Odds and payouts are not the same
The odds of a bet are how likely it is to win. The payout is what the table pays when it does. A fair game would pay exactly in line with the odds, but roulette pays slightly less. That small gap is the house edge.
Take a single number on a European wheel. There are 37 pockets, so the true odds are 36 to 1 against: on average you'd expect to hit once every 37 spins. A fair game would pay 36 to 1. Roulette pays 35 to 1. Over 37 spins of $1 you'd stake $37, win once and get back $36 (your $35 win plus the $1 stake). That missing $1 in every $37 is a house edge of 2.70%.
The house edge is the same for (almost) every bet
This is the most useful thing to know about roulette: the payouts are set so that every bet carries the same edge. Red or black, a dozen, a corner or a single number all lose 2.70% of what you bet over the long run on a European wheel, and 5.26% on an American wheel. No bet is "better value" than another. They only differ in how often they win and how big the wins are.
The one exception is the American top line (0, 00, 1, 2 and 3), which pays 6 to 1 and has a house edge of 7.89%, the worst bet on the table.
European wheel: odds for every bet
| Bet | Numbers | Pays | Chance to win | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 | 35 to 1 | 2.7% (1 in 37) | 2.70% |
| Split | 2 | 17 to 1 | 5.4% (1 in 18.5) | 2.70% |
| Street | 3 | 11 to 1 | 8.1% (1 in 12.33) | 2.70% |
| Trio | 3 | 11 to 1 | 8.1% (1 in 12.33) | 2.70% |
| Corner | 4 | 8 to 1 | 10.8% (1 in 9.25) | 2.70% |
| First four (0, 1, 2, 3) | 4 | 8 to 1 | 10.8% (1 in 9.25) | 2.70% |
| Six line | 6 | 5 to 1 | 16.2% (1 in 6.17) | 2.70% |
| Dozen | 12 | 2 to 1 | 32.4% (1 in 3.08) | 2.70% |
| Column | 12 | 2 to 1 | 32.4% (1 in 3.08) | 2.70% |
| Red or black | 18 | 1 to 1 | 48.6% (1 in 2.06) | 2.70% |
| Odd or even | 18 | 1 to 1 | 48.6% (1 in 2.06) | 2.70% |
| Low or high | 18 | 1 to 1 | 48.6% (1 in 2.06) | 2.70% |
American wheel: odds for every bet
| Bet | Numbers | Pays | Chance to win | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 | 35 to 1 | 2.6% (1 in 38) | 5.26% |
| Split | 2 | 17 to 1 | 5.3% (1 in 19) | 5.26% |
| Street | 3 | 11 to 1 | 7.9% (1 in 12.67) | 5.26% |
| Trio | 3 | 11 to 1 | 7.9% (1 in 12.67) | 5.26% |
| Basket (0, 00, 2) | 3 | 11 to 1 | 7.9% (1 in 12.67) | 5.26% |
| Corner | 4 | 8 to 1 | 10.5% (1 in 9.5) | 5.26% |
| Top line (0, 00, 1, 2, 3) | 5 | 6 to 1 | 13.2% (1 in 7.6) | 7.89% |
| Six line | 6 | 5 to 1 | 15.8% (1 in 6.33) | 5.26% |
| Dozen | 12 | 2 to 1 | 31.6% (1 in 3.17) | 5.26% |
| Column | 12 | 2 to 1 | 31.6% (1 in 3.17) | 5.26% |
| Red or black | 18 | 1 to 1 | 47.4% (1 in 2.11) | 5.26% |
| Odd or even | 18 | 1 to 1 | 47.4% (1 in 2.11) | 5.26% |
| Low or high | 18 | 1 to 1 | 47.4% (1 in 2.11) | 5.26% |
What the house edge means in practice
The house edge doesn't tell you what happens on one spin. Anything can happen on one spin. It tells you what happens on average over many. If you bet $10 a spin for 100 spins, you'd expect to lose about $27.03 on a European wheel, or $52.63 on an American wheel. Some sessions will end well ahead and others well behind, but the more you play, the closer the result tends to get to that average.
That's why casinos don't mind big winners: over millions of spins, the edge always adds up. It is also why the choice of wheel matters more than the choice of bet: an American wheel roughly doubles the edge.
Common myths
- "Red is due after five blacks." No. The wheel has no memory. The chance of red is exactly the same on every spin, whatever came before. This mistake is called the gambler's fallacy.
- "Hot numbers keep coming up." In a fair game, a number that came up three times recently is no more likely to come up again. Our history strip shows recent results for fun, not as a prediction.
- "A clever system can beat the edge." Changing your bet size can change how a session feels, but not the edge on each bet. See Roulette Betting Systems: The Honest Truth.
Our game uses the same fair odds as a real wheel. Every spin picks one pocket at random with equal chance, using your browser's secure random number generator, before the wheel starts turning.