Roulette Glossary
Listed below are roulette terms and definitions that may help you with Roulette.
These are the words that are often heard at the roulette table.
A
American Roulette – This style consist of a roulette wheel which has 38 compartments and numbers from 1 to 36 with the addition of 0 and 00. With the 00, American roulette gives higher advantage to the house, as compared to French, Russian or European roulette.
B
Backtrack – the outer rim of the wheel in roulette where the ball spins. It is also known as ball-track.
Biased Numbers – this refers to numbers that continue to come out in the game, caused by biased wheels.
Biased wheels – an imperfect roulette wheel causing numbers to appear often than what probability allows.
Big Number – a number that hits more often than is theoretically possible. It may be indicative of a biased number.
Black action- when players bet with a black chip worth $100.
Black Bet – when a player puts his wager on the color whose next number is black.
Bottom Track – the inner area of a roulette wheel that slants or remains stationary, where the ball slides before bouncing from the wheel onto the pocket.
C
Carre – is French and means corner bet.
Chameleon Strategy – is a strategy where one looks out for players who have been constantly winning and tries to mimic their betting patterns hoping to win also.
Chasing Loses – when a player increases his bets so that he is able to get back what he has lost.
Check rack – this refers to the tray that holds the chips. Also called chip tray.
Cheval – is a French word and means Split bet.
Choppy game – a game where no one is winning consistently for both player and the house.
Column bet – when a player bets on one of three columns in the roulette wheel.
Corner bet – when a player bets on four numbers by placing roulette chips at the middle of these four numbers.
Croupier – mostly an employee of the casino who operates on the roulette table.
D
Double zero– 00 is only present in American Roulette. (European Roulette has single zero)
Dozen bet – when a player bets on any marked three sets with twelve numbers.
E
En prison rule – this is also known as the surrender rule. Mostly applicable in European roulette; in an en prison rule, when the player makes an outside bet, and then the ball drops on 0, the player has the option to lose half the bet or retain the money at stake en prison, meaning leaving it on the table for the next spin. When a player opts to leave it, the chance or the edge of the house is considerably lowered in the next spin.
European Roulette – this style consist of a roulette wheel which has 37 slots and numbers from 1 to 36 with the addition of a single zero. European roulette provides a lower house edge compared to the American roulette, so the odds of winning are bigger.
H
House edge – the advantage of the house to make profits on each game; It is estimated as the difference between true odds and the actual pays out the casino makes.
High bet – when players place best on any of these numbers :19 to 36.
I
Inside bet – when a player bets on/or between numbers in the boxes of the table layout.
L
La partage rule – Mainly applicable in European roulette games. It has the same idea as the en prison rule except that the player is not given the option to keep the bet in place for the next game. The player just simply loses half of the bet and not the entire bet.
Low bet – when players place a bet on any of these numbers: 1 – 8.
M
Martingale System – a system where the player may win at roulette by choosing to bet on one with a 50-50 chance of winning and then just continue to double the bet every time the player loses.
O
Orphelins (Orphans) – most commonly found in European casinos. Orphan is when players bet on specific number of three, which are laid out close together on the wheel, but are actually far apart on the roulette table layout. They contain a total of eight numbers, comprising 17,34,6 and 1,20,14,31,9.
Outside bet – when a player bets with even money (for example black/red, high/low, odd/even) and the payout is 1:1.
P
Parlay – when a player places his bet on the table and leaves it along with an added new bet, ready for the next spin.
Payout or Pay Out – the winnings at the casino pays to a player.
Player Clocking – when one is watching which player has been winning using Chameleon Strategy, and then tries to mimic their patterns.
Pinching – removing chips illegally from the betting table after the result has been delivered.
Q
Quarter bet – when a player bets on one of four numbers, similar to corner bet or square bet.
R
Red bet – when a player puts his wager on the color whose next number is red.
Reverse-LaBouchere Betting System – when using the La Bouchere system in reverse by cancelling the numbers in each loss and then adding them after the win.
Reverse Martingale Betting System – when using the Martingale betting system in reveres by doubling up after each win and not after loss.
Roulette chips – these are casino issued chips for playing roulette only and may not be used for any other games. For American roulette, there are specific sets in different colors given to each player so that their chips can be easily identifiable on the table. For European roulette, the chips given out are of the same color so player has to remember which one is theirs.
Roulette layout – a roulette table layout has numbered grids and colors on a table where players can place their bets using roulette chips.
Roulette strategy – a method any players use in order to improve chances of winning or avoid incurring huge amounts of losses.
Roulette system – a method designed for players to help them beat the wheel or decrease house advantage, one such example is the Martingale System.
Roulette table – the table consist of the layout of the table and the wheel.
Roulette wheel – the wheel is a movable part of the table. It is generally divided into alternate colors of black and red. The numbers on the wheel, from 1 to 36 are not placed in a sequence. In the American version, there is an extra green compartment with a Double Zero “00.” The wheel moves clockwise and then the roulette ball is thrown on the rim, to go to the opposite direction.
S
Single zero roulette – also known as European roulette, it doesn’t have the Double Zero like in American Roulette.
Six number bet – when a player bets on six numbers at one time.
Sixainne– is French and the word for six line bet.
Split bet – when a player bets on two numbers together.
Straight bet – when a player bets on just one number. Betting in this manner gives the player a higher pay out, in case he wins.
Street bet – when a player bets on three numbers.
Surrender rule – also known as En prison rule.
T
Tiers du Cylindre – the tiers du cylindre bet is placed on 12 numbers on the opposite side of the wheel to the Voisins du Zero bet.
Transversale – is the French word for Street bet.
V
Voisins du Zero – the French term for when a player bets on a group of numbers on the roulette wheel which are close to the 0.
Visual Wheel Tracking – when a player has the ability to foretell where the ball will land just by looking at it spinning on the wheel.
W
Wheel Clocking – when a player keeps track of the result of the spins to determine patters as well as possibilities and bias. Another way to track this is using electronics, in the hope of predicting where the ball will drop.
Wheel Head – a part of the roulette wheel that has the numbered pockets.
Wheel Roller – a croupier or roulette dealer at the casino.
