This glossary is a working roulette vocabulary, not another general how-to-play article. Use it when a rule page, dealer call, betting layout, paytable, or casino discussion contains a term you do not recognize. Definitions are grouped by what the words actually do at the table: describe the wheel, identify a wager, locate a wheel sector, control the betting procedure, or express the mathematics.
Where a term has a product-specific meaning, the definition says so. Roulette has many proprietary variants, and familiar words such as Neighbors, Lightning, multi-ball, or top line can mean something different when a manufacturer has attached them to a special feature.
How to use this reference at a live or electronic table
If you are new, start with wheel and format vocabulary, then layout and wager vocabulary, then dealer and settlement language. Those three groups are enough to follow an ordinary live game without guessing what the dealer means.
If you are checking value, go directly to math and pricing vocabulary. If you are playing on a French-style or racetrack layout, use the wheel-sector section. If a word sounds familiar but you are not sure whether you understand it correctly, use the “terms often confused” section near the end.
This page intentionally avoids reproducing the full probability tables from Roulette Odds or the full settlement schedule from Roulette Payouts. A glossary should tell you what a term means and where it belongs; the dedicated math pages should do the derivation.
Wheel and format vocabulary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Wheel | The rotating roulette cylinder containing the numbered pockets. |
| One numbered compartment in which the ball can finish. | |
| Zero (0) | The green zero pocket. On a conventional single-zero wheel it is the only green pocket. |
| Double zero (00) | The additional green pocket on a conventional American double-zero wheel. |
| Single-zero roulette | A conventional 37-pocket game: 1–36 plus 0. Standard ordinary wagers usually carry about a 2.70% house edge. |
| Double-zero roulette | A conventional 38-pocket game: 1–36 plus 0 and 00. Most standard wagers carry about a 5.26% house edge. |
| European roulette | Common name for single-zero roulette. The label describes the wheel format more reliably than the player’s physical location. |
| American roulette | Common name for double-zero roulette, usually with the five-number 0-00-1-2-3 option on the layout. |
| French roulette | Usually a single-zero game with French terminology/layout and, at some tables, favorable even-money rules such as La Partage or En Prison. |
| Mini roulette | A reduced-pocket variant. Pocket count, payouts, and zero treatment are product-specific and must be checked from the displayed rules. |
| Multi-wheel roulette | A format in which one interface can place corresponding action on more than one wheel. Rules and settlement depend on the product. |
| Multi-ball roulette | A format using more than one ball or result within a round. Standard single-ball payout assumptions should not be carried over automatically. |
The Nevada Live Roulette rules provide a regulated example of a 37-pocket single-zero live format and its standard wager schedule.
Layout and wager vocabulary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Layout | The printed or electronic betting map where wagers are placed. |
| Inside bet | A wager on a specific number or small group of adjacent numbers in the main number grid. |
| Outside bet | A wager covering a larger category such as red/black, odd/even, high/low, dozens, or columns. |
| Straight-up | A wager on one number. The conventional payout is 35:1. |
| Split | A wager on two adjacent numbers sharing a border. Conventional payout: 17:1. |
| Street | A wager on three numbers in one horizontal row. Conventional payout: 11:1. |
| Corner | A wager on four numbers meeting at one intersection on the layout. Conventional payout: 8:1. |
| Six-line | A wager covering two adjacent streets, six numbers total. Conventional payout: 5:1. |
| Dozen | One of the three 12-number groups: 1–12, 13–24, or 25–36. Conventional payout: 2:1. |
| Column | One vertical column of 12 numbers. Conventional payout: 2:1. |
| Even-money bet | A 1:1 wager: red/black, odd/even, or 1–18/19–36. The name describes payout, not a true 50/50 probability. |
| High / Low | Outside wagers on 19–36 or 1–18. Zero and 00, when present, belong to neither group. |
| Red / Black | Outside wagers on the 18 red or 18 black numbered pockets. Green pockets do not win either wager. |
| Odd / Even | Outside wagers on the 18 odd or 18 even numbers from 1–36. Green pockets do not belong to either group. |
| Top line / first five | On a conventional American layout, the five-number wager on 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3. At the common 6:1 payout it is more expensive than ordinary double-zero bets. |
A bet’s name tells you which pockets can win. It does not by itself tell you whether the wager is cheap or expensive. To price it, you still need the wheel denominator and the paytable.
Racetrack and French wheel-sector terminology
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Racetrack | An oval display that arranges numbers in physical wheel order instead of table-grid order. |
| Call bet | Traditional casino term for a named group of wagers covering a wheel sector or pattern; actual acceptance procedure varies by house. |
| Voisins du Zéro | “Neighbors of zero”: the traditional sector around zero on a single-zero wheel. The common package uses nine units to cover 17 numbers. |
| Tiers du Cylindre | “Third of the wheel”: a traditional sector on the side of the wheel opposite zero. |
| Orphelins | “Orphans”: wheel numbers not included in the main Voisins or Tiers sectors. |
| Jeu Zéro / Zero Game | A smaller traditional package concentrated immediately around zero. |
| Neighbors / Neighbours | A selected number plus specified adjacent wheel numbers. “Neighbors” on the wheel are not the same thing as adjacent boxes on the table grid. |
| Finale / Finals | Wagers grouped by the final digit of the table numbers, such as Finale 3 for 3, 13, 23, and 33. |
| La Partage | A rule under which an eligible even-money bet loses only half its stake when zero lands. |
| En Prison | A rule under which an eligible even-money wager may be held after zero and resolved according to the house’s imprisonment procedure. |
Traditional French terminology can look like a separate game, but many racetrack packages are simply combinations of ordinary straight, split, trio, or corner wagers placed according to wheel order. For the exact conventional Voisins construction, see Voisins du Zéro Explained.
Dealer, chip, and settlement language
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Dealer / Croupier | The casino employee operating the roulette game. Croupier is especially common in European/French terminology. |
| Floor supervisor | The supervisor responsible for table oversight, rulings, limits, fills/credits, and escalation. |
| Buy-in | Exchanging cash or value chips for betting chips according to house procedure. |
| Color chips | Non-value roulette chips assigned to an individual player at a declared table value. They help distinguish ownership on crowded layouts. |
| Value chips | Standard casino chips whose denomination is printed on the chip. |
| Table minimum | The minimum action required under the posted table rules. It may differ for inside, outside, racetrack, or aggregate action. |
| Table maximum | The maximum permitted stake or exposure. Limits may be set per bet, per category, per number, or by aggregate payout liability. |
| Place your bets | Dealer call indicating the betting window is open. |
| No more bets | Dealer call closing the wagering period for that spin. Chips should not be added, moved, or removed afterward. |
| Dolly / marker | Marker placed on the winning number on the layout while losing bets are cleared and winning bets are paid. |
| Settlement | The process of identifying the winning result, removing losers, paying winners, and reopening the table. |
| Past posting | Placing or increasing a wager after the betting deadline or after information about the result is improperly available. |
| Pinching | Removing or reducing a losing wager after betting should have closed or the result is known. |
| Mispaid bet | A wager settled at the wrong amount or treated under the wrong placement/rule. It should be raised promptly so the table can reconstruct the event. |
| Cash out | Converting roulette color chips back to value chips or other cashable form before leaving, according to house procedure. |
The procedural terms matter because roulette disputes are often about timing, ownership, placement, or settlement, not about probability. The dealer’s calls and the physical marker create a clear sequence for the floor and surveillance to reconstruct.
Math and pricing vocabulary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Probability | The chance of an event, usually favorable pockets divided by total pockets for an ordinary roulette wager. |
| Hit frequency | How often a wager wins. A high hit frequency does not necessarily mean a lower house edge. |
| Payout | The amount paid on a winning wager. “35 to 1” means 35 units of net profit for each unit staked, with the original stake normally returned separately. |
| True odds | The fair net payout implied by the ratio of losing outcomes to winning outcomes. |
| House edge | The casino’s average long-run advantage expressed as a percentage of the initial wager. |
| Expected value (EV) | The probability-weighted average result per wager. A negative EV means the bettor gives up value on average. |
| Expected loss | Total action multiplied by house edge, used as a long-run cost estimate rather than a prediction of one session. |
| RTP | Return to player: the theoretical long-run percentage returned to wagers. For a simple standard game, RTP is approximately 100% minus house edge. |
| Variance | How widely individual results can swing around the long-run average. |
| Volatility | Practical description of result swing size/frequency; often used more loosely than formal variance. |
| Total action | The sum of all money wagered over time, including repeated reuse of the same bankroll. |
| Negative expectation | A wager whose paytable produces a long-run average loss to the player. |
| Break-even payout | The payout that would make the bet fair before considering other rules. |
| Progression | A rule for changing bet size after wins or losses. Progressions alter stake path, not the wheel’s underlying probabilities. |
For full derivations rather than definitions, use Roulette Odds, Roulette House Edge, and Roulette RTP.
Terms that are often confused with each other
Even money vs 50/50. “Even money” means the win pays 1:1. On a single-zero wheel, red covers 18 of 37 pockets, not half the wheel. On a double-zero wheel it covers 18 of 38.
Wheel neighbors vs layout neighbors. Numbers beside each other on the physical wheel are often far apart on the rectangular table grid. Racetrack bets use wheel order.
European vs French. European usually means single-zero. French roulette often uses a single-zero wheel too, but the French label may also indicate a different layout, terminology, and favorable even-money settlement rules. Check the actual rule card.
Payout vs return. A 35:1 straight-up payout is net winnings. The original winning stake is normally returned as well, so the total amount handed back is 36 units.
Low variance vs low house edge. A wager can win often and still be expensive. Frequency describes the distribution of results; house edge describes average price.
Betting system vs advantage play. A progression such as Martingale or Fibonacci changes bet size. Advantage play requires a demonstrable condition that changes expected value, such as a measurable physical bias or a promotion that genuinely overcomes the game’s price.
Translate a typical roulette-table sequence
A new player might hear:
“Yellow is five. Ten minimum inside or outside. Place your bets. No more bets. Seventeen black. Seventeen is marked. Clear losers, pay the straight-ups, splits, black, odd, low. Change yellow out before you leave.”
Here is what that means in operational language:
| Table phrase | Translation |
|---|---|
| Yellow is five | That player’s yellow roulette chips have been assigned a $5 value. |
| Ten minimum inside or outside | The table requires at least the posted minimum action under its inside/outside rule. |
| Place your bets | Wagering is open. |
| No more bets | The wagering window has closed. |
| Seventeen black | The ball has settled in pocket 17, which is black. |
| Seventeen is marked | The dolly/marker identifies the winning number during settlement. |
| Pay the straight-ups and splits | Winning inside bets that include 17 are paid at their applicable rates. |
| Black, odd, low | Those outside categories include 17 and therefore win. |
| Change yellow out | Convert the player’s color chips back to value chips according to house procedure. |
Understanding that sequence is more useful than memorizing isolated jargon because it shows how the terms interact during a real spin.
Where to go when a definition is not enough
A glossary should send you to the right deeper page rather than trying to become every page at once.
- For probability and hit rates, use Roulette Odds and the Roulette Odds Chart.
- For settlement amounts, use Roulette Payouts.
- For casino price, use Roulette House Edge and Roulette RTP.
- For wheel choice, use European vs American Roulette.
- For French rules, use La Partage and En Prison.
- For racetrack geography, use Racetrack Betting Layout and Voisins du Zéro.
- For table procedure, use What Happens After the Ball Lands and Betting With Color Chips.
- For session-cost arithmetic, use the expected loss calculator and house edge calculator.
If a casino or electronic game uses a term differently from this reference, the displayed house rules control that product. The safest habit is to treat unfamiliar bonus names, altered payout labels, and manufacturer-specific features as separate wagers until you have read the exact paytable.