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.
- American Roulette Payout
- Roulette Payout Keys For Dealers
- Roulette Payout Sheet
- Single Number Payout In Roulette
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
With a bet on only one number or the zero/double zero, the payout always amounts to 35:1 and there is no way to simplify it. Types of Bets To the unacquainted, roulette includes two main bet type groups — inside and outside bets. As you have only bet on a single number, your calculation is 36/1 = 36 – 1 = 35 for odds of 35:1. If it’s your lucky day, your bet will return $360 (including your original $10 bet). While it’s quite easy to calculate the odds and payouts in roulette, our chart makes it easy for you to follow without effort. Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning little wheel.In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number, various groupings of numbers, the colors red or black, whether the number is odd or even, or if the numbers are high (19–36) or low (1–18).
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.Roulette is one of the most popular casino games among new and skilled players. It has the social aspect many people yearn for and is easily understood thanks to the minimal roulette payout rules involved.
Despite everything it has going for it, however, it’s not a game that you can go into with no prior understanding of how the game works.
The most important aspect to learn are the roulette payout rules, as these will tell you what chances you have of winning each game.
Although these rules can apply to all casino games, learning roulette-specific ones is extremely beneficial because it is a game that relies far more on mathematical probabilities than chance.
It’s also important to be able to identify the type of roulette you’re playing because this can also affect the payout rules. This isn’t as difficult as it might sound.
In this article, we will take you through all the payout rules you need to know before entering a casino so you can maximize your profits.
The Different Types Of Roulette Games
Before we get into specific payout rules, we must touch on the different types of roulette.
The type with which people are probably most familiar is American roulette. In this version of the game, there are 38 pockets for the roulette ball.
In the European version, there are just 36 red and black pockets.
The additional two pockets in the American version are for a single 0 and a double 00. In the European version, there is just one green 0 pocket.
This creates a significant difference in the roulette payout rules, as the reduction of the 00 pocket gives better odds to a player.
The American version has a higher house edge, which can make it more difficult to reap the bigger prizes.
This isn’t meant to discourage you; American roulette is by far the more popular version, and many people have had big wins using it.
How Roulette Payout Works
In roulette, a payout is calculated based on the odds from the bet you have made.
The odds themselves are stated in the form of x to 1, meaning if you win, you’ll get x amount of every dollar you’ve bet.
This is a pretty simple way of keeping on top of what you can expect to win, preventing you from overspending as long as you keep an eye on it.
If you see a single number bet offering a payout of 40 to 1, for example, you will receive back the dollar you originally bet and an additional $40 if you win.
Different Types Of Roulette Bets
Fundamentally, understanding a roulette payout is extremely simple.
It’s important to bear in mind, however, that the way a payout works can change depending on the type of roulette bet you make.
We’ll go into detail about the impact these bets can make further along in the article, but for now, these are the different bets you need to remember when playing roulette.
If you’re playing at the American roulette table, there’s some good news for you; you only need to remember two different bets!
The first is the outside bet, which refers to bets made “outside” of the 38 numbers of the table.
The second is the inside bet, which refers to any bet made on a specific number or group of numbers on the inside of the table.
If you’re playing in a European or French casino, there is a third kind of bet you need to watch for.
This is known as an announced bet, which simply involves calling out a bet and placing chips on the table.
These chips don’t need to correlate with the place the player has called out their bet, but they must be somewhere on the table by the time the round ends.
Payouts On Outside Bets
As mentioned, outside bets are the safest type of bets you can make on the roulette table because they have the highest odds.
This, in turn, means that your ability to achieve a roulette payout is far easier than if you were to choose an inside bet.
For this reason, outside bets are usually favored by beginners, or those visiting a casino on a more casual basis.
The most important point to remember is that outside bets are not made on a particular number on the board.
You will lose your payout if the ball lands on either the 0 or 00 pockets.
Instead of the numbers, outside bets rely on several betting terms that you can use to describe the different types of bets you want to make, which we’ll go through below.
Red Or Black
Perhaps one of the most famous terms in roulette, this bet involves betting on either the red or black pockets present on the board.
If your color wins, you will receive a payout of 1 to 1, meaning you will win $1 for every $1 you bet.
If you placed a $10 bet on red and it won, for example, you would receive a $20 roulette payout in return, to cover your winnings and the initial bet you made.
Odd or Even
By placing an odd or even bet, you are betting that the ball will land either on an odd number or an even number.
If you choose even, 0 and 00 do not count and you will still lose your money if the ball lands on these numbers.
As the chances of winning this bet are pretty much equal, they come out with the same payout as red or black or 1 to 1.
Low or High
On a roulette table, the black and red numbers can be split into two categories for this bet.
Numbers 1 to 18, are referred to as low numbers, while 19 to 36 are considered high numbers.In American roulette, the final two numbers aren’t used.
To place your bet, you need to decide whether the bet will land on a lower number or a higher number.
This is another bet where the chances of winning are pretty much equal, meaning the payout stays at a rate of 1 to 1.
Columns
Columns is another bet that doesn’t involve 37 or 38 on the board, splitting the rest into three columns of twelve numbers each.
To win this bet, the ball must land on one of the numbers in the column you choose at the end of the round.
As the chances of winning are slightly reduced with this bet, it has a payout of 2 to 1 if you win.
This means that if you bet $10, you will win $30 in total.
Dozens
Dozens is a similar outside bet to columns, but instead of betting on specific columns you instead bet on the first, second, or third dozen of numbers.
To win, the ball must land on one of the numbers for which you have placed a bet.
For the reasons explained in the column section, this bet also has a payout of 2 to 1 if you win.
Payouts On Inside Bets
Inside bets include any bet you make against any single number or a small set of numbers on the board during a round of roulette. The easiest way to keep track of this is to remember that these bets focus on the inside of the roulette layout.
Inside bets are usually favored by those who have some experience at a roulette table because they win less often, but when they do, they tend to payout more.
As with outside bets, there are various ways that you can group numbers together, with handy terms used to explain each type of bet.
Straight
A straight bet, sometimes referred to as a single-number bet, is a term used when people place a bet on one number on the roulette table.
This is the riskiest bet you can make in a game of roulette as it has the lowest winning probability, at 2.70% on European roulette and 2.63% on American roulette.
Understandably, the payout on these is considerably higher; the highest in the entire game of roulette, in fact, at 35 to 1.
This means that if you bet $10 and win, you will receive a payout of $360.
Split
To complete a split bet, you must bet on two numbers that sit next to each other on the table. To clarify your bet, you must place the chip on the line between the two numbers.
Slightly less risky than betting on a single number, this does have a slightly lower payout at 17 to 1.
This means that if you bet $10, you will receive $180 if you win.
Street
A street bet is when someone bets on a row of three numbers, such as 4, 5 and 6.
To clarify this bet, you need to place your chip on the outside of the three numbers you have bet on.
Less risky again, this bet will give you a payout of 11 to 1. This means if you bet $10, you’ll receive $120 if you win.
Corner
Sometimes known as a square bet, corner betting involves betting on four numbers that form a square on the table, such as 1, 2, 4, and 5.
If you win this bet, you will receive a payout of 8 to 1. This means if you bet $10, you will receive $90 if you win.
Five Number
A five-number bet, sometimes known as a basket bet, is only available on American roulette tables and can only consist of one combination: zero, double zero, one, two and three.
To confirm this bet, you need to place the chip on the outside corner line between the 1 and the 0.
Although this bet is rarely played, it’s still legitimate, and plays out at a rate of 6 to 1. This means if you bet $10, you would receive $70 if you won.
Six Number
A six-number bet, sometimes known as a line bet, involves betting on two rows of numbers for a total of 6 numbers altogether.
These bets are won quite regularly, which is reflected in the payout price of just 5 to 1. This means if you were to bet $10 and win, you’d receive $60 in return.
Payouts On Announced Bets
If you’re playing European roulette, you’ll also be able to play an announced bet on a roulette wheel.
This allows you to bet on large portions on the roulette wheel, which you confirm by calling out and/or placing your chips on the associated sections of the table.
When it comes to this type of betting, there are two types you need to be aware of; fixed and variable announced bets.
There are five different kinds of announced bets, which we will go on to explain below.
Neighbors Of Zero
This term is used to explain bets that cover 17 of the total numbers on the roulette wheel.
These numbers must be close to the zero, and you have to place at least 9 chips to cover all the numbers.
The roulette payout on this number isn’t fixed, having the ability to reach 24 to 1 depending on which numbers win in the round.
This means that if you bet $10, you will receive up to $250 if you win.
Thirds of the Wheel
This term is used to explain a bet that covers the 12 numbers directly opposite the ones from the above bet.
The payout, although considerably lower than the Neighbors of Zero, is comparable to the likes of the column and dozen bets at around 17 to 1.
If you bet $10, you will then receive $180 if your numbers win.
Zero Game
If you want a game that’s similar to Neighbors of Zero, the Zero game is perfect for you. This is because it only covers the 7 numbers closest to the green zero slot.
With reduced opportunities to win, the payout odds also increase, to around 26 to 1. This means if you bet just $10, you would receive $270 if you win.
The Orphans
In roulette, the orphan numbers are the numbers between the left and right side of the roulette wheel. This includes 8 numbers total; 1, 6, 9, 14, 17, 20, 31, and 34.
With your chances of winning standing at just over 20% and no fixed payout, you can win anywhere up to 26 to 1 depending on a variety of factors.
If you receive the maximum payout, you will receive the same odds as with the Zero Game bet.
The Neighbors and The Finals
These two bets are commonly referred to as variable bets because they don’t have a specific roulette payout.
This is where you need to look at individual payout tables or ask an attendant at the casino you’re visiting to find out just how much you could make from these bets.
If you aren’t experienced, it might be best to avoid these bets until you are comfortable taking calculated risks.
Summary
Roulette is one of those casino games where understanding how the payouts work is essential.
American Roulette Payout
While some might claim it takes the fun out of the game, it can help people avoid substantial losses and may even increase investments earned by the end of the night.
Roulette Payout Keys For Dealers
From this article, it’s clear to see that the best roulette payouts come from placing risky inside bets, but more reliable results can be found from those willing to stick to outside bets.
Once you’ve built up your skills, you may even choose to look into placing announced bets on a European board as a way of further enhancing your payout opportunities.
Roulette Payout Sheet
Now that you have the basics under your belt, you have all the information you need to head out onto the casino floor and bet to your heart’s content!