The Most Important Roulette Terms: Our Ultimate Glossary

Roulette may be one of the easiest games to get started with, especially if you stick with the simple bets. However, if you start to delve a bit deeper, it all starts to sound a little more complicated. This is mostly because of the confusing roulette terms, which can sometimes sound like a foreign language.

The good news is that once you know the terms, you are ready to get started on any of the different games or variations, whether you play at a land-based casino or play roulette online.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the most important roulette terms so you can get started!

The Most Common Roulette Terms

Here is the most common roulette terminology you will encounter.

American Roulette

American Roulette is played on a wheel with 38 numbered pockets and has a house edge of 5.26% due to the presence of a double zero pocket (00) on the wheel. This is in contrast to the European version of roulette, which is played on a wheel with 37 numbered pockets and only has a single zero pocket which has a house edge of 2.70%

Call Bets

Special bets that are placed on certain sections of the roulette wheel, and they are called out by the player rather than being placed on the betting table. Examples include:

• Voisins du Zéro: a bet on the numbers surrounding zero on the wheel.
• Tiers du Cylindre: a bet on the numbers opposite zero on the wheel.
• Orphelins: a bet on the numbers not covered by the Voisins du Zéro or Tiers du Cylindre bets.
• Neighbours of Zero: a bet on zero and the numbers immediately to its left and right.

Call bets allow players to bet on specific sections of the wheel, rather than individual numbers.

Chips

Chips are what you place on the roulette table to denote what bet you want to make and how much you want to bet.

Column Bets

A column bet is a type of outside bet that covers one of the three columns of numbers on the betting table. Each column contains 12 numbers and is represented by the “2 to 1” section at the end of the table. If any number in the chosen column is hit, the player will receive a payout of 2:1

Combination Bets

A type of bet that covers multiple numbers or sections of the wheel in a single wager. Some popular combination bets include:

• Split bet: covers two numbers by placing chips on the line separating them.
• Street bet: covers three numbers in a row by placing chips at the end of a row.
• Corner bet: covers four numbers by placing chips at the corner where the numbers meet.
• Six-line bet: covers six numbers by placing chips on the line separating two rows of three numbers.

Combination bets offer higher payouts than individual number bets but also come with a higher risk.

Corner Bet

A type of combination bet that covers four numbers on the wheel. This bet is made by placing chips at the corner where the four numbers meet. It pays out at 8:1.

Dozen Bets

An outside bet that covers a group of 12 numbers on the wheel. To make a dozen bet, a player places their chips in the designated area for “1st 12,” “2nd 12,” or “3rd 12” on the roulette table. If successful, the player will receive a payout of 2:1.

European Roulette

European Roulette is played on a wheel with 37 pockets (numbers 1 to 36 and a single zero). One of the key differences between European Roulette and other versions such as American Roulette is that it has only one zero pocket, while the American version has two (a single zero and a double zero).

French Roulette

French Roulette is similar to European Roulette, but with a few differences.
The major difference is the use of additional rules, such as La Partage. If a player makes an even money bet and the ball lands on zero will only lose half of their bet.

High/Low Bet

An outside bet that covers either the high or low numbers on the wheel. They bet on either “1-18” or “19-36”. If they win, it pays out at 1:1.

Inside Bets

The player bets on a specific number or a small group of numbers on the roulette table. Examples of inside bets include Straight Up, Split, Street, and Corner bets.

Live Roulette

A version of online roulette which involves a real human dealer who leads a game from a studio which is live-streamed to the player’s screen.

Odd/Even Bets

An outside bet that allows players to bet on whether the ball will land on an odd or even number. This bet pays 1:1.

Outside Bets

Bets placed on the outer edge of the betting area on the roulette table. These bets cover a larger section of numbers, typically groups of 12 or 18 numbers. Examples of outside bets include Red or Black, Even or Odd, Low or High, Dozen Bets and Column Bets.

Pockets

Roulette pockets are the numbered pockets on the Roulette wheel where the ball lands after being spun. The number of pockets can vary. There are 37 in European Roulette and 38 in American Roulette.

Red/Black Bets

This is an outside bet that allows players to bet on the colour of the pocket that the ball will land in.

Roulette Strategies

A roulette strategy is something that players use to try to maximise their wins. The most common roulette strategies are Martingale, Reverse Martingale, D’Alembert, Fibonacci and Labouchere.

Straight Up Bets

An inside bet that allows players to bet on a single number.

So, hopefully, you now feel prepared to play, armed with all the roulette terms and vocab you need. Why not try out your newfound knowledge by heading over to our live casino today and taking a spin on the wheel?

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