a European table is available.
- Lightning-style roulette: random multipliers of up to several hundred times on straight-up numbers, but straight-up wins pay less (often 29 to 1) to fund them. The overall return is similar or slightly lower.
- Mini roulette: 13 pockets, higher edge on most bets.
Choosing between RNG and live roulette
Both kinds use the same payouts and the same house edge for the same wheel, so the choice comes down to pace and price.
- RNG roulette is fast. A spin can take five seconds, so 100 spins can be over in under ten minutes, and the expected loss arrives just as fast. Minimum bets are often very low.
- Live roulette is slower, usually one spin a minute or so, with a real dealer and other players. Fewer spins per hour means a lower expected cost per hour at the same stake, even though the edge per spin is identical.
At R10 a spin and a 2.7% edge, 600 RNG spins an hour cost about R162 on average, while 50 live spins an hour cost about R13.50. If roulette is entertainment for you, the slower game gives you more of it for your money.
Roulette and bonuses
Roulette usually counts very little towards bonus wagering, often 0% to 20%, and covering both red and black is treated as bonus abuse. If you prefer roulette, a bonus built for slots rarely helps you. Our guide to bonus terms that cost you money explains game weighting.
Practical tips
- Choose European or French over American, every time.
- Pick a stake that gives you enough spins. As a rule of thumb, your session budget divided by 50 is a sensible maximum stake.
- Decide a stop point for both losses and wins before you start.
- Use a reality check: RNG roulette spins every few seconds.
The bottom line
Roulette is a fair-looking game with a fixed, built-in cost: 2.7% on a European wheel, almost double that on an American one. No bet or system changes that. Enjoy it for what it is, keep stakes small relative to your budget, and stop when the money you set aside is gone. Free help is available on 0800 006 008.
Browse our table games and live casino pages for more.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play roulette?
Place chips on the table layout to bet on a number, a group of numbers, a colour or odd/even. The dealer (or the game) spins the wheel and drops the ball, and bets covering the winning pocket are paid at fixed odds.
What is the best bet in roulette?
On a European wheel every standard bet has the same 2.7% house edge, so no bet is better on average. Outside bets like red/black win more often but pay less; a single number wins rarely but pays 35 to 1.
What is the difference between European and American roulette?
European roulette has 37 pockets (1 to 36 plus a single zero); American has 38 (adding a double zero). The extra pocket raises the house edge from 2.7% to 5.26%.
Does the Martingale system work in roulette?
No. Doubling your bet after each loss wins small amounts often but eventually hits a losing streak that your bankroll or the table limit can't cover. The house edge applies to every bet in the sequence.
What does the zero do in roulette?
The zero is neither red nor black, odd nor even. When it comes up, outside bets lose (some tables return half on even-money bets under la partage rules). That pocket is where the house edge comes from.
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Mark has been writing about online gaming since 2007, covering everything from sportsbooks to casino and slot reviews, offering insights for players of all levels.