If you’re new to the game, some of the roulette terms may seem like a foreign language to you.
Don’t worry though. I’ve put together this roulette glossary that covers all the terminology and slang you’ll need.
To really understand and enjoy the game of roulette, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the terms and phrases that are used in the game.
In this article, I’ll show you some of the most common roulette terms and explain what they mean.
Whether you are new to roulette or a seasoned player, this glossary of roulette terms will help you play the game with confidence.
To make it easy, I’ve broken down the list of roulette terminology into sections:
Types Of Roulette
- American Roulette – These tables have a zero and a double zero. (As a result, many players avoid it!)
- Double Ball Roulette – You’ve probably guessed what this is! Yup, it’s roulette but with two balls not one. You can find it both live and online
- European Roulette – More profitable than American roulette and as a result more popular. 37 balls rather than the 38 found in American
- French Roulette – Popular as it has a low house edge. Has a differing table layout to American
- Live Dealer Roulette – Found at online roulette sites. Rather than all of the game being automated by software, there is an actual dealer. You can interact with them, see them on screen etc. This makes for a more engaging and fun experience in my opinion
- Mini Roulette – Another online-only version of the game. There are less numbers (13). The types of bets you can place are different
- Multi Player Roulette – As you can guess, this is roulette with, well, multiple players. It’s only available online
- Multi Wheel Roulette – You guessed it, it’s roulette with more than one wheel! It’s an online-only version and is lots of fun
- No Zero Roulette – Roulette but without the number zero on the wheel. Popular with new players
- Rapid Roulette – This is an Irish TV quiz show... but I guess you’d rather know what the roulette game is! Well, it’s a live dealer game but done at super fast speed (each bet is about 25 seconds). Tons of fun if you like fast action!
Types Of Roulette Bet (English)
- Basket – There’s two types of this. If you’re playing on a Single Zero/European wheel, your bet covers 0,1,2 and 3. If on American, it covers 00,0,1,2 and 3. The payouts for a basket bet would be 8 to 1 and 6 to 1 respectively
- Column – Your bet is pretty much betting on aa third of the board
- Combination – A mix of different bets in one roun
- Corner – Here you’re betting on four numbers. You’ll place your chip/s at the intersect of those four (so for example, 17,18,20 and 21)
- Dozen – Bet on 1st, 2nd or 3rd 12
- Even – Betting that the number will be even
- High – Betting on the higher half of the numbers
- Inner/Inside – Any bet that is on the inside of the table (for example betting on one number)
- Low – Betting on the low half of the numbers
- Odd – Betting that the number will be an odd one
- Outside – Betting on anything outside of the main table (for example betting on red or odd)
- Six Line – Bet on six numbers that are on two adjacent rows
- Split – A bet on two numbers
- Straight – Bet on one number
Types Of Roulette Bet (French)
Depending on the casino and location, you may well hear some terms in French. Obviously French language will have their version of any word.
However, here are the main roulette terms you are most likely to hear in French:
- Carré – A corner bet (fun fact – Carré means ‘square’ in French)
- Cheval – Split bet. Also know as ‘Finales a Cheval‘
- Derniere – Third set bet
- En Plein – Straight bet
- Manque – Low bet
- Noir – Betting on black
- Passe – High bet
- Rouge – Betting on red
- Sizain – Six number/line bet
- Tranversale – Three number or street bet
Casino Terms Terminology
Below are some terms that aren’t specific to roulette. These are still good to know if you’re playing at a live or online casino.
- Ball – Nice simple one! This just means the ball that spins around the roulette wheel
- Ball track – This is what keeps the ball in place when it’s moving
- Bankroll – How much money a roulette player has set aside for gambling
- Chips – Used in place of cash. You ‘buy in’ to a game by purchasing chips, then ‘cash out’ when selling them back for money
- Croupier – Another word for dealer
- Dealer – The dealer who works at the casino
- Dolly – Not a kid’s toy, a roulette dolly is simply a marker. Casinos use it to mark which number has just won
- House – The casino
- House edge – The advantage the casino has over the player. I.e., mathematically what % of profit they’ll make over time
- Wheel – The roulette wheel that the ball spins around
- Wheel head – The base with the numbers that spins around
Roulette Strategies Terminology
There are many roulette strategies or ‘systems’ that have been developed over the years.
You can use these for play in brick and mortar casinos, online roulette sites or even mobile roulette.
Below is a list of the terms you’ll hear and a brief explanation:
- All-In (super simple – bet everything you have!)
- Andrucci (essentially betting on numbers that have come up more recently)
- Constant Bet (bet the same amount every time no matter what)
- D’Alembert (bet on even money options. If you win, add a dollar (or whatever unit you’re using) to the next bet. If you lose, reduce it)
- Fibonacci (again, even money options. Bet increases each time you lose)
- Grand Martingale (make the same bet on an even bet, up until you lose. After that you double the bet and add to it. If that doesn’t win, double down again)
- Labouchere (even bets using a sequence based on the amount you want to win)
- Martingale (increase bet after every loss)
- Non-progressive (change your bet size whenever you want)
- Reverse Martingale (double the best after each win)
- Parloi (if your bet loses, bet the same next. If you win, double it. Once you’ve won three times, reset the bet amount)
- Progressive (various strategies are progressive i.e. ones where your bet changes/increases)
So – now you know the lingo about roulette games. You’ll be able to play at casinos with the confidence of James Bond. Well, maybe not that much.
If you want to put your knowledge to the test, click below to find the best roulette sites for New Zealand.