Computing Roulette Payouts

The payout in roulette is the amount that the player wins as a multiple of his wager, should his wager win. The payout is expressed as X to 1, where X is a number. If the payout is 8 to 1 and the player wagers $1 then he will win $8. In addition he will be returned his wager of $1. If the payout is 5 to 1 and the player wagers $5 then he will win $25. In addition he will be returned his wager of $5. Roulette has many different types of bets and they have different payouts. Different online gaming software providers have different methods of indicating the payouts. However regular roulette players should know the payouts pat so that they can conveniently plan their betting strategy, without having to locate the payouts in the casino software.

Roulette is a game in which the payouts are based on the mathematics of the game and the mathematics is very simple. Therefore it is not essential to learn the payouts by rote but to understand the underlying principle. Then the payout for any bet can be computed in a matter of seconds.

The first thing to understand is that the 0, and in case of American roulette the 00 as well, does not figure in the calculations. It is as if they do not exist and the game is played with only 36 numbers. The 0 and the 00 only create the house edge and if they are called then all bets lose.

The column bet is used to describe in detail the process of calculation of the payout. The 36 numbers are laid out in three columns of 12 numbers each. A player who wagers on any one column wins if any of the 12 numbers in the column are called. He loses if any of the other 24 numbers are called. The payout is the ratio of the ways of losing to the ways of winning. In the column bet this is 24 to 12. The payouts are expressed in the simplest ratio. Hence the payout is 2 to 1. What this means is that if the player wagers $2 on any one column and wins he will get $4 plus his original wager of $2.

A brief computation of the payouts of some of the other important wagers is described below:

• Wager on red: 18 numbers are red and 18 numbers are black. Wins on 18 numbers. Loses on 18 numbers. Payout is 18 to 18 or in simplified form 1 to 1.
  
  
• Wager on 6-number bet: Wins on 6 numbers. Loses on 30 numbers. Payout is 30 to 6 or in simplified form 5 to 1.
  
  
• Wager on 4-number bet: Wins on 4 numbers. Loses on 32 numbers. Payout is 32 to 4 or in simplified form 8 to 1.
  
  
• Wager on trio: Wins on 3 numbers. Loses on 33 numbers. Payout is 33 to 3 or in simplified form 11 to 1.
  
  
• Wager on split bet: Wins on 2 numbers. Loses on 34 numbers. Payout is 34 to 2 or in simplified form 17 to 1.
  
  
• Wager on single number bet: Wins on 1 numbers. Loses on 35 numbers. Payout is 35 to 1.
  
  
• A wager on 0 or 00 is considered as a single number bet and has a payout of 35 to 1.