Online roulette rules: follow the bets through one spin
A roulette wager wins when it covers the pocket where the ball lands. European roulette has 37 pockets, American roulette has 38, and the zero rule can change what comes back from an outside bet. Start with the wheel and the wager; the size of a payout makes sense only beside both.
Read the wheel, then the betting layout
The numbered betting grid is where you place chips. The wheel is where the result comes from. Numbers that share a line on the grid can form a split, while a neighbour bet follows positions beside each other on the wheel. Those are different kinds of adjacency.
European: 1-36 and one zero
Evolution's ordinary European Roulette rules use 36 numbered pockets plus 0, making 37 outcomes. The ordinary paytable also covers the listed Auto, Speed, VIP, Salon Privé and Immersive tables; their round timing and presentation can differ. BGaming European Roulette is another single-zero example, with its own controls and called-bet allocations.
American: 1-36, zero and double zero
Evolution American Roulette and Dual Play American Roulette add 00, making 38 outcomes. Zero and double zero are separate pockets. A chip on 0 does not also cover 00. American Roulette also has the Five bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3, with its own 6:1 payout.
French: single zero with a named protection rule
Evolution French Roulette, French Roulette Gold and Auto Roulette La Partage have 37 pockets. In these games, La Partage returns half of an eligible even-money stake when 0 lands. The protection belongs to specified wagers; a French label by itself does not determine how every chip settles.
First Person: the wheel rules and the animation
Evolution First Person Roulette has 37 pockets and the ordinary single-zero paytable. Its outcomes come from RNG software. A realistic wheel animation tells you how the game looks; the named game's rules tell you how the outcome is generated.
Zero sits outside all ordinary outside groups. It belongs to neither red nor black, odd nor even, low nor high, a dozen nor a column. American 00 is also excluded. Zero is an even integer in mathematics, but roulette's Even bet covers the 18 nonzero even numbers.
Put the chip on the position you mean
An inside bet covers specific boxes or a group at their junction. An outside bet uses the larger labelled areas beside the grid. Check the highlighted numbers before placing a chip: a corner, split and straight-up position can be close together on a small screen.
The following ordinary cash payouts apply to the selected Evolution European, American, French and First Person Roulette rules. A ratio such as 35:1 is winnings on the winning position's stake. A winning ordinary cash chip also comes back, so 35:1 returns 36 units per unit on that position. Profit for the whole round subtracts every stake you placed.
Straight Up
In one number's box; 1 covered pocket. Winning cash returned: 36 units.
- European
- 35:1
- American
- 35:1
- French
- 35:1
- First Person
- 35:1
Split
On a line between two adjoining boxes; 2 numbers. Winning cash returned: 18 units.
- European
- 17:1
- American
- 17:1
- French
- 17:1
- First Person
- 17:1
Street
At the edge of one three-number row; 3 numbers. Winning cash returned: 12 units.
- European
- 11:1
- American
- 11:1
- French
- 11:1
- First Person
- 11:1
Corner
At the meeting point of four boxes; 4 numbers. Winning cash returned: 9 units.
- European
- 8:1
- American
- 8:1
- French
- 8:1
- First Person
- 8:1
Line
At the junction of two three-number rows; 6 numbers. Winning cash returned: 6 units.
- European
- 5:1
- American
- 5:1
- French
- 5:1
- First Person
- 5:1
Column
In the box at the end of a numbered column; 12 numbers. Winning cash returned: 3 units.
- European
- 2:1
- American
- 2:1
- French
- 2:1
- First Person
- 2:1
Dozen
On 1-12, 13-24 or 25-36; 12 numbers. Winning cash returned: 3 units.
- European
- 2:1
- American
- 2:1
- French
- 2:1
- First Person
- 2:1
Red/Black
On one colour; 18 numbers. Winning cash returned: 2 units.
- European
- 1:1
- American
- 1:1
- French
- 1:1
- First Person
- 1:1
Even/Odd
On one parity group; 18 nonzero numbers. Winning cash returned: 2 units.
- European
- 1:1
- American
- 1:1
- French
- 1:1
- First Person
- 1:1
1-18/19-36
On the lower or upper half; 18 numbers. Winning cash returned: 2 units.
- European
- 1:1
- American
- 1:1
- French
- 1:1
- First Person
- 1:1
Five
American outer boundary between 0 and 1; 0, 00, 1, 2, 3. Winning cash returned: 7 units in American Roulette.
- European
- Not part of this paytable
- American
- 6:1
- French
- Not part of this paytable
- First Person
- Not part of this paytable
The payouts above describe winning cash positions. La Partage's special return on a losing zero outcome is explained separately. These figures do not settle Golden Chips, multiplier roulette or extra side bets, which use their own rules.
On the selected Evolution French layout, columns use unlabelled end boxes and dozens use 12p, 12m and 12d. Pair/Impair means Even/Odd; Manque/Passe means 1-18/19-36. Follow the numbers highlighted by that layout when choosing a dozen. A label mapping from another supplier can lead to a different selection.
Three zero positions that need their own names
BGaming European Roulette's Trio covers either 0/1/2 or 0/2/3. It sits at the intersection of those numbers and pays 11:1, returning 12 cash units per winning unit.
The bet365 Live French Roulette help describes a Basket covering 0/1/2/3. The chip goes on the boundary at the intersection of zero and the first row. It pays 8:1, returning 9 cash units per winning unit.
Evolution American Roulette's Five covers 0/00/1/2/3 and pays 6:1. For a hypothetical €2 cash Five that wins on 00, winnings are €12 and the original €2 stake comes back: €14 returned, €12 profit. A losing Five returns €0 and loses the €2 stake. The euro amount is an illustration, not a table minimum.
What happens when zero lands?
Ordinary European outside wagers
Zero loses the full stake on a column, dozen, colour, parity or low/high wager. A straight-up 0, or a particular inside wager that includes 0, can win according to its own paytable. The outside exclusion does not cancel direct zero coverage.
Ordinary American outside wagers
Both 0 and 00 lose the full outside stake. Direct bets on a zero pocket and the named Five position settle against their own covered pockets. Treat 0 and 00 as separate choices when reading the grid.
The selected French La Partage games
Zero returns half of the original stake on Red/Black, Even/Odd and 1-18/19-36. A hypothetical €2 cash wager on Odd returns €1 and loses €1. A winning nonzero odd result still pays ordinary even money: matching winnings plus the original stake.
La Partage does not protect a dozen, column or ordinary inside wager. It also does not return half of all chips on the layout, or protect an eligible wager that loses to a nonzero number. Its trigger is zero.
The French examples here use La Partage. Do not attach an En Prison hold-and-release sequence to them: that is a separate rule requiring the exact game's instructions. A French game name alone is insufficient to select a zero-settlement procedure.
When comparing the return from these rules, the useful next question is which wager receives the protection. The table-game RTP guide continues that comparison across games.
Follow every chip in a €6 layout
This hypothetical round uses ordinary cash bets and the Evolution European paytable. EUR is chosen for the arithmetic. The result numbers are examples, not recorded spins.
Place €1 straight up on 17, €2 on Odd and €3 on the second dozen, 13-24. Your total stake for the round is €6. Overlapping coverage is allowed; each position settles independently.
If 17 lands, three positions win
Straight 17
- Stake
- €1
- Winnings
- €35
- Winning stake returned
- €1
- Cash returned
- €36
Odd
- Stake
- €2
- Winnings
- €2
- Winning stake returned
- €2
- Cash returned
- €4
Second dozen
- Stake
- €3
- Winnings
- €6
- Winning stake returned
- €3
- Cash returned
- €9
Whole layout
- Stake
- €6
- Winnings
- €43
- Winning stake returned
- €6
- Cash returned
- €49
The account receives €49 from settlement. Subtract the entire €6 staked to get €43 profit. Adding only the 35:1 straight-up winnings misses its returned stake; subtracting only €1 misses the other stakes.
Every possible single-zero result
These five groups account for all 37 pockets without overlap. The returned amount adds every winning position; the net result subtracts the €6 layout.
All three positions win
Exact pockets: 17.
- Number of pockets
- 1
- Cash returned
- €49
- Whole-layout net
- +€43
Odd and second dozen win
Exact pockets: 13, 15, 19, 21, 23.
- Number of pockets
- 5
- Cash returned
- €13
- Whole-layout net
- +€7
Second dozen wins
Exact pockets: 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24.
- Number of pockets
- 6
- Cash returned
- €9
- Whole-layout net
- +€3
Only Odd wins
Exact pockets: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35.
- Number of pockets
- 12
- Cash returned
- €4
- Whole-layout net
- -€2
No position wins
Exact pockets: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36.
- Number of pockets
- 13
- Cash returned
- €0
- Whole-layout net
- -€6
For example, 19 returns €4 from Odd plus €9 from the dozen; the straight 17 loses, leaving €7 net profit. On 20, only the dozen pays, returning €9 for €3 net profit. On 1, Odd pays €4 while the other positions lose, so the round ends €2 down. On 8 or 0, all three positions lose and the return is €0.
In the ideal equal-pocket model, 24 of 37 outcomes return some cash, but only 12 of 37 produce a positive result for the layout. Receiving a payout and making a profit are different events.
Keep the layout, change to French La Partage
With the same €6 layout on the selected Evolution French games, zero returns €1 from the €2 Odd stake. Straight 17 and the second dozen return €0. The complete settlement is therefore €1 returned and €5 lost. Half of the €2 protected position comes back; the €1 straight and €3 dozen remain fully lost.
The nonzero result groups retain the settlements shown above. This one change is enough to alter the layout's expected return, but it does not make every position a 98.65% wager.
Called bets distribute a bundle of chips
A racetrack follows the wheel's neighbouring positions. A called bet distributes the selected chip denomination across a named bundle of inside positions. Its total cost is the number of chips times that denomination. Any payout belongs to the underlying straight, split, street or corner that wins.
The allocations here are for the selected Evolution French rules. Each list shows the complete bundle.
Tiers du Cylindre: six chips
Place one chip on each split: 5/8, 10/11, 13/16, 23/24, 27/30 and 33/36. All six positions use the split payout of 17:1.
Orphelins à Cheval: five chips
Place one straight-up chip on 1, then one chip on each split: 6/9, 14/17, 17/20 and 31/34. Straight 1 pays 35:1; a winning split pays 17:1. Number 17 appears in two splits, so both must be included in its settlement.
Voisins du Zero: nine chips
Place two chips on 0/2/3, one each on 4/7, 12/15, 18/21 and 19/22, two on the 25/26/28/29 corner, and one on 32/35. The street pays 11:1, the splits 17:1 and the corner 8:1 on their respective winning stakes.
BGaming European Roulette's Voisins allocation has eight chips, with one chip on 25/26/28/29. Its other listed positions retain the corresponding allocation. The same bet name therefore does not establish the same cost or corner return across these suppliers.
Jeu Zero: four chips
Place one chip on 0/3, one on 12/15, one straight up on 26, and one on 32/35. The splits pay 17:1 and straight 26 pays 35:1.
A neighbour selection also has a range. It puts chips on the chosen wheel number and nearby wheel positions, with coverage determined by that range. Do not read adjoining boxes on the numbered betting grid as the same neighbours.
Complete 36: eighteen chips on linked inside positions
Evolution's French Complete Bet example for 36 places one chip straight up on 36, two on 33/36, two on 35/36, three on 34/35/36, four on 32/33/35/36, and six on 31/32/33/34/35/36. The chip counts add to 18.
Read each position against the result, apply that position's payout, add the returns and subtract all 18 chips. The straight-up 35:1 rate cannot settle the bundle by itself. Complete bets change coverage and total exposure; they do not create a new wheel outcome.
A live round closes; First Person starts with SPIN
Live French example: join the next betting window
The bet365 Live French Roulette instructions use a timer and No More Bets signal. If a round is already underway, wait for the next betting period. Select the chip denomination and place one or more positions while betting is open. The timer shows the time remaining; No More Bets closes the window. The winning pocket is announced and winning wagers are paid at the round's end. For another round, place new bets or use Rebet.
Its optional Spin Now requests an early end to betting when you have finished placing chips. Availability depends on the service provider and the round. It does not let you choose where a physical ball lands.
In this bet365 Live French example, where enabled by the service provider, Autoplay places the selected bets automatically for a predefined number of rounds and starts from the next round. Selecting Autoplay while it is running stops it and opens the panel; changed conditions apply from the next round. That procedure does not establish cancellation of a wager already recorded for the current round. These cash examples do not describe Golden Chip settlement.
First Person Roulette: place bets, then start the round
In Evolution First Person Roulette, place the wagers and select SPIN. The wheel animation presents the result and the game settles the covered positions. Evolution describes the First Person range's outcome generation as RNG software, independent of previous game action.
Auto Roulette: a physical wheel without a dealer
Evolution Auto Roulette uses an automated real wheel. The absence of a live dealer does not turn it into First Person RNG Roulette. Live video, dealer presence, wheel automation and payout rules describe different parts of a game.
Speed and Instant versions also need their own sequence. Evolution Instant Roulette uses 12 continuously spinning physical wheels and an unlimited betting period. Selecting PLAY NOW chooses the wheel closest to the next ball drop. That procedure should not be applied to an ordinary timed dealer table.
BGaming controls: review the total before SPIN
- Choose a chip at the bottom of the table, then click the intended betting field.
- Repeated clicks add another chip of the selected value to that position.
- To remove that position, select its field and use CLEAR BET. NEW BETS clears the layout.
- REBET repeats the previous round's stakes. Review Total bet at the bottom right to see the complete amount about to be staked.
- Select SPIN to start the round with the placed wagers.
These are BGaming European Roulette's documented controls. The control names by themselves do not identify the outcome-generation algorithm of every electronic roulette game.
A chip value and a table limit answer different questions
The chip value tells you how much one click adds. A position limit governs how much that particular wager may contain. A total-table limit, where present, applies to the sum of bets across the layout.
In the bet365 Live French help, the range beside the table name refers to Straight Up. Its Limits panel lists the other betting positions; some tables also impose a minimum and maximum on the whole layout. Use the panel for the wager you intend to place. A visible straight-up range does not establish the dozen maximum or the permitted sum of a mixed layout.
The euro figures in the worked example supply arithmetic, not a current casino's chip denominations, minimums or maximums.
A broken stream and a cancelled round settle differently
Connection break in the bet365 Live French example
Recorded wagers settle according to the round result. The result can be viewed in Game History. Losing the connection does not cancel those recorded bets or promise their refund.
Cancelled round in the same help
The players are notified, the bets are returned to their accounts and the round is marked X. This help treats a spin as valid when the ball completes three full revolutions inside the wheel; if the dealer believes it will not do so, the ball is picked up and respun. This condition belongs to this named live help.
In the same help, where Autoplay is enabled by the service provider, a cancelled round returns its bets but leaves Autoplay running with the current conditions for the next round. The cancelled round does not reduce the rounds counter. A returned cancelled-round stake can therefore be followed by a new automated bet.
Malfunction in the selected Evolution rules
The European, American, French and First Person chapters state that a malfunction voids pays and play. That clause does not give a refund-processing deadline. Keep a recorded bet's settlement, an explicitly cancelled round and a malfunction separate when reading a round's history or asking about its result.
Calculate return from the wager's rules
RTP describes expected gross return relative to stakes. House edge is one minus that return. Winning probability answers a different question: how often a position covers the result.
The calculations here assume an ideal wheel with equally likely pockets, fixed ordinary cash payouts and the stated zero treatment. They illustrate the paytable's mathematics, rather than a measured physical wheel or a particular session.
Ordinary single-zero wager
- Expected gross return per original unit
- 36/37
- Rounded RTP
- 97.30%
- Rounded house edge
- 2.70%
Ordinary American wager, excluding Five
- Expected gross return per original unit
- 36/38
- Rounded RTP
- 94.74%
- Rounded house edge
- 5.26%
American Five at 6:1
- Expected gross return per original unit
- (5/38) × 7 = 35/38
- Rounded RTP
- 92.11%
- Rounded house edge
- 7.89%
French La Partage protected even-money wager
- Expected gross return per original unit
- (18/37) × 2 + (1/37) × 0.5 = 73/74
- Rounded RTP
- 98.65%
- Rounded house edge
- 1.35%
French ordinary unprotected wager
- Expected gross return per original unit
- 36/37
- Rounded RTP
- 97.30%
- Rounded house edge
- 2.70%
For an ordinary European straight-up wager, one of 37 pockets wins and returns 36 units: (1/37) × 36 = 36/37. A dozen wins on 12 pockets and returns 3 units per winning unit: (12/37) × 3 = 36/37. The payout and hit frequency change together. Betting on more covered pockets does not improve the ordinary single-zero expected rate.
A straight-up target's chance in that ideal model is 1/37, about 2.70%. Its monetary return rate is 36/37, about 97.30%. The RTP percentage is therefore neither the chance of hitting 17 nor the chance of ending a round or session in profit.
Evolution publishes optimal theoretical values of 97.30% for the selected European and First Person rules, 94.74% for American and 98.65% for French. The American Five's derived 92.11% explains why the American optimum does not describe every bet. The French optimum applies to the protected even-money wagers; dozens and columns retain the ordinary single-zero return. BGaming European Roulette publishes 97.3% for its named game.
The mixed layout has a mixed rate
For the €6 European example, weight the returned amounts by the five complete outcome groups:
Expected gross return = (49 + 5 × 13 + 6 × 9 + 12 × 4 + 13 × 0) / 37 = 216/37 EUR.
Subtract €6 to get -6/37 EUR expected net. These are probability-weighted averages, not amounts due after one spin.
On the selected French La Partage rules, zero adds €1 to the group total. Expected gross return becomes 217/37 EUR. Divide that by the €6 stake to obtain 217/222, about 97.75% for this exact layout. Only €2 of the stake receives La Partage protection; the other €4 uses the ordinary single-zero return.
Count turnover, including reused winnings
Ten hypothetical rounds staking €6 each total €60 in wagers. An illustrative €20 deposit is the funding amount, not the RTP denominator. Reusing returned money creates another stake when it is bet again. This example does not establish that €20 will last for ten rounds.
Can a betting system beat online roulette?
Changing stake size or choosing positions from past outcomes does not remove the negative expectation of the cash paytables shown under the fixed, equal-pocket model. Larger stakes increase the money exposed to the same rule. A covered position can pay while the layout loses, as the €4 return from a €6 layout demonstrates.
Evolution describes First Person outcomes as independent of previous game action. Earlier results do not change the next RNG outcome under that rule. A history panel can show what happened; it does not supply a promised winning sequence or a recovery guarantee.
Take the rules into your next comparison
Compare return rules across table games
Compare the exact wheel, zero protection, wager payout and total exposure together. The table-game RTP guide helps compare those return rules with other table games.
Compare RTP rulesRead the casino details separately
For account, payment and bonus details, the Vavada review is a separate casino comparison; check the country eligibility stated there before using an offer. That review link does not identify which roulette table a casino currently serves.
Read Vavada reviewThe casino guides hub keeps the wider instructions within reach when your next question concerns another game, a bonus condition or an account procedure.
Questions and answers
Does a roulette payout of 35:1 include my stake?
No. For the selected Evolution European, American, French and First Person ordinary cash rules, 35:1 describes winnings on the winning position's stake. The winning stake is returned too, so one winning unit returns 36 units gross. Whole-round profit subtracts every stake placed.
Which roulette bets get half their stake back on zero?
In Evolution French Roulette, French Roulette Gold and Auto Roulette La Partage, the half-stake return applies to Red/Black, Even/Odd and 1-18/19-36 when zero lands. Dozens, columns and ordinary inside bets receive no La Partage protection. A hypothetical €2 Odd cash wager returns €1 and loses €1 on zero.
Can a winning roulette position still leave the whole round at a loss?
Yes. In the hypothetical €6 Evolution European cash layout, €1 is on 17, €2 on Odd and €3 on the second dozen, 13-24. If 1 lands, only Odd pays €4; subtracting all €6 staked leaves a €2 loss. These amounts illustrate the calculation and do not establish table limits.
