You will encounter specific roulette terms and phrases related to the outcomes and the best when you join a land-based roulette table or play at an online casino. Even though roulette has straightforward gameplay, knowing what the particular roulette terms mean will help you improve your game and make better bet decisions. So, we bring you a detailed roulette glossary where we break down all the important roulette terminologies that are important when you learn how to play roulette!
A
- Action – when it is your turn to place a bet in roulette
- All-In – when you place all your money on a single bet
- American Roulette – a roulette version with 38 pockets on the wheel, with the numbers 1 to 36 and two green fields, 0 and 00. American roulette comes with a higher house edge
- Andrucci Strategy – a roulette betting system where you plan your bets based on counting hot and cold numbers during a set number of spins
- Announced Bet – when you call a bet or announce you’ll make a bet and then place your chips on the table
Credit: AllySpin
B
- Back Track – the outer rim on the roulette wheel where the ball spins before it
- Bankroll – your available budget to use to place all types of roulette bets
- Basket Bet – a special bet that is unique to American roulette where you can place a 5-number bet on the 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3
- Bet on the Layout – the action of placing your roulette bet on the numbered layout on the table
- Biased Wheel – referring to a roulette wheel that is flawed and favors specific numbers; a biased wheel is more common in land-based casinos
- Black Bet – placing a bet that the ball will land on a black pocket
- Block Betting – when you place a bet on a block of numbers on the wheel; usually used in French roulette
- Bottom Track – the inner rim of the roulette wheel where the ball slides before it falls on a numbered pocket
- Bonus – the promotional programs the casinos offer as incentives to new and existing players
C
- Call Bets – the bet you make without placing chips on the table; more often present in land-based casinos. These differ from announced bets
- Capping – to try to trick the dealer by adding more chips to a winning bet after the dealer says “No More Bets”
- Carr – French for a corner bet
- Chase Your Losses – an action where you place large bets, hoping to win significant and cover losses from previous bets
- Cheval – French term for a split bet
- Chips – specialized roulette chips that are not marked like regular casino chips. Instead, these come in different colors and simple denominations to help the dealer know who placed the bet
- Cold Numbers – reference used for numbers that have not come up in a while; usually in 37 spins
- Cold Wheel/Cold Table – slang for a roulette wheel where players tend to lose more than they win
- Colonne – French for a column bet
- Column Bet – an outside bet where you bet on one of the three number columns with a payout of 2 to 1
- Complete Bet – a roulette betting strategy where you hedge your straight-up bet by placing bets on the surrounding numbers
- Corner Bet – an inside bet you place on the corner where four numbers touch that pays 8 to 1
D
- D’Alembert System – a budget-managing betting strategy often used in roulette; per the rules of this strategy, you increase your bet amount when you lose and decrease the bet amount after you win
- Derniere – French term for the bet on the last dozen, for the numbers from 25 to 36
- Double Zero – the green 00 pocket in American roulette
- Dozens Bet – an outside bet that you place on one of three dozens of numbers 1 to 12, 13 to 24, and 25 to 36
- Drop – slang term for the amount you place when you play roulette
E
- En Plein – French for straight-up bet
- En Prison – a special rule in French roulette applied to even money bets; per this rule, when you make an even money bet, and the ball lands on zero, your bet rolls over to the next spin. If the ball lands on another zero, you will lose your bet, and if you win, you’ll get your initial wager amount back
- European Roulette – a roulette version with 37 pockets on the wheel, the numbers 1 to 36, and a single green 0 field; it is the most commonly found roulette version in most online and land-based casinos
- Even Money – a roulette bet that comes with a 1 to 1 payout, like the red or black, high or low, and even or odd bets
- Even or Odd – an outside bet in roulette where you bet that the ball will land either on an even or an odd number; it is an even money bet with a 1 to 1 payout
- Even Bet – an outside bet in roulette where you bet that the ball will land either on an even number; it is an even money bet with a 1 to 1 payout
F
- Fibonacci System – a roulette betting system based on the Fibonacci sequence; it is a negative progression bet where you increase the amount you bet after you lose, and it follows the Fibonacci sequence
- Final Straight – a varied called bet in French roulette where you bet that the ball will land on one of several numbers that end with the same digit
- Final Split – a varied called bet in French roulette where you bet that the ball will land on a number that contains two select digits
- Five-Number Bet – another name for the basket bet found only in American roulette
- Fixed Bets – these are special called bets that are found in French roulette, where you place a bet on a fixed set of numbers
- Flat Bet – when you place the same bet amount on every spin
- French Bets – specialized bets that are present in French roulette, and these cover multiple numbers on the wheel
- French Roulette – a version of roulette with the same roulette wheel and table layout as European roulette but with special betting rules that lower the house edge for outside bets
Credit: 20Bet
G
- Green Betting – a roulette bet you place with a chip worth $25
- Green Pocket – the number 0 in European roulette and 0 and 00 in American roulette
H
- High or Low – an outside bet in roulette where you bet that the ball will land either on a high (19 to 36) or a low number (1 to 18); it is an even money bet with a 1 to 1 payout
- High Roller – a roulette player who places huge bets
- High-Stakes Roulette – a type of roulette where you are allowed to place high stakes; you can apply a high-stakes roulette strategy and only play live roulette variants
- Hot Number – a number on the roulette wheel that hits more often than other numbers
- Hot Wheel/Hot Table – slang for a roulette wheel where players tend to win more than they lose
- House Edge – the house edge in roulette is the mathematical advantage the casino has over the player. It is the casino’s cut from every bet you place, and it is how the casino makes profits
I
- Impair – French for a bet on an odd number
- Inside Bet – the bets you place on the inside section of the roulette table; inside bets cover individual numbers or small groups of numbers, and these come with higher payouts but with lower winning odds
J
- Jeu Zero – a fixed called bet in French roulette, also known as the Zero game bet, where you bet that the ball will land on one of 7 numbers that are closest to 0 on the wheel
L
- La Partage – a special rule in French roulette applied to even money bets; per this rule, when you make an even money bet and the ball lands on zero, you get back half of your bet amount
- Line Bet – also known as six-line or double street bet, it is an inside bet where you bet that the ball will land on one of six consecutive numbers or two adjacent rows on the table; the payout for a line bet is 5 to 1
- Live Roulette – an online roulette game that is streamed live online; it is run from a unique casino studio where a live dealer runs the game and spins the wheel, and you can place real-time bets
- Low Stakes Roulette – online games where you can play with really low stakes roulette, sometimes as low as $0.1
M
- Manque – French for low bet (1 to 18)
- Marker – a special item the dealer places on the roulette table to mark the winning number after each spin; it is used in land-based casinos and live online roulette games
- Martingale Strategy – a budget-managing betting strategy commonly used in roulette; per the rules of this strategy, you double your bet amount when you lose in hopes of recouping your losses if you go on a winning streak
- Mini Roulette – a roulette version that is often found in online roulette casinos; it features a wheel with 13 numbers, 1 to 12 and one 0
N
- Negative Progression – a betting system based on a mathematical formula where you increase your bet amount after every loss; the Fibonacci, d’Alembert, and Martingale systems are based on negative progression
- Neighbors – usually a 3-number bet covering adjacent numbers on the wheel, even though these are apart on the table layout; at some casinos, you can adjust the number of neighbors you want to cover with your bet
- Neighbors of Zero – a fixed called bet in French roulette where you bet that the ball will land on one of 17 numbers that surround the 0 on the roulette wheel; the numbers are 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, and 25
- No Action – the dealer’s announcement that all bets are canceled and the round is repeated
- No More Bets – the dealer’s announcement that you can’t place any more bets, and the roulette wheel starts spinning. Any bet placed after this announcement is void
- No Zero Roulette – a roulette variant where the wheel does not have a zero pocket and comes with 0% house edge. It is usually used as a promotional game or found as free roulette
- Noir – French for betting on black
- No Value Chip – a roulette chip that does not have a set value, but its value depends on the buy-in amount
O
- Odd Bet – an outside bet in roulette where you bet that the ball will land on an odd number; it is an even money bet with a 1 to 1 payout
- Odds – the odds in roulette represent your chances of winning the bet you’ve placed
- Orphans – a called bet on three numbers that are next to each other on the roulette wheel but are not near one another on the roulette table; more often used in French roulette
- Orphelins – found in French roulette, this is a fixed called bet where you bet that the ball will land on one of the numbers not covered by the Neighbors of Zero and the Thirds of the Wheel bets; the numbers are 7, 34, 6, 1, 20, 14, 31, and 9
- Outside Bet – the bets you place on the outside section of the roulette table; the outside bets cover the larger sections of numbers; these come with lower payouts but with significantly higher winning odds
P
- Pair – French for placing an even bet
- Parlay/Press – you leave your original bet and winnings on the roulette table for the next spin
- Paroli System – a positive progression betting system where you double the bet amount after every win and revert to the original bet amount after every loss
- Passe – French for high bet
- Pocket – the numbered slots on the roulette wheel where the ball lands; there are 37 pockets in European roulette and 38 pockets in American roulette
- Positive Progression – a betting system where you increase the bet amount after every won and lower the bet amount after every loss; it is effective for boosting the bankroll and taking advantage of a winning streak; the Paroli system is based on positive progression
- Premiere – French for betting on the first dozen (1-12)
Q
- Quarter – another word for corner bet, when you place a bet on four numbers whose corners touch on the roulette table grid; the payout for this bet is 8 to 1
Credit: 22Bet
R
- Red Bet – placing a bet that the ball will land on a red pocket; one of the most favored bets in roulette
- Romanovsky System – a betting strategy that covers 32 numbers on the roulette table that boosts your winning chances to 86.48%
- Roulette System – a term referring to different roulette betting strategies you can try when playing roulette; some of these can help boost your winning chances but can’t affect the odds and house edge
- Row Bet – the same as a street bet; an inside bet where you bet that the ball will land on one of three consecutive numbers on the roulette table that are in one row; the payout is 11 to 1
S
- Single Zero Roulette – another term referring to European roulette where the wheel has one green zero pocket
- Six-Line Bet – the same as a line or double street bet; an inside bet where you bet that the ball will land on one of six consecutive numbers or two adjacent rows on the table; the payout for a six-line bet is 5 to 1
- Sixaligne – French for six-line bet
- Split Bet – an inside bet where you bet that the ball will land on one of two adjacent numbers on the roulette table; the payout is 17 to 1
- Square Bet – the same as a quarter bet, you bet that the ball will land on one of four numbers whose corners touch on the roulette table; the payout is 8 to 1
- Straight-Up Bet – an inside bet where you place a bet on a single number; the payout for a straight-up bet is 35 to 1
- Street Bet – an inside bet where you bet that the ball will land on one of three consecutive numbers on the roulette table that are in one row; the payout is 11 to 1
T
- Tiers Du Cylindre/Thirds of the Wheel – a called bet in French roulette where you bet that the ball land on one of 12 numbers opposite of the Neighbors or Zero; these are the numbers 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, and 33, and the payout 17 to 1
- Transversale – French for street bet
- Tripe Bet/Trio – the same as a street bet; an inside bet where you bet that the ball will land on one of three consecutive numbers on the roulette table that are in one row; the payout is 11 to 1
V
- Voisins du Zero – a fixed called bet in French roulette, also known as Neighbors of Zero, where you bet that the ball will land on one of 17 numbers surrounding the 0 on the roulette wheel; the numbers are 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, and 25
W
- Wager – the same as bet
- Wheel – the central part of the roulette table, the wheel has a ball track and numbered slots; the dealer spins the ball in one direction and spins the wheel in the opposite direction, ensuring a random outcome every time
Z
- Zero – the green field on the roulette table and the green pocket on the wheel marked with 0; European and French roulette have one zero field, and American Roulette has two zero fields
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