Index → Best bet
What is the best bet in roulette?
On a single-zero roulette table, every standard bet costs the house edge of 2.70%. Straight-up, corner, dozen, red: the same. So "the best bet" cannot be answered on price, with one exception covered below. It can be answered on what you want the session to be like, and that is a real question with a real answer for each kind of player.
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The exception: even-money on a French table
La Partage returns half an even-money stake on a zero. That halves the edge on red, black, odd, even, low and high to 1.35%. No other bet on any standard table is cheaper. If a French table is available and you are happy betting outside, this is the best bet in roulette, full stop.
If you want the money to last
Even-money bets, then dozens and columns. A £100 bankroll at £2 on red lasts 100 spins without busting more than 95% of the time. The wins are small and the losses are small and the session ends, on average, down £5.40, with most sessions somewhere between £25 down and £20 up.
If you want a big win to be possible
Straight-ups, with the stake sized for the wait. A number hits once in 37 spins on average and 100 spins without a hit happens about one time in fifteen. At 50p a number on £100 you can sit through that; at £5 you cannot. The win when it comes is 35 units, which is the point.
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If you want something between
Corners and six lines pay 8:1 and 5:1 with a hit every nine or six spins or so. Dozens pay 2:1 with a hit every third spin. These are the bets for people who find red and black slow and numbers thin.
If you want to play the wheel
The racetrack bets. Voisins wins almost half the time at plus 9 or plus 15 on nine chips; Tiers wins a third of the time at plus 12 on six. Same edge, a traditional feel, and a session with texture.
Comparing them
| Bet | Wins | Net on a hit | Units for 100 spins at ~5% bust |
|---|---|---|---|
| Even-money | 48.65% | +1 | about 25 |
| Dozen | 32.43% | +2 | about 35 |
| Corner | 10.81% | +8 | about 60 |
| Straight-up | 2.70% | +35 | about 150 |
The right-hand column is the bankroll each bet wants, in units of the stake, to keep the chance of busting in 100 spins down near 5%. It is the practical difference between the bets. The edge column, if it were there, would read 2.70% all the way down.
The bets to avoid
Anything on an American wheel: 5.26%. The five-number basket on that wheel: 7.89%. Straight-ups on multiplier tables that pay 29:1: more expensive than the same bet next door. Side bets on themed tables: read the paytable, usually 5% or more. None of these is the best bet under any definition.
So, the answer
French even-money if you can find it. Otherwise the bet whose rhythm you enjoy, at a stake the bankroll can carry for the number of spins you plan to play. Roulette does not reward cleverness in bet selection. It rewards picking the right table and sitting down with the right amount of money.
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Questions
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Is red or black the best bet?
On a European table it costs the same as every other bet, 2.70%. On a French table with La Partage it is the cheapest bet in roulette at 1.35%. It is the best bet for making a bankroll last; it is not better value on a standard table.
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Is betting on one number a bad bet?
Not in cost. A straight-up pays the same 2.70% to the house as red does. It is a bad bet for a small bankroll because of the long gaps between wins, which is a different thing.