Roulette might look tricky from the outside, especially if you've been watching the croupiers calling out all sorts of terms that you've never heard of before. Well, whether you're thinking of popping down to your local casino or even trying out one of the popular US online casinos, we've got you covered.
We'll explain your Black Bets from your Black Action, so that you can approach the tables with the knowledge that you know what you're talking about.
If you want to take this one step further and learn about the different types of roulette games, then we have a full guide on this available here.
A comprehensive list of roulette slang and terms
Action: The total amount bet over the play session.
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Back Track or Ball Track: The outer part of the roulette wheel which the ball is spun on.
Bet on the Layout: A wager where chips are placed on the number section of the felt, otherwise known as Inside Bets.
Biased Numbers: If a roulette wheel has an imperfection or flaw, this can cause it to become a Biased Wheel and land on particular numbers more than others. These would be Biased Numbers.
Black Action: When you wager using a black chip, often $100 in denomination, not to be confused with Black Bet.
Black Bet: The act of betting on black, not to be confused with Black Action.
Block Bet: A bet on a block of numbers which are neighbours on the wheel, but not necessarily on the felt.
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Column Bet: A bet on one of the three columns of 12 numbers.
Combination Bet: A few bets across different numbers, these might not have any pattern or reason to them.
Corner Bet: A bet placed on the cross in between four different numbers.
Devil’s Game: Otherwise known as roulette! This comes from adding up all of the numbers on a roulette wheel, which comes to 666.
Dolly: The marker the croupier places on the winning number.
Double Zero: American roulette games will have an additional green ‘00’ pocket.
Dozen Bet: A bet on one of the three columns of 12 numbers.
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Even Bet: A bet on any even number winning, not to be confused with an Even Money Bet.
Even Money Bet: A bet on any 50/50 outcome, such as Even/Odd or Red/Black, not to be confused with an Even Bet.
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Five Bet: A wager on American Roulette is a single bet on 00, 0, 1, 2 or 3 will come in. It’s widely regarded as one of the worst bets to make in roulette because of the low payout.
High Bet: A bet on the highest lot of numbers (19-36).
House Edge: The advantage the casino has over the player in the long run. American Roulette has a house edge of 5.25% while European Roulette has a house edge of 2.7%
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Inside Bet: A bet on the numbered part of the layout.
Line Bet: A bet that one of the six numbers will win. These are sectioned off by a line on the layout.
Low Bet: A bet on the lowest lot of numbers (1-18).
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Nickel Bet: A $5 bet, often with a red chip.
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Odd Bet: A bet that an odd number will win.
Odds: The chances of a certain event happening. For example, the odds of red coming in when playing American Roulette are 47.4%, because of the two green ‘0’ and ‘00’ pockets.
Orphans: Slang for Orphelins, which is when you bet on a block of numbers on the wheel which aren’t together on the number layout. A form of Block Bet.
Outside Bet: A bet on the non-numbered section of the layout, such as Red/Black.
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Pockets: The little squares where the ball lands on the wheel.
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Red Bet: A wager on red coming in.
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Split Bet: The act of placing a chip on the line between two numbers, which counts as betting on both numbers at once.
Straight Up Bet: A bet on a single number coming in.
Street Bet: A bet on a row of three numbers on the layout.
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Table Layout: The felt with all of the bet options on it. These can vary between versions of the game, mostly between American Roulette and French Roulette.
Types of roulette Games:
Airball Roulette: A roulette game that uses air pressure to spin the ball around.
American Roulette: A roulette game that has two green pockets - ‘0’ and ‘00’ - 38 pockets, an RTP of 94.74% and a house edge of 5.25%.
European Roulette: A roulette game with 37 pockets, an RTP of 97.3% and a house edge of 2.7%.
French Roulette: A roulette game with 37 pockets, an RTP of 98.65% and a house edge of 1.35%.
Mini Roulette: A roulette game with 13 pockets, an RTP of 92-97% and a house edge of 3.85.
If you want to take this one step further and learn about the different types of roulette games, then we have a full guide on this available here.
French Roulette Terms:
Carre: This means Corner Bet or Quarter Bet, where a chip is placed on the cross in between four different numbers.
Cherval: This means a Split Bet.
Colonne: This means a Column Bet.
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Deniere: The last group of 12 numbers in a Dozen Bet.
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En Plein: This means a Straight Up Bet.
En Prison: This means ‘in prison’. If the ball lands in the green ‘0’ pocket, then you can take half your bet back or leave it in play for another spin.
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Impair: This means an Odd Bet.
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La Partage: You receive half of your bet back if the ball lands in the green ‘0’ pocket.
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Orphelins: This means Orphans, which is when you bet on a block of numbers on the wheel which aren’t together on the number layout. A form of Block Bet.
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Jue Zero: This means Zero Game and is the six numbers either side of zero and the zero itself.
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Manque: This means a Low Bet.
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Noir: This means Black.
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Pair: This means Even Bet.
Passe: This means High Bet.
Premiere: The first group of 12 numbers (1-12) in a Dozen Bet.
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Rouge: This means Red.
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Tiers Du Cylindre: A bet on one third of the wheel opposite zero, from 27 to 33.
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Voisins du Zero: This means ‘Neighbors of Zero’ and is a wager on a particular group of 17 numbers between 22 and 25 on the wheel which ‘neighbor’ the green ‘0’ pocket.
