Roulette, like any other popular game which has been played for hundreds of years, has a language of its own at times. This lingo was largely created by the players themselves over the years, helping them refer to items and actions unique to the classic game.
While roulette is simple to play and everyone is welcome to join in at any table, there are certain terms or phrases which may sound bamboozling to new roulette players. If you want to ensure that you know what is going on, the CasinosOnline team is here to help.
Here is a comprehensive glossary of roulette terms and expressions that may be useful to an online roulette player. The glossary contains both basic terms such as bet names as well as more niche concepts and relatively local expressions, which is why it can be useful to players of any skill level.
A
Action
Common gambling term originating in the US that refers to a bankroll. Specifically, the amount of money you set aside to use as a stake for a single gambling session.
American Wheel
A type of roulette wheel that features two green zero pockets, 0 and 00. In contrast, European roulette wheels only feature a single green pocket. Since the house advantage in roulette stems from this single zero, the house has a much bigger advantage in American Roulette. In fact, it's doubled compared to European and French versions – 5.4% compared to the European 2.7.%. That's why American roulette is always worse for players than European or French roulette. You can find out more about the differences here.
B
Backtrack
The outside rim of a roulette wheel on which the ball typically rolls during a spin.
Ball-track
Synonym for backtrack, see above.
Basket Bet
A type of wager found in American styles of roulette that covers the 0 or the 00 as well as two additional numbers. Options include 0-1-2, 0-00-2, or 00-2-3.
Betting system
Betting systems are roulette strategies that tell you how to bet and when to change stakes. A popular example is the Martingale, which dictates that players should double their stake any time they lose. Other common examples include the Labouchere, D'Alambert, Fibonacci, Guetting, and others.
Biased Wheel
A biased wheel is one which is not working properly and a flaw or design fault means that one particular number is more likely to be the winning number than others. A biased wheel is something that many casino players would love to experience and know about because it would greatly enhance their chances of winning. However, finding a biased wheel is very rare these days.
Block Bet
A block bet is a combination of several wagers made to target a certain section of the wheel. For example, covering 21, 2, 25, 17, 34, 6, and 27 in a single round would be a block bet because it's based on where the numbers are on the wheel instead of their sequence of table position.
C
Call Bet
Special wagers are placed when the player announces them verbally instead of placing chips. In online roulette, this typically refers to wagers made using the so-called racetrack view. Examples include Tiers, Oprhelins, Voision du Zero, and Neighbours bets.
Cheval
French term for Split bets.
Choppy Game
Refers to a roulette session in which the player wins and loses intermittently. A game with no perceivable streaks or patterns.
Cold Numbers
Numbers on a roulette wheel that haven't won in a while. A common misconception is to view these numbers as less likely to win or “cold.” In reality, all numbers have an equal chance of winning any given round, regardless of previous outcomes.
Column Bet
You will see a lot of different betting options available at the roulette table and a column bet is one that is placed on any of the three columns. Each column has twelve numbers in it, a successful column bet pays out at 2:1 and the odds for a column bet are 31% or 32%, for American and European roulette wheels.
Corner Bet
With all of the numbers listed on the roulette table, a corner bet is one that is placed on four numbers at once and your chips are placed at the corner intersection of the four numbers. A corner bet pays out at 8:1 and the likelihood of winning this style of bet is around 10%.
Croupier
Croupier, which originates from the French language, is usually just the dealer in the game but at times, it can refer to any casino staff member involved with the game.
D
Double Zero
The “00” wheel pocket and number found on American roulette wheels is sometimes called Double Zero. The term is used to differentiate it from the Zero, or “0”.
Dozen
A bet on one of three available groups of 12 numbers; 1 through 12, 13 through 24, or 25 through 36. Pays 2 to 1.
E
En Prison
The “En prison” rule is not widely used but is the defining feature of French roulette wheels. If a player has placed an even-money bet when this rule is in play and the ball lands on 0, the bet that has been made is carried over to the next game.
European Wheel
The European roulette wheel is a popular choice for players because it only has a single green 0 pocket without the 00 space that is found on American roulette wheels. This style of wheel provides improved odds for players and the house edge stands at 2.7% with a European roulette wheel which is far more attractive than the 5.26% house advantage associated with American roulette wheels.
Even Money
A term that refers to any bet that pays the same amount you wagerd, i.e. any bet with 1:1 odds. In roulette, Red, Black, High, Low, Odd, and Even bets are all Even Money wagers.
F
Final en Plain
A type of Call bet that involves a series of Straight-up bets on all numbers ending in one digit. For instance, Final 3 includes 3, 13, 23, and 33.
Finales a Cheval
A call bet that combines two Final en Plain roulette bets and covers the relevant Splits as well. For example, a 3/6 Finales a Cheval would wager on 3, 6, 13, 16, 23, 26, 33, 36 Straight-up and 3/6, 13/16, 23/26, and 33/36 Splits.
French Wheel
The French wheel and French roulette primarily use the same roulette table and wheel as the European equivalent. However, French tables use special rules called En Prison and La Partage that improve the RTP rate of even money bets like Red/Black. These two rules make French roulette different from classic European roulette.]
French Bets
A Different name for Call bets, stemming from their French language names – Voisins du Zero, Tiers du Cylindre, Jue Zero, Orphalins, and Finales.
Full Complete Bet
A large type of Call bet that includes all inside bets which cover a specific number. For example, a Full Complete on 17 covers 1 straight-up, 4 splits on 17/14, 17/16, 17/18, and 17/20; a 16/17/18 street bet, 4 corners, and two six-line bets.
G
Golden Numbers
Player term used to refer to “lucky” numbers, i.e repeated winners. Note that this falls under the Gambler's Fallacy and is simply a myth.
H
High Bet
A high bet is a bet which is placed on the larger numbers to be found on the wheel, which is everything from 19 to 36. This style of bet is recognized as an even money bet, it pays out at 1:1 and players have a 48% likelihood of winning this bet.
House Edge
Otherwise known as House Advantage, this is the statistical advantage that the casino has over players. It boils down to the fact that casinos pay roulette bets less than their true odds of winning are. For instance, even money bets pay 1:1 even though they have a 48.6% to win. In European roulette, the house edge is 2.7%, while it adds up to 5.4% in American roulette.
I
Inside Bet
The markings of the roulette table gives rise to the term inside bet (and of course, the outside bet). Inside bets are those that are located on the inside on the number grid. This includes Straight Up, Split, Corner, Street, and 6-line or Basket bets.
J
Jeu Zero
A type of Call bet that works much like Voisions du Zero but smaller and more manageable. It consists of three Split bets and a single Straight Up on the number 26.
L
La Partage
A special rule only available in French roulette tables, similar to En Prison. La Partage means that even money bets only lose half their stake if the outcome of the round is a Zero. This decreases the house edge of such bets in French Roulette to just 1.35%.
Line Bet
A line bet is one where a player can bet on six numbers in one move, with two rows of three numbers being the subject of the bet. This style of bet will pay out at 5:1 and there is a 16% likelihood of this bet coming up.
Low Bet
A high bet is a bet which is placed on the smaller numbers to be found on the wheel, which is everything from 1 to 18. This style of bet is recognized as an even money bet, it pays out at 1:1 and players have a 48% likelihood of winning this bet.
M
Marker
An object used by dealers to mark the winning number in the current/previous round. Generally, players cannot place new bets while the marker is still on the table.
Mini-roulette
A special variant of roulette that features a smaller wheel with 13 numbers in total. The payouts, odds, and rules of the game are adjusted to account for this change, but the game otherwise works the same as standard roulette. Click here to find out more.
N
Neighbours
A type of Call bet that places a Straight Up bet on one number of your choosing plus Straight Up bets on the two numbers to its left and the two numbers to its right, for a total of 5 Straight Up bets. Like with all Call bets, this is determined by the numbers' relative position on the wheel itself instead of the betting table.
No Action
A term used by croupiers to announce that all bets on the current round are considered invalid. Typically used when the ball drops out of the wheel or foul play is suspected.
O
Orphelins
A Call bet that covers all of the regular numbers not covered by Tiers du Cilindre and Voisons du Zero. Specifically, these are 1, 20, 14, 31, 9, 17, 34, and 6.
Orphans
A different name for the Orphelins bet – see above.
Outside Bet
The outside bet, the opposite of the inside bet, refers to the bets that are found on the outside edge of the roulette table and this area includes the even-money wagers, the column bets and all of the dozens bets.
P
Parlay
In roulette, refers to the act of doubling your stake after a win. Note that the word has multiple possible meanings in gambling depending on the context. In roulette, it can also refer to the Parlay betting system.
The pocket is the term given to the space where the roulette ball comes to rest. Every number on the wheel has a pocket.
Progressive Roulette
Roulette variants that feature progressive features such as jackpots. Progressive features are any gameplay elements that make one round different from the previous ones. However, in most cases, the term simply refers to gambling games with Jackpots that progressively grow as players bet. In roulette, this is typically implemented through custom bonus features.
Q
Quarter bet
A rare term used to refer to Corner bets. Sometimes used in the UK.
R
Racetrack
In online roulette, refers to a second betting table that somewhat looks like a horse racing track. This UI element is typically used to make Call bets because you can't make verbal announcements in online roulette. Click here to find out more.
S
Sector Bet
Bets that attempt to target a section of the wheel by covering all of the numbers based on their proximity. This is in contrast to standard bets that cover multiple numbers because they do so on a table layout rather than the wheel itself.
Six Line
A bet that covers two adjacent rows of numbers on the roulette layout, covering six numbers in all, paying 5:1. Often simply called a Line bet in European roulette.
Split
A basic roulette bet that covers two adjacent numbers on the table layout.
Straight Up
Common name for the classic single-number bet in roulette. Covers only one number but pays 35:1 – the highest possible payout from a single bet in classic roulette.
Street
A street bet is where a row of three numbers on the roulette table is bet on. This style of bet is paid out at 11:1 and players have an 8% likelihood of winning this type of bet.
T
Tiers du Cilindre
A Call bet that roughly covers the opposite numbers on the roulette wheel from Voisions du Zero. It consists of 5 split bets – 5/8, 10/11, 13/16, 23/24, 27/30, 33/36.
Transversale
French name for the Street bet.
V
Voisons du Zero
A Call bet that roughly covers the 17 numbers closest to the zero on a European roulette wheel. It consists of a 0/ 2/ 3 Basket bet, 5 split bets, and a Corner bet.
W
Wheel
Some people may refer to the game of roulette as the wheel but generally, the wheel just means the actual roulette wheel itself.
Conclusion
You should find that playing roulette is simple and that there are bets which even the most novice of roulette players can play. However, with so many unique terms used in the game and at the roulette table and wheel, it is understandable that some players will be a bit confused when they're just getting started.
Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long to familiarize yourself with roulette terminology. Reviewing the terms and practising the game will eventually provide you with everything you need to know in no time at all. Before too long, you will know all of the key roulette terms, and many of the more obscure ones, by heart. Better yet, understanding the lingo will make you a better player overall.
Read our Online Roulette Strategy Tips article for more tips on how to play roulette online.
