Roulette Strategy Guide
Roulette is pure chance: you bet on where a ball will land on a spinning wheel of numbers 0–36 (European) and get paid according to how many numbers your bet covered.
The whole game comes down to two choices — which numbers to cover and which wheel to play. Because the payouts are set so that every bet carries the same edge, no bet is cleverer than another; the single vs double zero is the only thing that actually changes your odds.
How to Play
- Place chips on the numbers (0–36) or the outside bets before the spin. The ball lands on one number and every bet is settled against it.
- Inside bet: a straight-up bet on one number pays 35:1. Outside bets cover many numbers for smaller payouts.
- Even-money bets — Red/Black, Odd/Even, and 1-18/19-36 — pay 1:1. Dozens (1-12, 13-24, 25-36) and Columns pay 2:1.
- The single green 0 loses every outside bet, which is where the house gets its edge. This European wheel has one zero (American wheels add a 00).
Pay Tables
Payouts
- Straight (1 number)35 to 1
- Split (2 numbers)17 to 1
- Street (3)11 to 1
- Corner (4)8 to 1
- Six line (6)5 to 1
- Column / Dozen (12)2 to 1
- Red/Black · Odd/Even · 1-18/19-361 to 1
Strategy
- There is no strategy that beats roulette — every bet on a single-zero wheel has the same 2.70% house edge, so no bet is 'smarter' than another.
- Choose the European (single-zero) wheel over American (double-zero); the American 00 doubles the edge to 5.26%.
- Even-money bets bust slowest (near-coin-flip odds), while straight-up numbers are high-variance; pick based on the swings you want, not on 'due' numbers.
- Past spins don't affect future spins — betting systems like Martingale don't change the edge, so set a budget and play for fun.
Want the correct play for a specific hand? Look up every Roulette hand →
Each hand shows the optimal decision and the reasoning behind it.
House Edge
On a single-zero European wheel every bet has a 2.70% house edge. On an American double-zero wheel the edge jumps to 5.26% (7.89% on the five-number bet). Always choose European when you can.
Tips
- Play European (single-zero) wheels — the American 00 doubles the house edge.
- No bet is better than another on the same wheel; pick inside bets for big swings, outside bets for slower, coin-flip-style play.
- Betting systems (Martingale, D'Alembert) don't beat the edge — they just reshape the wins and losses.
- Every spin is independent; 'hot' and 'cold' numbers are a gambler's fallacy.
For entertainment only. No real-money gambling. 21+