Roulette Terms

These terms are not only used when playing regular roulette, but also when playing live roulette. Here it’s important to know that the rules of the game are mostly the same and only the way of playing varies. These are the most important terms you should know about roulette:

The most known roulette terms

• American roulette: The American roulette is a term you’ll often come across in online casinos. It is one of the three best-known variants, namely European roulette, French roulette, and thus American roulette. This game is often offered in American casinos and has two zeros (double zero) on the wheel. Money can be bet on 0, 00 and numbers 1 through 36.
• Alembert system: A progressive roulette wagering system in which you double your bet by one unit after a loss and reduce it by one unit after a win.
• Bankroll: Your balance is your bankroll. Always keep in mind how much money you have on your bankroll and adjust your bets accordingly.
• Biased wheel: A wheel where not all numbers have an equal chance of winning on each spin. Many stories of players who have won big are said to be the result of a ‘Biased wheel’. It requires a lot of time and energy to figure out which numbers fall more often than the rest.
• Neighbor game: In the neighbor game, you can bet money on a larger set of numbers. Bet on adjacent numbers to the number you place your chips on. This is also where this roulette term comes from, as you bet on “neighbors”. By playing the neighbor game, you are basically betting on a larger area on the roulette wheel. Known bets are “Zero,” “Series 0/2/3,” “Orphelins,” and “Series 5/8.
• Ball track: The outer stationary edge of a wheel into which the ball spins in opposite directions. This is often referred to as the ball track.
• Black bet: This term means placing a bet on the box that pays out if the ball lands on a number written in black.
• Carré: A Carré is a roulette term on French roulette tables. It indicates that you are placing a bet on a “corner bet”. With this, you bet money on four numbers at once and place the chips where the lines of four numbers meet.
• Cheval: French roulette term for a bet on ‘Split’ (two numbers at once).
• Cold table: A roulette table on which you and other players lose a lot of money in one game session or in successive rounds.
• Column bet: There are several pockets on the table where you can bet if you think that one of the 12 numbers in that column will fall. A column bet is a bet placed on one of the three columns of the grid.
• Corner bet: If you want to spread your bet, you can play roulette by placing your bet on several numbers at once. If you place a bet on the cross between 4 contiguous numbers on the playing field, then this is called a Corner bet.
• Croupier: The croupier is the person who controls everything at the roulette tables, including spinning the roulette wheel, throwing the ball into the wheel and handling payouts or exchanging chips.
• Dolly / Marker: The dolly is placed only after the ball has landed in a pocket of the wheel. The croupier places it on the fallen number and moves the rest of the bets off the table. Players may bet again only after all bets under the dolly have been paid off.
• Dozen bet / Dozaine: There are a total of three dozen bets available on the roulette tables. 1 to 12, 13 to 24 and 25 to 36. These bets pay out 2 to 1. The French term for this is ‘Dozaine’.
• Double Zero: The pocket 00 in American roulette is called ‘double zero’.
• En Prison: If you come across this one among the roulette terms, it refers to a bet on one of the 50 percent squares. When the ball falls in the 0 and you don’t win you can get half of your bet back. You can also choose to leave that half on the same square in En Prison.
• En plein: French roulette term for ‘Straight-up bet’, also known as a bet on a single number with the highest possible payout of 35 to 1.
• Single zero: A single zero (0) is found on European and French roulette versions. These variants are the best choice for more winning chances and has a house edge of 2.7%.
• Even bet: If you see or hear this term, you place a bet on an even number. You can then bet on all the even numbers in the game and win double your bet if you’re right.
• European Roulette: The European Roulette is most commonly found in European and Asian land-based casinos. In this version there is a “single zero” and it comes with a low house edge. Should you be playing roulette at an online casino? Then always choose this version.
• Single odds / Even money: The single odds are displayed on the outside of the roulette playing field. These bets convert (red / black, odd / even & high / low). Even money is the payout for a single chance, which is 1 to 1 payout.
• Favorites: With the many betting options and features on online roulette tables today, it is also possible to bet on ‘Favorites’. Literally translated also called “favorites. Here you indicate what your favorite bets are and you can save them for faster use.
• Five number bet: The Five number bet is only available on American roulette. Here you cover the numbers 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3.
• Chips: In all casinos you play with chips and not cash. If you want to play roulette in land casinos, you first have to give money to the croupier who will then return your chips to you to be used on the table.
• Flat bettor: A player who never varies and always bets on the same numbers and does not increase or decrease his bets.
• French roulette: A roulette variant with a single zero and ‘La partage’ and ‘En Prison’ rule. With this added game rule, betting on single odds allows players to get half their bet back if the ball lands on the zero.
• High number:Betting on a high number means choosing all the numbers from 19 to 36 on the playing field. This is a so-called 50 percent pocket, where you get back double your bet.
• House edge: The house edge is a mathematical advantage that the casino has over the players. It is indicated by a percentage and is based on many rounds of play. On a wheel with one zero the house edge is 2.7% and on a wheel with two zeros the house edge is 5.26%.
• Highroller: A player who plays with stakes higher than the average player in a casino. In land-based casinos, these players are often referred to as the big whales.
• Inside bet: A bet placed on a spot on the inside of the playing field.
• La partage: A French roulette rule that is similar to the ‘En Prison’ rule, only in this case the player loses half of his/her bet and there is no option to leave the bet for another round. This only applies to single odds such as even / odd, red / black or high and low.
• Line bet: A bet on six numbers at a time. On the outside you can place the chips to make a bet on, for example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 or 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. It is also referred to on tables as 1st 12, 2nd 12 and 3rd 12.
• Lightning roulette: An innovative roulette game from Evolution Gaming with high payouts of up to five hundred times the original bet. Lightning strikes numbers is a piece of software RNG and the multiplier of this live roulette online is added randomly depending on which numbers the RNG is generating at the time.
• Low number: This is the inverse of high number. You bet on the numbers from 1 to 18. A bet on a low number is a bet on half of the playing field and provides a double payout in case of a tie.
• Manque: French term for a bet on low numbers (1 through 18).
• Mini roulette: The mini roulette variant is available at some casinos. This game has a smaller wheel and playing field and there are a total of 13 boxes available to bet your money on (1 through 12 and a 0). The payouts are different from traditional roulette and many mini roulette games give you back half of your lost money if the ball lands on the 0.
• Odd number: This term you will encounter when betting on the odd numbers of the game. You don’t have to place a chip on each odd number, but can place your bet on one square at a time.
• Orphans: Literally, this means orphans. You bet on a series of numbers that appear next to each other on the roulette wheel. So if the ball falls on a particular spot, with this bet you have a good chance that the number of your bet will be there.
• Orphelins: A French name for a roulette wheel and common in many European casinos. It’s a bet on three specific numbers that are contiguous on the wheel, namely 6, 34, and 17.
• Outside bet: Any bet placed on one of the side pockets is called an outside bet in roulette terms.
• Parlay: Parlay means doubling the initial bet if you win a round in roulette.
• Pockets: The roulette term pockets refer to the compartments where the ivory ball can land in the roulette wheel. Each pocket has its own number from 1 to 36 and a 0 or 00 in the case of an American roulette wheel. Half of the pockets are red or black and the zeros are green.
• Rouge: French roulette term for a bet on only red numbers.
• Red bet: This one is probably self-explanatory. Any bet on red is called a red bet.
• Rien ne va plus: You may already be familiar with this. The moment the possibility of placing a bet is over the dealer will say Rien ne va plus. This means that no more bets can be placed and the ball will determine which number will be the winning one.
• Sixainne: French for betting on a ‘Six Line’ (six numbers at once, also called line bet).
• Split: A bet on two numbers where you place the chips on a line between two numbers. These numbers are always next to each other on the playing field, but are not located on the roulette wheel.
• Street: To the left of the numbers on a roulette table you can bet on a street. Place the chips on the line to the left at, say, 1 and you bet money on the numbers 1, 2 and 3.
• Stack: A stack is often a stack of 20 chips. These are handed by the croupier to players in specific colors. The chips are colored so that players and croupiers have a good idea of who will or will not be paid.
• Straight-up / Single Number: The highest payout in roulette is received for a straight-up bet.
• Transversal: French for ‘Street’ bet. You will only find this on French roulette versions.
• Tiers du cylindre: A French term and is common in European casinos. It is a bet on a specific number or section of the roulette wheel that are contiguous. Bet money on the neighboring game of the playfield to bet on this.
• Voisins du zero: ‘Voisins du zero’ also occurs in the neighbor game, just like the roulette term above. Again, bet money on a specific group or section in the wheel.

Hopefully you are now familiar enough with the roulette terms

The roulette terms on this page mainly have to do with the betting options on the playing field of a roulette table. Read them carefully and know exactly how each bet works and experience the excitement! On our website you’ll find plenty of suggestions on where to play roulette. It is possible to try free roulette online without an account before making a real money deposit.