Roulette Odds
Roulette odds are among the worst you'll find in a casino, but there are
positives which come with this negative. The trade-off is that roulette is
easy to learn and slow-paced. So if you want a casino game that's easy to
understand and relaxing to play, Roulette is probably your game. If you want
to find the best odds where your decisions have the most effect on the game,
you should look elsewhere in a live or online casino environment.
I wanted to break down the odds for this site's readers, since I've talked about the "house edge", "payback percentages", and undesirable odds so much lately. Once you read this article, you should have a full grasp of the probabilities in roulette bets, and maybe have an idea of one or two spots on the roulette betting layout to avoid. So let's take a look at a roulette odds breakdown.
Outside Bet Odds
Below
is the money line, probability chart, and house edge on the outside bets in
roulette. You'll notice a theme begin to develop on the house edge pretty
quickly. That is, the house edge is the same on virtually any better on any
number or set of numbers on the roulette wheel: 5.26%.
| Bet | Payout | Probability of Winning | House Edge |
| 1-18 Bet | 1 to 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| 19-36 Bet | 1 to 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| Even Number Bet | 1 to 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| Odd Number Bet | 1 to 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| Black Bet | 1 to 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| Red Bet | 1 to 1 | 47.37% | 5.26% |
| 1st 12 (1 to 12) | 2 to 1 | 31.58% | 5.26% |
| 2nd 12 (13-24) | 2 to 1 | 31.58% | 5.26% |
| 3rd 12 (25-36) | 2 to 1 | 31.58% | 5.26% |
As a casual perusal of the betting board is likely to show you, the 1-18, 19-36, Even Number, Odd Number, Black, and Red Bets are all 50-50 proposition bets, but the probability of winning them is only 47.37%. This produces a house edge of 5.26%, once you double the odds deficit (2.62%) twice to get to one-hundred percent.
You see the same on the 2-to-1 bets, so I think you can see where I'm headed. There's no reason to read books about roulette betting systems that claim to find the best odds or betting patterns that increase your chances of winning, since the odds are the same on every single bet. In poker, you're (on average) going to do a lot better betting on a Pair of Kings or suited connected than 10-3 offsuit, but there's no commensurate difference in betting on the "2" or the "32" in roulette--and no time in the game where there is a difference.
Inside Bet Odds - Roulette Math
| Bet | Payout | Probability of Winning | House Edge |
| One number bet | 35 to 1 | 2.63% | 5.26% |
| Split bet (2 numbers) | 17 to 1 | 5.26% | 5.26% |
| Street bet (3 numbers) | 11 to 1 | 7.89% | 5.26% |
| Corner bet (4 numbers) | 8 to 1 | 10.53% | 5.26% |
| Sixline bet (6 numbers) | 5 to 1 | 15.79% | 5.26% |
| First five bet (5 numbers) | 6 to 1 | 13.16% | 7.89% |
We're finally getting somewhere. In American Roulette, the worst bet you can make is the five-number box bet on the numbers 0-00-1-2-3. For every $100 you get, you're going to lose an average of $7.89 on this wager. Those are horrible casino odds and you should never make this wager.
With the other bets in Roulette, they are pretty much all the same. As the old saying goes, pick your poison.
European Roulette Odds
European Roulette eliminates the 00 slot, which slashes the house edge in half down to 2.63%. That's why you should always play French or European Roulette, if you have the choice. Also, Euro-style single-zero roulette often comes with the en prison or the la partage rules, which also decreases the house edge.
Which Bets to Make in Roulette?
We've discussed why you should choose roulette: if you want a game where you don't have to puzzle over arcane rule and make a lot of choices. If that's not your game, but you still insist on playing the casino wheels, then I recommend you set a loss limit, play a quick session, and get out. That means I suggest you play the inside bets in a few wagers and then move on to another game. Why is that?
Fewer Spins - Roulette Betting
Have you ever seen the college or high school basketball game (where the shot clock isn't as much of a factor) where the underdog plays four-corners basketball? Princeton University used to do this in the NCAA Tournament, and pulled off a couple of upsets that way. The team would "take the air out of the ball", throw it around, then take a shot late in the shot clock. In this way, Princeton limited the number of possession each team had in the game.
This did several things for Princeton (lull the opponent to sleep, frustrate them, take them out of the normal flow, tire them out on defense), but limiting the number of possession meant every possession was that much more important. That's what underdogs want, is to shorten the amount of times they have to beat an opponent and hope they get lucky. That's why baseball and basketball teams are more likely to win 5-game series than 7-game series. It's called having the punchers chance. \
So if you want to take a shot at a big winning session in roulette, and you have the same odds on all bets (except one), then I suggest you bet a few times on the inside bets, take the results, and get out. Most of the time, it's money down the drain. But if you hit on a single number bet before the 33rd bet or a split bet before the 16th, you come out a winner. If you hit early, you come out a big winner. In other words, you beat the odds in roulette by getting really lucky, then quitting before the numbers catch up to you.
