Roulette strategy

Roulette has no strategy in the blackjack sense. You can’t make a decision mid-spin that changes your odds, and no pattern of bets can overcome the house edge. What you can control is where you sit and what you bet. The wheel you choose can halve your cost, one specific bet is worse than all the others, and two rare rules make even-money bets the best deal on the floor. This guide explains all of it. Every edge below is exact, computed by enumerating every pocket on every wheel, and matches Wizard of Odds analysis.

How to play

1. Buy in for chips. Most tables give each player their own colour of roulette chip so the dealer can tell bets apart.
2. Place your bets. Put chips on the layout. Inside bets go on single numbers or small groups. Outside bets go on the big boxes: red/black, odd/even, high/low, dozens and columns. Tables usually require the inside bets together to meet the minimum, and each outside bet to meet it on its own.
3. The spin. The dealer spins the wheel one way and launches the ball the other. Near the end, the dealer calls “no more bets.”
4. The ball lands. The dealer places a marker (the “dolly”) on the winning number.
5. Settle up. Losing bets are swept first. Then winners are paid, and your winning bets stay on the layout unless you pick them up.

Payouts

Every bet pays as if the wheel had only the 36 numbered pockets. The rule is: payout + 1 = 36 ÷ numbers covered. The zeros are what the house keeps.

Example: you put $5 on 17 straight up, $5 on the 17-20 split and $5 on black. The ball lands on 17, a black number. You’re paid $175 + $85 + $5 = $265 in winnings, and your three bets stay up.

House edge by wheel

On each wheel, every bet has the same edge, with one exception. The American basket (0-00-1-2-3) pays 6:1 on five numbers when the formula says it should pay 6.2:1. That makes it 7.89%, the worst bet on a double-zero table.

Even-money rules on single-zero wheels

En prison has a few versions. Casino Coach uses the simple one: the imprisoned bet comes back if it wins the next spin and is lost otherwise, which works out to 1.39%. Wizard of Odds quotes 1.35% for the common version where a second zero doesn’t lose the imprisoned bet.

Strategy

Since roulette has no playing decisions, the strategy is about choosing your table and your bets. Here it is in four rules.

1. Pick the wheel with the fewest zeros

Single zero (2.70%) beats double zero (5.26%), which beats triple zero (7.69%). That’s the biggest decision you’ll make at a roulette table. In Las Vegas the double-zero wheel is standard. Single-zero wheels exist, usually at higher-limit tables on the Strip. Triple-zero wheels have spread since about 2016, so check the wheel before you sit down.

To see what that means in money, picture $100 wagered. On a double-zero wheel you lose $5.26 on average. On a single-zero wheel, $2.70. On a triple-zero wheel, $7.69.

2. With la partage or en prison, bet even money

These rules only apply to even-money bets, and only on a single-zero wheel. They roughly halve the edge, from 2.70% to about 1.35–1.39%. If you find a table with one of these rules, red/black, odd/even or high/low is the best bet in roulette. Inside bets on that same table still cost 2.70%.

3. Never bet the basket on a double-zero wheel

The five-number top line is the only bet on an American table that costs more than 5.26%. If you like covering the zeros, use the 0-00 split or a trio like 0-00-2 instead. They’re 5.26%, like everything else.

4. Ignore betting systems

Martingale (double after every loss), D’Alembert, Fibonacci, Labouchère and “hot numbers” don’t change the edge. Every spin is independent, and the wheel doesn’t remember the last one. A Martingale on red on a double-zero wheel still costs 5.26% of every dollar you bet. It just trades many small wins for a rare large loss, made worse by the table maximum.

Within a wheel, inside or outside bets don’t matter for cost. A straight-up bet and a bet on red cost exactly the same per dollar. They only differ in variance: straight-up bets win rarely and big, even-money bets win often and small. Pick whichever matches how you like to play.

Common mistakes

• Playing double zero when single zero is available. It costs an extra $2.56 per $100 wagered.
• Playing triple zero instead of double zero. Another $2.43 per $100.
• Betting the basket on an American wheel. 7.89% instead of 5.26%, about $2.63 more per $100.
• Inside bets at a la partage table. You’re paying 2.70% when even money would cost 1.35%, about $1.35 more per $100.
• Believing a number is “due.” The wheel has no memory, and no number is ever due.
• Trusting a betting system. No system changes the edge, as above.

House edge explained

The house edge in roulette is just the zeros. The payouts are fair for a wheel of 36 numbers, and the casino adds pockets that pay nothing on most bets. One zero out of 37 pockets is 2.70%. Two out of 38 is 5.26%. Three out of 39 is 7.69%.

That’s why the edge is identical across nearly every bet: the zeros take the same share of every payout. The basket is the exception, because its payout is rounded down from 6.2:1 to 6:1. La partage and en prison are the other exception, but in your favour: they give back about half of what the zero takes on even-money bets.

So the best bets are even-money bets with la partage (1.35%) or en prison, then anything on a single-zero wheel (2.70%). The worst are the American basket (7.89%) and everything on a triple-zero wheel (7.69%).

Practice in Casino Coach

Casino Coach has single-zero, double-zero and triple-zero wheels with every inside and outside bet, and la partage and en prison on the single-zero wheel. In trainer mode it grades your bet selection, flags costly bets like the basket and suggests a better wheel. You can turn on a payout check to pay winners like a dealer, or block bad bets outright. Five drills build the knowledge: Bet selection, Payout calculation, Which bets win?, House edge quiz and Wheel neighbours, which teaches the pocket order of both wheels. Analytics track your results against expected, plus your most frequent numbers. Chips are free and have no cash value. Train roulette free and learn which table to choose.

Updated October 24, 2026