What Are the Payouts on Roulette?
Roulette is truly a special casino game. Players of all kinds can enjoy it without needing to worry too much about strategy and tactics, while the prizes can pay off a lot! However, this game involves quite a bit of money, and before you decide to invest in some chips, it’s essential to know how much you stand to win or lose while playing.
Every single roulette wager includes a mathematical probability that will reveal your winning chances. But it’s not that simple since there are multiple variants of the game, all including different odds and payouts as well as a wide range of bet types, which may confuse some roulette players.
So what is the payout in roulette? Is it easy to learn how to calculate the payouts? Keep reading to find out!
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Roulette
It takes some time to get to know the game of roulette, but luckily, beginners or intermediate players of other casino games only need to learn some basics to understand it.
You may already know that American roulette (with 00) includes weaker odds compared to the European variant (single zero). Also, the addition of such rules as “en prison” in the European version will give the game a decreased house edge. What’s more, it’s crucial to know these rules as well as all the bet types since you could miss a good payout if you place your chips in the wrong place on the roulette table. So when you memorize the different roulette bets, you’ll be able to know how to calculate the odds.
Payouts and Odds
Overall, roulette payouts are fairly simple to understand. Namely, the term relates to the money you stand to receive on your winning wager. It’s almost always a multiple of the bet, and the payouts are expressed with a simple formula: X to 1.
For instance, with an 8:1 payout, you win $8 on a dollar bet. Plus, the croupier will return your original wager. In another example, if the payout is 5:1 and you place a $5 bet, then the total winning amount will be $25. Also, the croupier will return your original wager of $5.
Moreover, it’s possible that roulette payouts could vary depending on the specific games offered in a land-based venue or online casino. That’s another reason why it’s smartest to know all the roulette payouts. That way, you won’t have to spend time while locating them in a live or online casino if you simply know them by heart.
Tip #1
In a way, it could also be better to simply learn the principle behind roulette payouts without needing to memorize every type of bet. What’s more, you can learn how to calculate any bet in only a few moments.
Namely, the main elements here are the zeroes — the 0 or 00 (American variant). As a rule, the number is not included in any calculations.
Furthermore, when it comes to calculating payouts, you merely need to imagine that the game contains 36 numbers. The zero or double zero pockets only generate the game’s house edge. However, sometimes, if zeros are called, all wagers will lose.
How to Calculate Payouts
The best way to grasp the calculation process is to look at an example with column bets.
All 36 numbers in the game can be found over three columns (12 numbers per column). If bets are placed on a column, you’ll get paid if the roulette ball lands on any of the numbers the column includes.
Conversely, if the ball lands on the remaining 24 numbers, you’ll lose that bet. To know the payout, simply look at the losing/winning ratio. Namely, when a column bet is placed, the ratio is 24:12. However, since the payouts are always shown in the simplest form, the payout on that bet is actually 2:1. If you, for example, place $4 on a column and your bet wins, you win $8 along with the original bet of $4, i.e., a total of $12.
Here are a few other examples:
- The split bet (on two numbers) can lose on exactly 34 and win on only 2 numbers. That way, the payout equals to 34:2, but the simplified expression of that is 17:1.
- A bet on red has equal winning/losing numbers (18) and the payout amounts to 18:18 or 1:1.
- Placing a trio wager gives you 3 winning or 33 losing numbers. Thus, this payout is 33:3. When simplified, it amounts to 11:1.
- A 4-number wager (corner) gives a 32:4 payout since you stand to win on 4 and lose on exactly 32 numbers. The simplified version of this payout is 8:1.
- A 6-number wager offers a 30:6 payout since there are 6 winning and 30 losing numbers. The payout’s simplest form is 5:1.
- 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. These bet forms are named after the placement of the wagers on the roulette table layout.
Generally, inside bets are riskier and come with higher payouts, while the outside wagers come with smaller payouts due to increased winning chances. Thus, the outside bets are the safer option, but most of them will pay even money while covering nearly 50% of the table.
The inside bets are:
- Red or Black — the ball must land on a chosen color
- Odd or Even — the ball must land on odd or even numbers
- Low or High — the ball must land on 19 to 36 or 1 to 18
- Columns — the ball must land on one of three columns.
- Dozens — the ball must land on 1 to 12, 13 to 24, or 25 to 36.
On the other hand, inside bets come with smaller chances since the wagers get placed on specific numbers or number combinations. Here’s a list of inside bets:
- Straight-up — a wager on only one number.
- Split — a wager on two numbers (adjacent).
- Street — a wager on three numbers.
- Corner — a wager on four numbers forming a square.
- 5-Number — a wager on 3, 2, 1, 00, and 0.
- 6-Number — a wager on two number rows.
Chances of Winning, Payouts in Vegas and Online
Most inside wagers come with a chance of around 50%. Overall, the odds are around 48.60% for even money bets if you’re playing the European variant, and 47.37% if the wheel is American. And the odds of winning on inside bets vary from 2.70% to 32.40%.
To better illustrate how much you stand to win, here is a table containing the full list of bets, payouts and odds for American and European roulette:
| Bet Type | Payout | European Odds | American Odds |
| Straight-up/Single Number | 35:1 | 2.70% | 2.60% |
| Split/2 Numbers | 17:1 | 5.4% | 5.3% |
| Street/3 Numbers | 11:1 | 8.1% | 7.9% |
| Corner/4 Numbers | 8:1 | 10.8% | 10.5% |
| 5-Number | 6:1 | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 6-Number | 5:1 | 16.2% | 15.8% |
| Column | 2:1 | 32.40% | 31.6% |
| Dozen | 2:1 | 32.40% | 31.6% |
| Odd or Even | 1:1 | 48.60% | 47.4% |
| Red or Black | 1:1 | 48.60% | 47.4% |
| Low or High | 1:1 | 48.60% | 47.4% |
Average Payouts on a $5 Bet
So if you keep in mind that roulette returns your wager to you when you win, plus the winning amount, here’s how much money you can get for a typical $5 bet:
- Straight-up: $180 ($175 win + $5 bet).
- Split: $90 ($85 win + $5 bet).
- Street: $60 ($55 win + $5 bet).
- Corner: $45 ($40 win + $5 bet).
- 5-Number: $5 ($30 win + $5 bet).
- 6-Number: $30 ($25 win + $5 bet).
- Column: $15 ($10 win + $5 bet).
- Dozen: $15 ($10 win + $5 bet).
- Odd/Even: $10 ($5 win + $5 bet).
- Red/Black: $10 ($5 win + $5 bet).
- Low/High: $10 ($5 win + $5 bet).
Roulette Payouts Summary
Overall, those were the basics of calculating roulette payouts. As you have seen, there’s a simple formula to do it if you use the win/lose ratio. Additionally, you can also use resources like the table and lists that we’ve shown you. We’ve included all the bet types, their payouts, and odds in our table. The game of roulette is incredibly fun, and it can lead to some big rewards if you know the payouts and odds.
So check out some frequently asked questions below and start playing today!
Frequently Asked Questions
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Can I win more cash playing in Vegas or online?
Hello, if you wish to play online, you’ll notice that some casinos will be very generous regarding minimum bets and table limits. Some can even be as low as $1 while in Vegas, the average minimum bet is around $10 to $20. In some venues, it can even go up to $100, which is a lot of money if you wish to join the table. And that’s without the costs of additional activities like traveling to the casino.
So if you play online, the cost will be reduced. That way, your bankroll could last longer, eventually giving you more time to land that big win.
Hi there. My girlfriends say American roulette will make me lose a lot of money fast. Is this true?
Greetings, Hanna. We believe it’s generally better to play the European variant. Namely, the reason for this is that the American wheel contains a zero pocket and a double zero pocket. Therefore, the total number of pockets is 38 (one more than on the European wheel). This changes up the game in a way that the house edge increases to a large 5.26% and it’s almost twice as big as the European edge. Additionally, this also means that the American roulette payouts will occur less often.
Over time, you will lose more money on the American variant, so your friends are completely right. You’ll have a much larger winning chance if you try the European wheel. Thanks for your inquiry!
I don’t know how to start with online roulette games, can you recommend some?
Hi Jessica, we can surely answer that for you. Respected software providers almost always make online casino games, including roulette and to guarantee a fair and secure experience with plenty of winning chances. Moreover, you can simply find a good game provider in a reliable online casino. RTG, aka RealTime Gaming is one of our favorites for roulette. They offer European, American, and French roulette, as well as an exciting Multiplayer Roulette game. RTG’s European variant is among the most popular online roulette games. The bet range is around $1 to $500, and the house edge is 2.70% like in live casinos. It’s a great and affordable way to play roulette, and the game offers plenty of winning chances. Thanks for your comment, Jessica!
Hello, if I play roulette in online casino, can I make money?
Hello there, Ivor. You most certainly can! The online gambling world has advanced a lot, and it offers plenty of opportunities to win money by playing roulette. You merely need to register in a reliable online site and choose a safe banking method to make a deposit. You can play with your deposit, and then, if you’re fortunate, you can get a payout in roulette that will be transferred to your real-life money account. Good luck!
I heard some players talk about betting systems for roulette but I could not apply what they were saying to the game. Do betting systems decrease the house edge and increase the payouts?
It’s interesting that you posed this question because roulette strategies and betting systems can be a successful way to beat the game. There are several betting strategies, for instance, the Martingale; however, they cannot change the house edge or the payouts. The Martingale system is risky, and it entails you to double your wager with every loss. That way, over time, only one winning bet will make up for all your losses. It does require a high bankroll, though. It’s a popular way of playing. However, it cannot increase your chances or give you bigger payouts than the ones that are already available. Good Luck!