European roulette odds and payouts
Every number has one pocket, every group covers a known number of pockets and the standard payouts are fixed. Here is the maths behind the table.
A European roulette wheel has 37 equally likely pockets. A straight-up number therefore has a 1 in 37 chance, or about 2.70%. Red and black each cover 18 pockets, giving an 18 in 37 chance, or about 48.65%. The green zero is outside both groups.
Standard European roulette payouts
- Straight up: covers 1 pocket and pays 35 to 1 profit.
- Split: covers 2 adjacent pockets and pays 17 to 1.
- Street: covers 3 numbers in a row and pays 11 to 1.
- Corner: covers 4 numbers at one table intersection and pays 8 to 1.
- 0–1–2–3 line: covers 4 pockets and pays 8 to 1 on this European table.
- Dozen or column: covers 12 pockets and pays 2 to 1.
- Red, black, odd, even, 1–18 or 19–36: covers 18 pockets and pays 1 to 1.
Why the edge is 2.70%
On a standard single-zero wheel, the published payout is a little below fair odds for every position. The long-term mathematical edge is 1 divided by 37, which is approximately 2.70%. A bigger payout does not remove that edge; it only changes how often a bet wins and how large the result feels.
Profit is not the same as total return
A 35 to 1 straight-up win returns the 35-unit profit plus the original stake. A 1 to 1 red win returns the one-unit profit plus the stake. The live table shows the total payout and the net result separately so the difference is easy to follow.
Try the numbers on the free roulette table or use the bet types guide to see what each position covers.