Roulette Terms and Expressions: A Practical Glossary
A rules-first glossary of roulette wheels, inside and outside bets, French sector wagers, table procedure, payouts, and probability terms.
Casino Context
Updated July 24, 2026
Roulette terminology describes the wheel, betting layout, covered pockets, payout, and dealing procedure. The same core words appear at many tables, but French, American, racetrack, and online variants add terms of their own. The posted table rules always override a generic glossary.
Bottom line
Before placing a chip, be able to name the wager, identify every pocket it covers, state its payout, and confirm the wheel type.
Wheel and table terms
- Wheel
- The rotating device containing numbered pockets. Common layouts have one, two, or three zero-marked pockets.
- Single-zero roulette
- A 37-pocket wheel with numbers 1-36 and one 0.
- Double-zero roulette
- A 38-pocket wheel with numbers 1-36, 0, and 00.
- Triple-zero roulette
- A 39-pocket variant with numbers 1-36 and three zero-marked pockets.
- Layout
- The marked table area where wagers are placed. Its number grid is not arranged in the same order as the wheel.
- Croupier or dealer
- The person who conducts the game, announces betting status and results, and settles wagers.
- Dolly or marker
- A marker placed on the winning number on the layout while losing and winning wagers are settled.
Inside bets
Inside bets are placed on or around the numbered grid. Standard payouts below are stated “to one,” meaning the original stake is also returned on a win.
| Term | Coverage | Standard payout |
|---|---|---|
| Straight up | One number | 35 to 1 |
| Split | Two adjacent numbers | 17 to 1 |
| Street | Three numbers in one horizontal row | 11 to 1 |
| Corner or square | Four numbers meeting at one intersection | 8 to 1 |
| Six line or double street | Six numbers across two adjacent rows | 5 to 1 |
Basket, top line, and similar zero-area terms can refer to different groups depending on the single-zero or double-zero layout. Identify the actual covered pockets instead of relying on the name alone.
Outside bets
- Red or black
- An even-money wager on one of the two displayed colors. Zero pockets are neither red nor black.
- Odd or even
- An even-money wager on odd or even numbers from 1-36. Zero pockets belong to neither group.
- Low or high
- An even-money wager on 1-18 or 19-36. Zero pockets are outside both ranges.
- Dozen
- A 2-to-1 wager on 1-12, 13-24, or 25-36.
- Column
- A 2-to-1 wager on one of the three 12-number vertical columns shown on the layout.
- Even-money bet
- A wager paying 1 to 1. It does not mean the chance is exactly 50%, because the zero pocket or pockets lose under standard rules.
French and racetrack terms
- La partage
- A rule under which part of an even-money stake is returned when the ball lands on zero. Eligibility and returned amount follow the table rules.
- En prison
- A rule that may hold an even-money wager for another spin after zero. The next-spin settlement follows the posted procedure.
- Racetrack
- An oval representation of numbers in wheel order used to place wheel-sector and neighbor bets.
- Neighbors
- A group containing a selected number and a stated number of adjacent pockets on the physical wheel.
- Voisins du zéro
- A multi-chip wager covering a defined sector around zero on a single-zero wheel.
- Tiers du cylindre
- A multi-chip wager covering a wheel sector approximately opposite zero.
- Orphelins
- “Orphans”: numbers outside the two larger traditional single-zero sectors, covered through a specified set of bets.
- Jeu zéro
- A smaller combination of bets covering numbers close to zero on the single-zero wheel.
Sector names are shorthand for a chip pattern. Confirm the interface’s exact coverage and total cost because casinos and software can offer different neighbor counts or button behavior.
Betting and settlement terms
- Call bet or announced bet
- A wager described verbally rather than built chip by chip. Whether it is accepted and when payment is required depend on house rules and local law.
- Complete bet
- A group of straight, split, street, corner, and six-line wagers associated with a selected number.
- Table minimum and maximum
- The permitted stake range. Separate limits can apply to inside and outside bets.
- No more bets
- The dealer’s cutoff announcement. Wagers placed or changed afterward are not accepted.
- Inside chip
- A chip used for numbered-grid wagers, often color-coded to distinguish players at a live table and assigned a declared value.
- Repeat bet
- An online control that recreates some or all wagers from the previous spin. Check the displayed total before confirming.
Probability terms
- House edge
- The casino’s long-run mathematical advantage under the rules and payouts. It is not a prediction of one session.
- Hit frequency
- How often a wager wins. A higher hit frequency normally comes with a lower payout and does not by itself mean better value.
- Gambler’s fallacy
- The mistaken belief that an independent result becomes due because the opposite result occurred repeatedly.
- Hot or cold number
- A label for recent frequency. It does not change a pocket’s probability on the next fair spin.
A quick translation from term to action
- Name the wheelCount the zero-marked pockets.
- Name the betUse the glossary term shown in the paytable.
- Trace the coverageList every pocket the chips represent.
- Check the payoutConfirm both the award and any special zero rule.
- Confirm total stakeMulti-chip announced bets cost more than one chip.
