Roulette Odds
When you are playing roulette, it is important that you know the odds of all the bets available so you know what the best value bets are, and what bets the casino have the biggest edge on. If you know where the best value lies, and where the casino is ripping you off, you can work out where you are best putting your chips on the roulette table.
The one thing you have to remember is that every casino game has a house edge, so even if you are betting on a 50/50 chance, the house will not pay you 1:1 on it, or they will have something slightly pushing it in their favour. In the case of roulette, it’s the 0 and 00 on the wheel that gives them the edge on a lot of the bets available on the roulette table. The odds are different on an American than on a European table, because the American wheel has 0 and 00, while the European table has only a 0. However, all bets pay the same
Let’s take a look at the odds on an American roulette, and what the casino will pay you.When you are playing roulette, it is important that you know the odds of all the bets available so you know what the best value bets are, and what bets the casino have the biggest edge on. If you know where the best value lies, and where the casino is ripping you off, you can work out where you are best putting your chips on the roulette table.
The one thing you have to remember is that every casino game has a house edge, so even if you are betting on a 50/50 chance, the house will not pay you 1:1 on it, or they will have something slightly pushing it in their favour. In the case of roulette, it’s the 0 and 00 on the wheel that gives them the edge on a lot of the bets available on the roulette table. The odds are different on an American than on a European table, because the American wheel has 0 and 00, while the European table has only a 0. However, all bets pay the same.
Let’s take a look at the odds on an American roulette, and what the casino will pay you.
American Roulette Betting Odds:
| Casino Payout | Actual Odds | |
| One number | 35/1 | 37/1 |
| 0 & 00 | 17/1 | 18/1 |
| Split (2 numbers) | 17/1 | 18/1 |
| Basket | 11/1 | 11.7/1 |
| Street (3 numbers) | 11/1 | 11.7/1 |
| Corner (4 numbers) | 8/1 | 8.5/1 |
| Six line (6 numbers) | 5/1 | 5.33/1 |
| Column (12 numbers) | 2/1 | 2.2/1 |
| Dozens (12 numbers) | 2/1 | 2.2/1 |
| Odd/Even (18 numbers) | 1/1 | 1.1/1 |
| Red/Black (18 numbers) | 1/1 | 1.1/1 |
| 1-18/19-36 (18 numbers) | 1/1 | 1.1/1 |
Now let’s take a look at the odds when you’re playing on a European roulette table, with the single 0 instead of 0 and 00.
European Roulette Betting Odds:
| Casino Payout | Actual Odds | |
| One number | 35/1 | 36/1 |
| Split (2 numbers) | 17/1 | 17.5/1 |
| Street (3 numbers) | 11/1 | 11.3/1 |
| Corner (4 numbers) | 8/1 | 8.25/1 |
| Six line (6 numbers) | 5/1 | 5.17/1 |
| Column (12 numbers) | 2/1 | 2.1/1 |
| Dozens (12 numbers) | 2/1 | 2.1/1 |
| Odd/Even (18 numbers) | 1/1 | 1.05/1 |
| Red/Black (18 numbers) | 1/1 | 1.05/1 |
| 1-18/19-36 (18 numbers) | 1/1 | 1.05/1 |
So, while it’s fairly obvious that playing on a European roulette wheel because there is one less number in the house’s favour, you can also see by the tables above that you get better value on your bets by playing on the European roulette wheel. While the margins don’t look like much, the more you can get the odds in your favour, the better your chances of winning are. In fact, the margins are a lot lower on the 50/50 bets, compared to the bets with few numbers, such as splits,, corners and, most importantly, a straight one number bet.
While a lot of casinos in America do not have European roulette tables, nearly every online casino that offers roulette will give you the option to play on a European roulette table, and, as you can see from above, it’s well worthwhile taking your game to those wheels instead of the more traditional American wheels. Having an understanding of the odds of each casino game you play is important, and you should never go in not knowing exactly what the house edge is.
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Practically every player who is new to Roulette will come up with their very own betting system. 