How to play roulette: every bet, what it pays, and the odds

Roulette is simple to play and has been the centrepiece of casinos for two hundred years. A wheel with numbered pockets spins, a ball drops into one of them, and every bet that covers that number wins. All the strategy is in choosing what to cover: one number for a big payout and a small chance, or half the table for even money and a near coin-flip.

The table here is European roulette: 37 pockets, numbered 1 to 36 in red and black, plus a single green zero.

How a spin works

1. 1Choose a chip value from the rack at the bottom.
2. 2Tap the table to place it. Tap again to add another chip on the same spot.
3. 3Place as many chips as you like, anywhere on the table. Undo, double or clear them before you spin.
4. 4Press Spin. The wheel turns, and the ball settles in one pocket.
5. 5Every chip covering that number is paid at its rate and comes back with its stake. Every other chip is lost.

Inside bets: on the numbers

• Straight up — one number, chip in the middle of it. Pays 35 to 1. Wins 1 time in 37 (2.7%).
• Split — two neighbouring numbers, chip on the line between them. Pays 17 to 1. Wins 2 in 37 (5.4%).
• Street — a row of three numbers, chip on the outer edge of the row. Pays 11 to 1. Wins 3 in 37 (8.1%).
• Corner — four numbers that meet at a corner, chip on the crossing point. Pays 8 to 1. Wins 4 in 37 (10.8%).
• Six line — two neighbouring rows, chip on the edge between them. Pays 5 to 1. Wins 6 in 37 (16.2%).

Outside bets: around the edge

• Column (2:1 boxes) — twelve numbers in one long line. Pays 2 to 1. Wins 12 in 37 (32.4%).
• Dozen — 1st 12, 2nd 12 or 3rd 12. Pays 2 to 1. Wins 12 in 37 (32.4%).
• Red or Black, Odd or Even, 1–18 or 19–36 — eighteen numbers each. Pays 1 to 1. Wins 18 in 37 (48.6%).
• Zero is none of these: it is not red or black, odd or even, low or high. When the ball lands on 0, every outside bet loses.

The odds, and why the zero matters

Look at a straight-up bet: there are 37 pockets, but it pays as if there were 36. That one-pocket gap — the zero — is the casino's edge. On a European wheel every bet works out the same way, so every bet gives back 97.30% of what is staked on average over many spins, and the house keeps 2.70%.

An American wheel adds a second zero (00), which doubles the edge to 5.26% — which is why single-zero roulette is the better game. Some tables also offer La Partage: when the ball lands on 0, even-money bets get half their stake back, cutting the edge on those bets to 1.35%. The Rules button in the game always shows the table's current payouts and the return of every bet.

Does any roulette system work?

No. Every spin is independent — the wheel has no memory, so five reds in a row make the next red exactly as likely as before. Systems such as the Martingale (double your bet after every loss) do not change the edge; they trade many small wins for an occasional very large loss, and the table maximum stops the doubling long before it can win back a bad run.

What you can control is how much you stake and when you stop. Pick a budget before you play and keep to it.

Try it free, and check it is fair

Every visitor can play roulette in demo mode with ₹10,000 of play money — no sign-up and no deposit. It is the easiest way to learn where each bet goes.

Real-money spins are provably fair: before each spin you can see the SHA-256 fingerprint of the secret seed that decides it, and afterwards the seed is revealed so your browser can recompute the pocket. Open "Provably Fair" in the game to check any recent spin.

Frequently asked questions

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