Roulette Odds & Payouts
Key takeaways
- A straight-up wins 1 time in 37 on European (2.70%) and 1 in 38 on American (2.63%).
- Red, black, odd, even, high and low each win 48.65% of spins on European — zero belongs to none of them.
- Every bet on a single-zero wheel returns $97.30 per $100 staked; on American, $94.74.
- Ten losses in a row on an even-money bet happen about once every 785 sequences.
Every number on this page is calculated from the pocket count and the paytable — nothing is estimated. Roulette odds are exact, which makes it the one casino game where you can know precisely what you are paying before you sit down.
European roulette odds — 2.70% on everything
| Bet | Covers | Pays | Chance | Odds | Returns per $100 | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 | 35:1 | 2.70% | 1 in 37.00 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Split | 2 | 17:1 | 5.41% | 1 in 18.50 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Street | 3 | 11:1 | 8.11% | 1 in 12.33 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Corner | 4 | 8:1 | 10.81% | 1 in 9.25 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Six line | 6 | 5:1 | 16.22% | 1 in 6.17 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Column | 12 | 2:1 | 32.43% | 1 in 3.08 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Dozen | 12 | 2:1 | 32.43% | 1 in 3.08 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Red / Black | 18 | 1:1 | 48.65% | 1 in 2.06 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Odd / Even | 18 | 1:1 | 48.65% | 1 in 2.06 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| High / Low | 18 | 1:1 | 48.65% | 1 in 2.06 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
The last column is the point. Ten different bets, ten different risk profiles, one price. There is no clever bet on a single-zero wheel — only bets that swing more or less violently around the same 2.70%.
American roulette odds — 5.26%, plus one bet that is worse
| Bet | Covers | Pays | Chance | Odds | Returns per $100 | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 | 35:1 | 2.63% | 1 in 38.00 | $94.74 | 5.26% |
| Split | 2 | 17:1 | 5.26% | 1 in 19.00 | $94.74 | 5.26% |
| Street | 3 | 11:1 | 7.89% | 1 in 12.67 | $94.74 | 5.26% |
| Corner | 4 | 8:1 | 10.53% | 1 in 9.50 | $94.74 | 5.26% |
| Five number (0-00-1-2-3) | 5 | 6:1 | 13.16% | 1 in 7.60 | $92.11 | 7.89% |
| Six line | 6 | 5:1 | 15.79% | 1 in 6.33 | $94.74 | 5.26% |
| Column | 12 | 2:1 | 31.58% | 1 in 3.17 | $94.74 | 5.26% |
| Dozen | 12 | 2:1 | 31.58% | 1 in 3.17 | $94.74 | 5.26% |
| Red / Black | 18 | 1:1 | 47.37% | 1 in 2.11 | $94.74 | 5.26% |
| Odd / Even | 18 | 1:1 | 47.37% | 1 in 2.11 | $94.74 | 5.26% |
| High / Low | 18 | 1:1 | 47.37% | 1 in 2.11 | $94.74 | 5.26% |
Every bet costs 5.26% except the five-number bet at 7.89%. The payouts are identical to European; the only change is the extra pocket. That one addition is worth 2.56% of everything you stake.
French roulette odds — 1.35% on even-money bets
| Bet | Covers | Pays | Chance | Odds | Returns per $100 | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 | 35:1 | 2.70% | 1 in 37.00 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Split | 2 | 17:1 | 5.41% | 1 in 18.50 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Street | 3 | 11:1 | 8.11% | 1 in 12.33 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Corner | 4 | 8:1 | 10.81% | 1 in 9.25 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Six line | 6 | 5:1 | 16.22% | 1 in 6.17 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Column | 12 | 2:1 | 32.43% | 1 in 3.08 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Dozen | 12 | 2:1 | 32.43% | 1 in 3.08 | $97.30 | 2.70% |
| Red / Black | 18 | 1:1 | 48.65% | 1 in 2.06 | $98.65 | 1.35% |
| Odd / Even | 18 | 1:1 | 48.65% | 1 in 2.06 | $98.65 | 1.35% |
| High / Low | 18 | 1:1 | 48.65% | 1 in 2.06 | $98.65 | 1.35% |
Inside bets are unchanged at 2.70%. The three even-money rows drop to 1.35% because la partage returns half the stake when zero lands. This is the cheapest bet available on any roulette table.
Mini roulette odds — 7.69%
| Bet | Covers | Pays | Chance | Odds | Returns per $100 | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 | 11:1 | 7.69% | 1 in 13.00 | $92.31 | 7.69% |
| Split | 2 | 5:1 | 15.38% | 1 in 6.50 | $92.31 | 7.69% |
| Street | 3 | 3:1 | 23.08% | 1 in 4.33 | $92.31 | 7.69% |
| Corner | 4 | 2:1 | 30.77% | 1 in 3.25 | $92.31 | 7.69% |
| Row of four | 4 | 2:1 | 30.77% | 1 in 3.25 | $92.31 | 7.69% |
| Six line | 6 | 1:1 | 46.15% | 1 in 2.17 | $92.31 | 7.69% |
| Red / Black | 6 | 1:1 | 46.15% | 1 in 2.17 | $96.15 | 3.85% |
| Odd / Even | 6 | 1:1 | 46.15% | 1 in 2.17 | $96.15 | 3.85% |
| 1–6 / 7–12 | 6 | 1:1 | 46.15% | 1 in 2.17 | $96.15 | 3.85% |
Thirteen pockets paying as though there were twelve gives 7.69% — nearly three times European. The half-back rule on zero brings the even-money bets to 3.85%, which is still worse than an American wheel.
All four wheels, one table
| Wheel | Pockets | Inside bets | Even-money bets | Cost per $1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| French (la partage) | 37 | 2.70% | 1.35% | $13.51 – $27.03 |
| European | 37 | 2.70% | 2.70% | $27.03 |
| Double Ball | 37 ×2 balls | 2.63% – 4.09% | 5.33% | $27.76 (inside) |
| Lightning | 37 | 2.90% straight up | 2.70% | $28.95 |
| American | 38 | 5.26% | 5.26% | $52.63 |
| Mini | 13 | 7.69% | 3.85% | $76.92 |
Cost per $1,000 is expected loss over that much turnover, not per deposit. Recycling $100 through ten spins produces $1,000 of turnover.
Streak and repeat probabilities
These are the numbers that betting systems quietly depend on being small. They are smaller than people expect, but they are not zero, and a long enough session will find them.
| Consecutive losses on an even-money bet | European (51.35% per loss) | American (52.63% per loss) | Roughly once every… |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51.35% | 52.63% | 2 sequences |
| 2 | 26.37% | 27.70% | 4 sequences |
| 3 | 13.54% | 14.58% | 7 sequences |
| 4 | 6.95% | 7.67% | 14 sequences |
| 5 | 3.57% | 4.04% | 28 sequences |
| 6 | 1.83% | 2.13% | 55 sequences |
| 7 | 0.94% | 1.12% | 106 sequences |
| 8 | 0.48% | 0.59% | 207 sequences |
| 9 | 0.25% | 0.31% | 403 sequences |
| 10 | 0.13% | 0.16% | 784 sequences |
| 11 | 0.0655% | 0.0858% | 1,527 sequences |
| 12 | 0.0336% | 0.0452% | 2,974 sequences |
A Martingale starting at $10 needs $10,230 to survive ten consecutive losses, and ten consecutive losses arrive about once every 800 sequences. Play 200 spins a session and you will meet one within a few months. That is the trade the system makes on your behalf without telling you.
| Event | Chance (European) | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Same number twice in a row | 2.70% | 1 in 37 |
| Same number three times in a row | 0.0731% | 1 in 1,369 |
| Zero at least once in 37 spins | 63.70% | — |
| Zero at least once in 100 spins | 93.42% | — |
| A specific number at least once in 37 spins | 63.70% | — |
| All 37 numbers appearing in 100 spins | ≈0.02% | 1 in 5,000 |
The fourth row is the one worth remembering. "I have not seen a zero in a while" describes an event that happens 36% of the time over a full cycle of the wheel. Absence of a number is the normal condition, not a signal.
The formula, in full
Two lines produce every figure on this page.
Payout: pays = 36 ÷ k − 1, where k is the number of pockets covered. Mini Roulette substitutes 12 for 36.
Expected return: RTP = (pays + 1) × k ÷ N, where N is the real pocket count. House edge is 1 − RTP.
With la partage, add 0.5 × zeros ÷ N to the RTP of even-money bets.
Substitute any bet and the k cancels out: (36/k) × k ÷ N = 36 ÷ N. That is why the edge is identical across bet types and depends only on the pocket count — 36/37 on European, 36/38 on American, 12/13 on Mini. Everything else in roulette is presentation.
Run your own numbers in the odds calculator, or see what a session costs per hour with the session cost calculator.
How to read a roulette odds table
Every row in the tables above answers four questions about one bet. Covers is how many pockets the bet claims. Pays is what the table offers: a 35:1 straight-up returns 35 units of profit plus your stake. Chance is covers divided by pockets — 1/37 for a straight-up on a European wheel. And returns per $100 multiplies the two: how much of every $100 staked on that bet comes back on average.
The gap between $100 and the return is the house edge. On a European wheel every row shows $97.30, so every bet costs 2.70%. On American, every row except the five-number bet shows $94.74. Once you can read one row, you can read every odds table in every casino — and spot a shortened paytable in seconds, because its return per $100 will fall below the standard figure.
Odds versus payout. "True odds" of 36 to 1 means you lose 36 times for every win. A payout of 35 to 1 pays you one unit less than fair. That one-unit shortfall, spread over 37 spins, is the whole of the house edge. Run any bet through the odds calculator to see both side by side.
Roulette odds FAQ
What are the odds of hitting a single number in roulette?
One in 37 on a European wheel (2.70%) and one in 38 on an American wheel (2.63%). Both pay 35 to 1, which is where the house edge comes from — a fair payout would be 36 to 1 and 37 to 1 respectively.
Which roulette bet has the best odds?
An even-money bet on a French table with la partage, at a 1.35% house edge. Without la partage, every bet on a single-zero wheel is identical at 2.70% — there is no best bet, only different volatility.
Are red and black exactly 50/50?
No. Red wins 18 times in 37 on a European wheel — 48.65% — because zero is green. On an American wheel it is 47.37%. The missing few percent is the house edge.
What is the payout for 0 in roulette?
Zero pays 35 to 1 as a straight-up bet, exactly like any other number. What is different is that zero belongs to no outside bet, which is how it collects the edge on red, black, odd, even, high and low.
How many spins until a number is "due"?
Never. Each spin is independent, so a number that has not appeared in 200 spins has exactly the same 1-in-37 chance on the next spin as one that just landed. The belief otherwise is the gambler's fallacy, and it is the most expensive idea in the building.
Go deeper
Long-form pieces built on our simulators and calculators — more on the roulette blog.
GETRAKEBACK. 18+.
Other guides
- Roulette Rules — How a round works, every bet on the table, and the rules that change the maths.
- Roulette Strategies — Ten systems, what each actually does to your distribution, and why none change the edge.
- Roulette Wheel Layout — Pocket order, wheel sectors, the racetrack and why the numbers sit where they do.
- European vs American Roulette — One extra pocket, double the cost. The comparison in full.
- Roulette House Edge — Where the edge comes from, how it is calculated, and what it costs per hour.
18+. Roulette has a fixed house edge, so over enough spins the maths favours the operator — always. If you play for real, treat it as money spent on entertainment, set a limit before you start and stop when you reach it. Our responsible gambling page covers the warning signs and where to get free, confidential help.