The math of roulette

Roulette payouts and odds chart

See standard roulette payouts alongside the chance of winning. Compare European, American and triple-zero wheels without confusing payout odds with probability.

Standard bets at a glance

Standard roulette payouts and win chance, European wheel (37 pockets)
BetPocketsNet payoutWin chance
Straight-up135:12.70%
Split217:15.41%
Street311:18.11%
Corner48:110.81%
Six-line65:116.22%
Dozen / column122:132.43%
Red / black181:148.65%
Odd / even181:148.65%
Low / high181:148.65%

Standard payouts. Winning stake returned separately. First-five basket is explained below.

Read the payout chart

The ratio is net profit per unit staked when the bet wins. Add the original stake to get total return. A 2:1 payout on $10 means $20 profit and $30 returned in total, not a 2-in-1 chance of winning.

A $10 straight-up example

At 35:1, a winning $10 number bet produces $350 profit plus the $10 stake, for $360 returned. The other outcomes lose the $10 stake. On a European wheel, the win probability remains 1/37, or 2.70%.

The five-number exception

The American first-five bet covers 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 and pays 6:1. Its expected return is 35/38 of the stake, leaving a 7.89% house edge. That differs from the 5.26% edge on the standard double-zero bets in the chart.

Use Print chart to open the browser print dialog. The print view includes the selected wheel, full table, payout definitions and calculation date. Check the actual table rules before applying any figure to a different game.

Roulette payouts on a $10 bet

The roulette payout chart lists net payouts. This table turns each ratio into money for a hypothetical $10 winning bet, so the difference between profit and total return is clear.

Profit and total return on a winning $10 bet
BetNet payoutProfit on $10Total returned
Straight-up35:1$350$360
Split17:1$170$180
Street11:1$110$120
Corner8:1$80$90
Six-line5:1$50$60
Dozen / column2:1$20$30
Red / black1:1$10$20
Odd / even1:1$10$20
Low / high1:1$10$20

Payout odds versus true odds

True odds against compare losing pockets with winning pockets. The payout is always a little lower than the true odds on a wheel with zeros, and that gap is the house edge. On a European wheel a straight-up has true odds of 36:1 but pays 35:1.

True odds against winning compared with the standard payout
BetPayoutTrue odds (European)True odds (American)True odds (triple zero)
Straight-up35:136:137:138:1
Split17:135:218:137:2
Street11:134:335:312:1
Corner8:133:417:235:4
Six-line5:131:616:311:2
Dozen / column2:125:1213:69:4
Red / black1:119:1810:97:6
Odd / even1:119:1810:97:6
Low / high1:119:1810:97:6

What does 2 to 1 mean in roulette?

A 2 to 1 payout on a dozen or column means a winning bet earns twice the stake in profit and the stake is returned as well. It does not mean the bet wins one time in three: on a European wheel a dozen wins 12 times in 37, or 32.43%.