Roulette odds explained

Roulette odds explained: your chance against the price paid

Two different numbers get called "odds" at a roulette table, and mixing them up is the root of most confusion. The chance (or probability) is how often a bet wins: 1 in 37 for a single number on a single-zero wheel. The payout odds are what the casino pays when it does win: 35 to 1. If the casino paid the true odds, the game would break even over time. It doesn't, and the small gap between the two is how roulette pays for itself.

You can express the same chance three ways. As a fraction (18/37), as a percentage (48.65%), or as "odds against" (19 to 18, because 19 pockets lose and 18 win). Our page on true odds against payout odds explains the conversion in general; below it is applied bet by bet. For the bigger picture of bets and variants, start at the roulette hub.

Roulette odds for every bet on a European wheel

A European or French wheel has 37 pockets: 1 to 36 plus a single green zero. Every chance in this table is plain counting from those 37 pockets.

Compare the last two columns on any row. A split bet should pay 17.5 to 1 to be fair and pays 17 to 1. A corner bet should pay 8.25 to 1 and pays 8 to 1. The shortfall works out at exactly 1/37 of the stake, or 2.70%, on every row. That is why no bet on this wheel has better odds than another in value terms, even though the chance of winning varies hugely.

American roulette odds: what the double zero takes

An American wheel adds a 00 pocket, giving 38. The payouts stay exactly the same, so every chance shrinks while the prize doesn't. Wizard of Odds' roulette basics (opens in a new tab) lists these probabilities for the double-zero game.

The five-number bet is the one to avoid: it covers 5 of 38 pockets but pays 6 to 1, leaving an edge of 7.89%. Everything else costs 5.26%, nearly twice the single-zero price. Our comparison of European and American roulette puts the two side by side.

How to work out roulette odds for any bet

You don't need a calculator for most of this, and once you can do it you can check any game's help screen, including unusual side bets.

1. Count the numbers your bet covers (a corner covers 4).
2. Count the pockets on the wheel: 37 with one zero, 38 with two.
3. Divide covered by pockets for the chance: 4 ÷ 37 = 10.81%.
4. Subtract covered from pockets for the losing count: 37 − 4 = 33, so the true odds are 33 to 4 against.
5. Compare with the payout (8 to 1). Expected result per £1 = (4 × £8 − 33 × £1) ÷ 37 = −£1/37, a 2.70% edge.

Our roulette odds calculator does these sums for you, and the probability basics page explains the counting rule behind them.

Odds of streaks: red in a row and other runs

Because each spin is independent, the chance of a run is the single-spin chance multiplied by itself. On a single-zero wheel red is 18/37 each time, so two reds in a row is (18/37)², three is (18/37)³ and so on.

These figures are the chance of a run starting from scratch. They say nothing about the next spin once a run is under way. After five reds, the sixth spin is still 18 in 37, not 1 in 75. Mixing up those two questions is the gambler's fallacy. The most famous example came at Monte Carlo in summer 1913, when the ball fell on black 26 times in a row (opens in a new tab). From a standing start that run has odds of about 1 in 137 million on a single-zero wheel, yet each spin within it was the same 18 in 37.

Odds of hitting a number over a session

A useful real-world question is how likely a chosen number is to come up at least once in a session. The answer is 1 minus the chance of missing every time: 1 − (36/37) to the power of the number of spins.

Even across 37 spins, the number of pockets on the wheel, there is roughly a one-in-three chance your number never shows. Someone backing a single number at £2 a spin can easily go 50 spins (£100) without a win; it happens about a quarter of the time. That is the reality of a 35 to 1 bet, and it is why our page on how long £50 lasts at roulette treats stake size and bet type together.

How French rules improve the even-money odds

On a French table with La Partage, an even-money bet that is beaten by zero loses only half. The chance of winning is still 18 in 37, but the outcomes split three ways.

• Win (paid 1 to 1): 48.65% of spins.
• Zero, half the stake returned: 1.35% of spins.
• Lose the whole stake: 50.00% of spins.

On £10, that averages (0.4865 × £10) − (0.0135 × £5) − (0.5 × £10) ≈ −£0.135, a 1.35% edge, half the European figure. The rule covers red, black, odd, even, 1–18 and 19–36 only. Inside bets, dozens and columns keep the standard 2.70%. En Prison gives a near-identical result, slightly worse for the player according to Wizard of Odds.

Roulette odds myths that cost money

• "Cold numbers are due." A number has no memory of being missed. See hot and cold numbers.
• "Covering more numbers improves the odds." It raises the chance of a win, not the value of the bet. Each chip still carries the full edge.
• "RNG games are tighter than live wheels." Gambling Commission standards say a simulated device must match the real device's theoretical probabilities.
• "A system can turn the odds around." Wizard of Odds' simulations of Martingale, Fibonacci and others all lose at the house edge in the long run.
• "Some numbers are luckier." On a fair wheel every pocket is 1 in 37. Real physical bias is rare; see do roulette wheels have bias.

Are online roulette odds the same as live and land-based?

For standard roulette, yes. The odds depend on the wheel, not the screen. The Gambling Commission's technical standard on random outcomes (opens in a new tab) requires RNG games to be acceptably random and bans compensated games that adjust results to hit a target. A single-zero RNG game, a live studio wheel and a casino wheel in a UK venue all give a single number a 1 in 37 chance.

Where the odds really change is in branded variants. Lightning Roulette pays only 29 to 1 on an ordinary straight-up win to fund its random multipliers, and mini roulette uses just 13 pockets with its own payout table. Always read the help screen of the exact game. You can also read more on whether online roulette is random.

Where to find the best roulette odds online

The best odds come from choosing a single-zero table, ideally French with La Partage for even-money bets. Our partner casinos' welcome offers are aimed at slots, so check each casino's lobby for its roulette tables and read the bonus terms, because roulette and live games are often excluded or weighted lower for wagering. 18+ and terms apply.

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18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.