As one of the most popular casino games out there, Roulette has spun into every casino, and taken pride of place amongst our favourite pastimes for centuries. Like most things, Roulette has its own array of terminology, that you’ll have to get familiar with if you’re planning on being the next top player. Here’s our complete A-Z of Roulette terminology to get you started.
Read on to find out more.
American Roulette – American Roulette is a version of the game played on a wheel with 38 pockets. As the name suggests, it’s the preferred variation in the United States, and has a higher house edge than European Roulette, because it has an additional double zero pocket.
Backtrack – the backtrack is the outer rim of the Roulette wheel, where the ball spins.
Black bet – a bet placed on all the black numbers, which is a total of 18 numbers – almost half of the wheel.
Call bet – known sometimes as an announced bet, a call bet is a bet that’s made whilst the wheel is still spinning.
Chameleon Strategy – this is the name given to the strategy a player is using when they mimic the strategy of a previously successful player at the table, no matter what method they used.
Column bet – a column bet is a bet on one of the table’s three columns of numbers. The bet pays out 2:1 as it covers 12 numbers.
Double zero – this is the extra pocket featured on American Roulette wheels, the main difference between those and European wheels.
European Roulette – this is the original form of Roulette, and is played in most countries outside of America. With a single zero pocket, the house edge is lowered from 5.25% to 2.70%. You can play live Roulette for real money online to try out all variations of the wheel, and find out which one you prefer.
Even money – red/black, even/odd and high/low bets are known as even money bets, paying out 1:1.
French Roulette – another variation of the game played on a European Roulette wheel. It features two unique rules called La Partage and En Prison, and is the version of Roulette with the lowest house edge.
House edge – this is the advantage the casino has over the player. The casino always has the house edge.
Inside bets – bets made in the centre area of the Roulette table, where the numbers are.
Live Roulette – The live casino at Paddy Power offers Roulette online, but with a real dealer, live streamed directly to your device in real time. Live Roulette at an online casino offers unique, themed, and immersive gameplay, from the comfort of your own home.
Marker – a chip or item used to mark your bet.
No action – if no action is called on a spin, all bets are null and void. They will be reactivated on the next spin, but you’ll have the option to remove them.
Outside bets – bets made on the outer section of the table. These cover a large section of the wheel and have a 50% chance of winning, minimising your losses, but with a smaller payout.
Parlay – in Roulette, parlay means doubling your bet after a win.
Pockets – the spaces on the wheel where the ball could land.
Red Bet – an outside bet where you bet on all the red numbers on the wheel. Like black bets, there are 18 and these make up roughly half of the options on the wheel.
Split – a bet on two adjacent numbers on the wheel, usually on either end of the wheel. 17:1 is the payout for this bet.
Straight up – this is a bet on a single number on the wheel, offering payouts of 35:1.
Trio bet – also known as street bet, is a bet on three numbers in the hope that one of them comes up. The bet pays out 11:1.
Voisins du zero – a bet on a selection of numbers near the zero pocket.
Zero – the pocket on the wheel marked with the number zero. European wheels feature this as the only zero pocket, whereas American Roulette wheels feature this as well as a double zero pocket.
