A six-line bet is one roulette wager covering six numbers arranged as two adjacent three-number rows. It is also called a double street. On the standard roulette paytable, a winning six-line pays 5 to 1.
For example, a chip placed on the outside corner shared by the rows 1-2-3 and 4-5-6 covers all six numbers from 1 through 6. A chip placed between the rows 19-20-21 and 22-23-24 covers 19 through 24. The two rows must be adjacent on the layout; six unrelated numbers are six selections, not one six-line wager.
The chip position defines the bet
Roulette is a layout game. A few millimeters can change what a chip means, especially when several wagers are crowded together.
| Placement | Wager | Numbers covered | Standard payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inside one number box | Straight up | 1 | 35 to 1 |
| Line between two numbers | Split | 2 | 17 to 1 |
| Outside end of one row | Street | 3 | 11 to 1 |
| Intersection of four boxes | Corner | 4 | 8 to 1 |
| Outside common corner of two adjacent rows | Six-line | 6 | 5 to 1 |
At a live table, the wager is settled from the chip's accepted position, not from what the player later says was intended. If a dealer places a called bet for a player, the player should still verify the final chip position before betting closes.
Six-line probability on common wheels
The wager always covers six numbered pockets. What changes is the number of pockets on the wheel.
| Wheel | Pockets | Win probability | Loss probability | House edge at 5:1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single zero | 37 | 6/37 = 16.2162% | 31/37 | 2.7027% |
| Double zero | 38 | 6/38 = 15.7895% | 32/38 | 5.2632% |
| Triple zero, if offered at the same 5:1 payout | 39 | 6/39 = 15.3846% | 33/39 | 7.6923% |
The extra zero pockets are not part of an ordinary six-line. They increase the number of losing outcomes without increasing the normal 5-to-1 profit.
Work the expected value from the payout
“5 to 1” means the casino pays five units of profit for each unit wagered and returns the winning stake. A $10 winner therefore earns $50 profit and returns $60 total to the player.
On a single-zero wheel, the expected value of a $10 six-line is:
EV = (6/37 × $50) − (31/37 × $10)
= −$0.27027The long-run expected loss is about 27 cents per $10 wagered, or 2.7027%.
On a double-zero wheel:
EV = (6/38 × $50) − (32/38 × $10)
= −$0.52632The same chip and the same 5-to-1 payout now carry a 5.2632% house edge. The reason is not that the bet changed shape. The wheel added another losing pocket.
Why 5 to 1 would be fair on only 36 outcomes
If roulette contained only numbers 1 through 36, a six-line would win on exactly one-sixth of the outcomes. Fair profit odds would then be five losses for every one win: 5 to 1.
Real roulette adds at least one zero pocket. The standard payout stays at 5 to 1, so the green pocket or pockets create the mathematical shortfall. This is the same basic mechanism that produces the standard roulette edge on most ordinary inside and outside wagers.
Covering six numbers therefore changes hit frequency and volatility, not the underlying edge on a given standard wheel. A six-line wins more often than a straight-up wager, but it pays much less when it wins.
Layout adjacency is not wheel adjacency
The six-line is defined by the printed betting grid, not by neighboring pockets around the physical wheel. The numbers 1 through 6 form two adjacent rows on the layout, but they are not six consecutive pockets around a European or American wheel.
This matters because roulette has two different geometries:
- the layout, which determines ordinary inside-bet chip positions; and
- the wheel order, which is used for sector-style bets such as neighbors or announced wheel sections where those wagers are offered.
A six-line therefore cannot be recreated by choosing any six pockets that happen to sit near one another on the wheel. It must use two contiguous three-number rows on the standard grid.
Zero is outside an ordinary six-line
An ordinary six-line from the main 1-to-36 grid does not include 0, 00, or 000. If a zero pocket lands, the wager loses. Special zero-area combinations exist on some roulette layouts, but they are separate bets with their own placement and settlement rules.
This is also why a player should not describe a six-line as “one-sixth of the wheel.” It is one-sixth of the numbered 1-to-36 grid, not one-sixth of a 37-, 38-, or 39-pocket wheel. That difference is exactly where the normal house edge comes from.
One six-line versus six straight-up bets
A common source of confusion is to compare one $6 six-line with six $1 straight-up bets on the same six numbers.
If one of the six numbers hits:
- the $6 six-line wins $30 profit and returns the $6 stake, for $36 total;
- one $1 straight-up wins $35 profit and returns its $1 stake, while the other five $1 chips lose;
- the six straight-ups therefore also finish with $30 net profit and $36 returned from the layout.
Under the standard paytable, those two constructions are economically equivalent when the same total amount covers the same six numbers. The six-line simply expresses the coverage with one chip position instead of six.
Two six-lines do not become one twelve-number bet
Suppose a player places $5 on 7-8-9-10-11-12 and another $5 on 13-14-15-16-17-18. Total action is $10.
If 11 lands, the first six-line earns $25 profit and returns its $5 stake. The second $5 wager loses. The spin's net profit is $20, not $25 and not $30.
This is different from one $10 dozen wager on 1 through 12. A dozen covers 12 numbers with one 2-to-1 wager. Two six-lines are two independently settled 5-to-1 wagers. The total coverage can look similar, but the chip accounting and possible overlap are different.
Six-line versus nearby roulette wagers
| Bet | Coverage | Payout | What changes for the player |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 | 35:1 | Rare hit, large single-chip win |
| Street | 3 | 11:1 | Half the six-line coverage |
| Corner | 4 | 8:1 | Intermediate hit rate |
| Six-line | 6 | 5:1 | Broad common inside-grid coverage |
| Dozen | 12 | 2:1 | Twice the number coverage |
On the same conventional wheel, these standard wagers can have the same house edge even though their result patterns feel very different. House edge answers a long-run price question; hit frequency describes how often a wager returns a win.
Official rules confirm the six-number paytable
Nevada's current approved Live Roulette rules describe a single-zero wheel with 37 pockets and list “Sixline (6 numbers)” at a 5-to-1 payout. Other jurisdictions and roulette variants can use different layouts, so the table's posted rules remain controlling.
For dealers and surveillance, disputes around six-lines are usually practical rather than mathematical: Was the chip accepted before “no more bets”? Which side of a line was it on? Did two players' stacks overlap? Was the correct 5-to-1 payout applied? Clear placement before the spin prevents most of those problems.
What a six-line does not promise
A six-line is one inside wager covering six adjacent numbers. It is not:
- any arbitrary set of six numbers;
- a guarantee of one win every six spins;
- lower-edge roulette simply because it covers more numbers;
- the same transaction as two streets unless the stake amounts are allocated equivalently;
- protection against a long losing sequence.
Every new roulette spin is a new trial. The wager's useful defining facts are its six-number coverage, 5-to-1 standard payout, exact wheel-specific probability, and chip position.
Continue with roulette payouts, roulette odds, inside versus outside bets, and hit frequency.