Roulette Strategy: Odds and Payouts

Contributor | July 2nd, 2013

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Classic Roulette may look simple, but there's far more to this popular casino game than meets the eye. In addition to the option of risking your chips on one of 37 numbers for a bumper payout, there are plenty of other combinations that all have their own distinct odds. To help clear things up, take a look at this brief guide to the complicated world of Roulette betting.

Basic Odds

Payouts in Roulette are based on the range of numbers you choose, represented as a fraction of the total numbers excluding 0. If you were to bet on 4 numbers (a corner), for example, you'll receive odds of 36/4, or 9/1. This means that a winning bet of £1 would produce a profit of £8, taking your total to £9 after you take into account your original stake.

It's important to note that the house generally holds an edge with Roulette, though, with the odds you receive failing to account for either 0 or 00.

Even Bets

The bets for red or black, odd or even, 1 to 18 and 19 to 36 are all even bets, meaning they pay out at 2/1. This means that you supposedly have an even chance of doubling your money, although the existence of 0 again gives the house a slight advantage. This means that, in reality, you have a 47.37% chance of winning when making an even bet. Whilst evens bets are technically the best chance of making money on Roulette, you have to commit large amounts of cash to make a decent return.

Number Groups in Thirds

The next best odds in Roulette betting are for the thirds boxes. You can choose from 1-12, 13-24 and 25-36, with each of these choices paying out at 3/1 - a bet of £10, for example, would see a return of £30. As with the other options, the presence of the green 0 means that the actual chance of winning here is 31.58%.

Six Line

Betting on a six-line (between two rows) covers all six numbers in that row (a sixth of the given numbers) and pays out at 6/1. The actual odds of winning are 15.79%.

First Five

Moving to the top of the table, you can cover five numbers (including the two zeros) for odds of 7/1, meaning that a £10 bet would return £70. The odds of winning are 13.16%.

Corner

A 'corner' bet, covering 4 numbers, pays out at 9/1, with real odds of 10.53%.

Street

Betting a 'street', otherwise known as a single row of 3 numbers, pays out at 12/1. The odds of winning are really 7.8%.

Split

A 'split' bet, over any 2 numbers, pays 18/1, with real odds of 5.26%.

Single Number

Betting on a single number is the most exciting option on the Roulette table, potentially delivering a mega-payout of 36/1. A £10 bet could return an enormous £360, although this extra gain is reflected by the much higher risk. Despite the attractive nature of the payout, the real odds of hitting a single number are as low as 2.63%.

Discovering the real odds of your selection is a great way to improve your tactics when betting on roulette. If you want a little practice before heading to a real casino, sign up with Mr Green Casino today.