Roulette Bets Explained: Odds, Payouts and Table Layout
Updated 2026-08-31
European roulette has 37 pockets: 1–36 plus a single zero. Every bet pays as if zero did not exist, and that single pocket is the entire house edge — 2.70% on every bet on the table, inside or outside.
Inside bets
Straight up — one number, pays 35:1, wins 1 time in 37 (2.7%).
Split — two adjacent numbers, pays 17:1, wins 5.4% of spins. Corner — four numbers, pays 8:1, wins 10.8%.
Street (three numbers) pays 11:1 and line (six numbers) pays 5:1. Inside bets are the volatile end of the table.
Outside bets
Red/black, odd/even and high/low pay 1:1 and win 18 times in 37 — 48.6%, not 50%, because of the zero.
Dozens and columns cover 12 numbers, pay 2:1 and win 32.4% of the time.
Outside bets do not have a lower house edge; they simply have lower variance.
Why every bet has the same edge
Each bet's payout is calculated as if the wheel had 36 pockets. The 37th pocket is what the house keeps.
This means no combination of bets can improve your expected return — covering more numbers just changes the distribution of results.
European (single-zero) tables have a 2.70% edge; American double-zero tables have 5.26%. CroneBet uses the single-zero wheel.
Systems and what they can and cannot do
Martingale, d'Alembert and Fibonacci all restructure your bet sizes. None of them touches the 2.7% edge.
Progression systems trade many small wins for occasional very large losses, which is why they feel like they work in short sessions.
The only genuine controls are stake size, session length and a hard stop-loss.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best bet in roulette?
- Mathematically all bets on a single-zero wheel share a 2.70% house edge. Even-money bets simply give the smoothest ride.
- Do the previous numbers matter?
- No. Each spin is independent, and a run of reds does not make black more likely.
- Does CroneBet use a single or double zero wheel?
- A single-zero European wheel, which has the lower house edge of the two layouts.