One thing that stands out straight away about the above table is that as you cover more numbers with each bet type, the payout is less. For example, betting on odd numbers (just less than half of the numbers on a roulette wheel) pays out just £2 when you place a £1 bet whereas a straight up bet pays out. The zero is often seen as an unlucky number (well it is called the zero)- especially in roulette, as many bets will not pay out if the ball lands in this pocket, such as the outside even money bets, the column bets and the dozens bet and so on. In a way, that´s a little bit unfair on. The value that you get after subtracting one is the payout rate of the bet. For example, a straight-up bet only covers one number, so you should divide 36 by 1 to get 36. Then you would subtract 1 to get 35. Then you know that the payout rate for a straight-up bet is 35:1.
For the most part, calculating roulette payouts is just a matter of multiplication. Each bet pays out at certain odds, and that determines what you multiply the bet by to get the payout. Also, as with most table games, the payouts are done on an X to Y basis, as opposed to an X for Y basis.
Roulette Odds and Payout 2.1. Odds – Roulette inside bets Single number (No. 1) First, when you bet on a Single number (No. 1 in the illustration above), you are at significant risk, but the winning is also a significant 35:1. You can choose digits from 0 to 36 (depending on the type of casino can be 00). The odds of winning are from 1 to 38 in American type or from 1 to 37 European type. Will Roulette Odds Always Pay Out On Time? There’s something that requires close attention when looking at roulette odds and probabilities. The fact that these odds are 37 to one and 36 to one on the American double-zero wheel and the European single-zero wheel respectively doesn’t mean that on every 38 or 37 spins, a winner is found.
This post wants to cover roulette payouts in some degree of detail, though, including how much each bet pays off.
More importantly, I want to explain how the croupier is able to calculate payouts for roulette so quickly. Guess what? They have a system for that.
Payout Odds in Gambling
When you’re gambling on something, you get paid off using odds. Some games offer even odds, which means that if you bet $100, you win $100 when you win.
Most games, though, have various payouts for various kinds of bets.
The top jackpot on a video poker machine pays off at 800 for 1.
And that’s an important distinction. There’s a big difference between a payoff of 800 for 1 and a payoff of 800 to 1.
With table games like roulette, the payoffs are in the form of 2 to 1, 3 to 1, 35 to 1, etc.
This means that if you win the bet, you get to keep the amount you bet, and you get the winnings along with it.
If you bet $100 on a single number at the roulette table and win, you get a payoff of $3,500. But you also get to keep your $100.
With gambling machines, payouts are made on a “for” basis instead of a “to” basis. This means your winnings are traded for what you risked.
If you bet $5 on a slot machine and win a $10 payout, you don’t get your $5 back on top of that.
This is an important distinction you should make. Most gamblers don’t stick just with roulette, so if you’re going to play other games — and you probably will — you should understand how that works.
Specific Payouts in the Game of Roulette
In roulette, you have a huge variety of bets you can place. You bet on a single number. Or you can bet on two numbers — if either of those numbers come up, you win. Or you can bet on three numbers, and if any of those three numbers come up, you win.
The more likely it is for you to win, the lower the payout is.
A bet on black wins almost half the time. The payoff for that bet is only 1 to 1, or even money.
A bet on a single number pays off at 35 to 1, which is a big payoff, but it also only wins 1 out of every 38 spins on average.
The Difference Between the Odds of Winning and the Payout Odds
The casino makes its money from the difference between the odds of winning and the payout odds.
You know how you can express the payout on a bet as odds?
35 to 1 is an example of how you’d express a payoff on the single number bet.
The odds of winning can also be expressed in the same way.
On a standard American roulette wheel, you have 37 ways to lose a single number bet and only one way to win.
This means the odds of winning are 37 to 1.
Since the odds of winning are lower than the payoff for the bet, the casino makes a profit in the long run.
Once out of every 38 spins, they’ll pay off a single number bet, but they’ll only pay off 35 to 1 on that bet. The rest of the money goes into the casino’s pocket.
The casino deals in long-term averages, especially when it comes to roulette.
Roulette Bets and Their Payoffs
Here’s a list of bets you can make at the roulette table and how much each of them pays off.
The Outside Bets
These are the bets on the outside of the betting surface, and they’re the bets that pay off the most often. As a result, you win less with these bets.
Here are the outside bets you can make:
- Red(or Black) – You can bet on the color of the number, and the payout is even money — 1 to 1
- Even (or Odd) – You can bet that the number will be even or odd, and the payout is again even money — 1 to 1
- Low (or High) – You can bet that the number will be 1-18 (low) or 19-36 (high). The payout is even money on this one, too
- Columns – The numbers on the betting surface are organized into three columns. You can bet that the ball will land on one of the numbers in that column. The payoff, if you guess right, is 2 to 1
- Dozens – The numbers can be divided into 1st third (1-12), 2nd third (13-24), and 3rd third (25-36). If you guess right, you get a 2 to 1 payout
On all these outside bets, 0 and 00 count as losses. Those numbers are green, and they’re not considered even or odd, high or low.
The Inside Bets
These are the bets on the inside of the betting surface. They pay out better but have a bigger chance of losing.
Here are the inside bets you can make:
- Straight Up – This is a bet on a single number and pays off at 35 to 1
- Split – This is a bet on two numbers that are next to each other. It pays off at 17 to 1
- Street – This is a bet on three numbers, and it pays off at 11 to 1
- Corners – This is a bet on four numbers, and it pays off at 8 to 1
- The 5-Number Bet – You can only bet on 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3 if you want to bet on five numbers, and it pays off at 6 to 1. This is the only bet on the roulette table with a different house edge from the other bets — 7.89% (the other bets have a house edge of 5.26%)
- Line – This is a bet on six numbers and pays off at 5 to 1
All these bets would be a break-even proposition in the long run IF the wheel didn’t have a green 0 and a green 00.
How the Croupier Makes the Payouts So Quickly
The first thing the croupier does after the decision is to clear all the losing bets off the roulette table. Since he’s intimately familiar with the layout of the betting surface, this doesn’t take long at all.
Also, all the players at the roulette table have chips that are specifically colored so that they have the same color. You can’t use the roulette chips at the other table. This enables the croupier to tell your bet from someone else’s. It’s the color of the chips.
To calculate the payouts, you just multiply the bet by the payout odds.
If someone bet two chips on a single number and it won, you’d multiply 2 by 35 and get 70. That’s how many chips you’d give the player in winnings.
He doesn’t really have a magical system, either. He knows the payouts for the various bets, and he’s able to do the multiplication in his head. It’s easy multiplication, but even if it weren’t, he’d eventually just be able to memorize the correct payout relative to the number of chips bet.
Also, he doesn’t really think of the chips as money. They’re just betting units.
Can Any of This Information Help Me Win at Roulette?
Naw.
Roulette’s a negative expectation game.
You might get lucky in the short run, but if you play long enough, the math behind the payouts will eventually reduce your bankroll to 0.
Conclusion
And that’s how to calculate roulette payouts. You just memorize which bets are possible and how much they pay off. Once you know that, calculating the payouts is just a matter of multiplication.
Croupiers are able to do it quickly because they do it all day every day.
I’m able to make change in my head because I worked for years on cash registers that didn’t calculate change. I know how to subtract from 100 without any effort at all.
Calculating roulette payouts is a similar skill.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Various roulette tables and layouts: American, European, French, English, the new Roulite version, La Boule and CAMMEGH spread-bet roulette:American and European roulette table layout, bets and payouts
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The word 'roulette' is french for 'small wheel'. The original roulette game was also known as 'French Roulette' and it literally took over the European gambling scene in the early 18th century. Today almost all French Roulette tables around the world have been replaced by a European version of the American Roulette.
The American and the European roulette table layouts are practically the same, the main difference is that the European table has one zero position (0) and the American table has two zero positions (0, 00). The other major difference is the sequence of the numbers on the roulette wheel. They are totally different.
The French roulette too has one zero only, but the table layout is slightly different and wider (see picture of table layout below), and there are no individual coloured chips for the players, cash chips are used. Also, a stick is used by the dealer and stickman to announce the winning number, to collect the chips from the table and to pay the winners, which makes the game slower than the American version.
In the American and European roulette individual coloured chips are used for each player and after the outcome the losing chips are collected from the table by hand and the winnings are paid by hand. Play is much faster than the French roulette.
In French casinos 'American Roulette' means a roulette game with double zeros (0, 00 - on the table layout and on the wheel), the same as used in the USA. The American roulette with one zero (or the European version) is referred to as English Roulette to distinguish it from the double-zero American Roulette and to emphasize that it has one zero only (as used in the UK).
However, in many countries (including the UK) the single-zero European roulette is called American Roulette to distinguish it from the French roulette table layout and for the manner the game is played. In some African countries they call it 'Roulette with French numeration on American table'.
To sum up:
- American Roulette can have a single zero or a double zero, but the manner it is played is the same for both, and play is faster than French Roulette. Apart from the zero positions, the table layout is the same. The other major difference is in the roulette wheel, the sequence of the numbers on the wheel is totally different.
- European Roulette, a term mostly used in the USA, is roulette with a single zero regardless of the table layout, could refer to either the American Roulette with a single zero or to the French Roulette as both use the same type of roulette wheel with the same sequence of numbers.
- French Roulette is known everywhere as French Roulette, has a single zero, a wide table layout and have Stickmen that handle the chips.
- American Roulette in USA casinos and in French casinos is referred to the American Roulette with double zeros (0, 00).
- American Roulette in non-US and non-French casinos (for example: in United Kingdom casinos) is referred to the American Roulette with a single zero. In some European casinos the American single zero roulette is called Fair Roulette.
- English Roulette, a term commonly used in French casinos, is referred to the American Roulette with a single zero, as used in United Kingdom casinos.
French roulette table layout
(The odds and payouts are as above)
Inside bets:
A - 1 number, Straight up.
B - 2 numbers, Split.
C - 3 numbers with 0 and 3 Line.
D - 4 numbers with 0 and 4 Corner.
E - 6 numbers, 6 Line.
Outside bets:
F - 12 numbers, Column.
G - 12 numbers, Dozen.
H - Manque/Passe, 1-18/19-36 (Low/High).
I - Pair/Unpair (Even/Odd).
J - Noir/Rouge (Black/Red).
Finales - A type of group bets on numbers ending with the same digit. Examples:
- Final 7 means bet on the numbers 7, 17 and 27 straight up (three chips).
- Final 2 means bet on the numbers 2, 12, 22 and 32 straight up (four chips).
- Final 2-5 means split bets on the numbers 2/5, 12/15, 22/25 and 32/35 (four chips).
The table layout on the French version of roulette is different from the American style roulette table shown above. The main difference is in the position of the side bets (outside bets). The side bets on the French table are split in two and run along both sides of the table layout. Each side bet is given its French name and sometimes also its English translation underneath.
Roulette Announced Bets or Call Bets (Used in French roulette tables and in some European casinos with single-zero wheel roulette tables. Common in most UK casinos with single-zero wheel American style roulette tables.)
These bets consist of a group of numbers and there are 5 types:
Number Neighbours bet/Neighbors bet (Voisin du Nombre): 5 chips bet on a number which covers the number itself and the two numbers on either side of it on the roulette wheel.
Zero Neighbours bet (Voisins du Zero): 9 chips bet covers Zero plus seven numbers on right, and nine numbers on left, 0/2/3 + 25/26/28/29, each with 2 chips, 4/7 + 12/15 + 18/21 + 19/22 + 32/35, each with 1 chip.
A Third section of the Wheel bet (Tiers du Cylindre): 6 chips split bets cover numbers from the 33 to the 27 on the roulette wheel, 5/8 + 10/11 + 13/16 + 23/24 + 27/30 + 33/36, each with 1 chip.
Full Orphans bet (Orphelin Plein): 8 chips bet covers 0 + 6 + 9 + 14 + 17 + 20 + 31 + 34, each with 1 chip.
Orphans Split bet (Orphelin Cheval): 5 chips bet covers numbers 6/9 + 14/17 + 17/20 + 31/34, each with 1 chip split bets, and number 1 with 1 chip bet.
Roulite or Roulight table layout
Roulite or Roulight is the modern variety of Roulette. A table game that has been developed in the first instance by specialists at the Wiesbaden Casino, Wiesbaden, Germany.
The game is dynamic and very fast. Players, who like to play sectors and neighbours love it. Bets can only be placed on full numbers (staight up), on two connected numbers (split), neighbours of numbers and sections of the wheel. No outside bets.
La Boule table layout and wheel
Boule or La Boule is a simple and fast game that is similar to Roulette, popular in French casinos and can now be played online.
The game features a table and a wheel with only 9 numbers and 3 different colours. The wheel is spun and a small rubber ball bounces around the wheel before settling into one of the coloured holes to determine the outcome.
Betting will be familiar to Roulette players with the table layout providing a range of betting options. Players can place a bet on Red or Black, Odd or Even, High or Low, or on individual numbers of the wheel.
The number 5, coloured yellow, plays in a similar way to the zero (0 or 00) in normal Roulette. You can bet on it like any other individual number, but if the number 5 is spun then only the bets on 5 win and all other bets lose.
Because there are less numbers in Boule, the chances of spinning a 5 are greater than a zero being spun in normal Roulette, which makes the house edge of La Boule higher than Roulette.
If you bet on the winning number then you are paid 7:1, which is the payout for all bets on individual numbers, and 1:1 on all other bets.
CAMMEGH spread-bet roulette table layout and display board
Spread-bet roulette is a unique CAMMEGH (cammegh.com) concept adding seven roulette side bets, offering the players the chance to win high payouts with one spin of the wheel (also increased house edge to the casino). Seven additional betting circles are added to the regular table layout, located among the outside bets as shown on the photo below.
How it works: A set of electronic numbers, independent from the roulette wheel numbers, act as a secondary wheel on the electronic billboard display along with a set representing the actual roulette wheel numbers, forming two concentric rings spinning in opposing directions, as shown on the billboard display photo below.
Roulette Payout Green
When 'no more bets' is announced, the two rings on the display stop, randomly aligning the two sets of numbers. This takes place before the ball on the actual roulette wheel comes to a stop and lands on the winning number.
How To Deal Roulette Payouts
When the ball stops, the corresponding winning number on the display ring is then paired with its aligning electronic number. The sum of these paired numbers determines the spread-bet result. The billboard display continuously shows the electronic number results alongside the regular roulette number results (see photo below, on the left side of the display).
Roulette Payout Card
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