Roulette FAQ — Common Questions Answered
Answers to the most common roulette questions: how the game works, the house edge, best bets, betting systems, European vs American, and responsible play.
What is the house edge in roulette?
The house edge depends on the version you play. European roulette (single zero) has a house edge of 2.70%. French roulette with en prison or la partage rules reduces this to 1.35% on even-money bets. American roulette (double zero) has a house edge of 5.26%. The zero pocket is the source of the edge in every case: it is the outcome that does not pay on outside bets.
What is the difference between European and American roulette?
European roulette has 37 pockets: numbers 1–36 plus a single zero. American roulette has 38 pockets: numbers 1–36 plus a single zero and an additional double zero. The extra pocket in American roulette raises the house edge from 2.70% to 5.26%, making it significantly less favourable for the player. When you have the choice, always prefer European roulette.
What are the best bets in roulette?
All bets on a European roulette wheel carry the same house edge of 2.70%, so there is no bet type that is mathematically superior to another on that basis alone. However, if the table offers French rules (en prison or la partage), even-money outside bets — red/black, odd/even, high/low — carry an effective edge of only 1.35%, making them the best bets available on any standard roulette table.
Does the Martingale system work in roulette?
No betting system, including the Martingale, overcomes the house edge. The Martingale — doubling your chip placement after each loss — can recover previous losses with a single win, but it requires exponentially growing placements. After ten consecutive losses the required amount is over 1,000 times the starting placement. Table maximum limits end the sequence before any guaranteed recovery. In the long run, a Martingale player and a flat-bet player face the same 2.70% house edge per unit staked.
What does ‘en prison’ mean?
En prison is a French roulette rule that applies when the ball lands on zero during an even-money outside bet. Rather than losing the full stake, it is held over — “imprisoned” — for one more spin. If the next spin wins the bet, the original stake is returned in full. If it loses, the stake is forfeited. En prison cuts the effective house edge on even-money bets from 2.70% to 1.35%. La partage is a simpler version: when zero lands, half the stake is returned immediately.
Is every spin of the roulette wheel independent?
Yes. Each spin is physically independent of every previous spin. The ball and wheel have no memory of past results. A run of ten consecutive red outcomes does not make black more likely on the next spin — the probability of red or black remains 48.65% on every spin of a European wheel, without exception. The belief that past results influence future ones is known as the gambler’s fallacy, and it is mathematically false.
What is the roulette payout for a straight-up bet?
A straight-up bet — a chip placed on a single number — pays 35:1. On a European wheel with 37 pockets, the true odds of winning are 36:1 against, meaning the 35:1 payout is slightly below the fair value. This gap is where the 2.70% house edge lives. Even-money outside bets pay 1:1 against true odds of approximately 1.056:1, and dozens and columns pay 2:1 against true odds of approximately 2.083:1.
Can I play roulette without risking real money?
Yes. The roulette game on this site is entirely free to play — no account, no deposit, and no real money involved. Free play is the ideal way to learn the bet types, understand how the wheel works, and try out different chip placement strategies without any financial pressure. The game uses the same rules as European roulette at a real table.
For the complete rules guide covering all three versions — European, French and American — see Roulette Rules Complete. For all bet types and their payouts, visit Roulette Bet Types. Ready to try the game? Play roulette for free.